What is happening?
November 5th, 2008 Israeli Defense Forces broke the truce with Hamas, killing 5 in an assault on a "kidnapping tunnel." Over the past three days the IAF massacre from above killing hundreds as it supposedly attacks terrorists. Israel claims the right to defend itself under Article 51 of the UN charter. But are Gazans not supposed to respond to the 40 year occupation, 4 year siege, and intermittent attacks and blockades from Israel? What can possibly result from this overwhelming assault on a defenseless people?
What will happen?
It is clear that peace is further away than ever in Palestine. How will this affect the Muslim world's approach to the West? Maybe the world's Muslims will think "there is not too much glory and valor involved in flying over a giant prison and firing at its people using helicopters and fighter jets." Maybe this and not the Koran has something to do with Islamic terror? At least that's what the 9-11 Commission said.
How did it happen?
Since the withdrawal in 2005, Israel has maintained a siege on Gaza turning on and off power at will, illegally freezing vital funds, blocking passage at Rafah and Gaza crossings in and out at will. All this as it tells the world it has withdrawn from Gaza. We are not too far from summer 2006 and the bloody assault on Gaza ( a supposed rescue mission for one soldier kidnapped in a reprisal - Gilad Shalit) that preceded the killing of 1,000 in Lebanon.
Expressing the democratic wishes of Gazans, Hamas has consistently demanded to see such restrictions lifted and seemed reluctant to renew the ceasefire without such guarantees. Despite Israeli attacks on alleged militants and seven to ten rockets fired from Gaza, by Sunday December 22nd it looked like a restoration of the truce was possible with Turkish and Egyptian mediation.
Israel had bigger plans and seemingly used the expiration of the truce as a time to implement them. Again, civilian deaths are a part of the plan or at least not considered. Even an Israeli newspaper admits that " little to no weight was apparently devoted to the question of harming innocent civilians."
However, after months of a successful truce, by now Israel is determined not to treat the democratic representatives of Palestinians as equals or treat the Palestinians as deserving of any rights or liberties. So says Israeli historian Tom Segev as he sees Israel "striking at the Palestinians to 'teach them a lesson.'
This wont work, he says. Afterall, Israel's mass killing leaves a people with nothing to lose and no way out. The real solution would have come with efforts to refine and restore the truce last week. When this mass killing is over, there will still be one alternative says Segev: "Ending the siege of Gaza and allowing freedom of movement between Gaza and the West Bank [that] could rehabilitate life in the Strip."
Samira Balousha carries her son, Muhammed, while crying over the body of her 4-year-old daughter, Jawaher, during the funeral for Jawaher and her four sisters, who died in an Israeli airstrike on the mosque next to their house in Gaza.
