It’s getting worse.

By: Ahmed ELNAHAS – Castelfiorentino, July 21^st 2014.

This “New World Order” having failed to deliver and secure a global “Just and Lasting Peace”, seem to have driven us all to a state of indifference by which our world has erected a huge mast upon which flies a gigantic white flag marking a monumental admission of its incompetence. The same incompetence which gave birth to a disgustful sickening sense of “Overload” that we have come to experience, and got accustomed with, though we didn’t realise living it and submitting to its consequences daily and constantly.

Stills, reports and films showing blood, mutilated bodies, massacres, rape, conflicts and wars are occupying all the front pages and editorials of every newspaper and TV news. Even the web is full of it all.. Uncensored. Causing a sort of “Crisis Fatigue”, a depressive exhausting humour striving towards desperation and hopelessness.

From Bagdad, the “Liberated” capital handed over to a Shia ruler to be governed as per the American brand of “Democracy” ready made exclusively for export, is exploding daily with Shia attacks against Sunni population, counting hundreds of victims; to Mosul that has plunged back into the barbaric fundamentalism of its new demented Caliph; and passing by the Ukrainian skies where a jumbo jet, with almost 300 innocent people on board, exploded in in the air by a G/A missile much easier than a routine range polygon target shooting practice, we can conclude that the world’s heart does not bleed anymore.

In the world’s Chancelleries, as in the European and American public opinion; is constantly growing the conviction that any sort of intermediation, exhortation or initiative are just a waste of time, energy, resources and most of all money.   

All of that made a close range clash in Gaza inevitable. Neither Hamas nor Israel could’ve escaped the show down. I say inevitable not for the mutually exchanged hatred between the contenders, but because of the situation that was created which leaves no room for any other solution.

Inevitable and absurd.. Absurd as the Tsahal (Israeli army) of 60 thousand units deployed to clean sweep the Strip. But also irrational. Ever since 2005, when Israel first have evacuated Gaza; revolt was punctually present, as in an untamable penitentiary so that repression would come equally punctual. Israel have always acted according to its talismanic doctrine: to squeeze its enemies against a Steel Wall; and Hamas reacts angrily and hysterically reaffirming its ‘refusal’!

Once we agree that the abduction and killing of the three Israeli adolescents countered by the young Palestinian burnt alive, have worked only as the detonator for a highly volatile situation (does the bus attack triggering Lebanon’ 10 years Civil War back in the seventies ring any bell?) ; let us consider for a moment some of the reasons why this new tragic war episode was inevitable:

·         Hamas, lacking resources and with empty vaults, found itself obliged to accept a subordinate role in Coalition Government with Fatah.

·         Hamas relations with its allies, Syria and Iran, were reduced to a historic minimum.

·         Field-Marshal Al Sissi’s seizure of power over Egypt provoked  the closing of almost all the Rafah tunnels, considered the major source of food, energy and medical supplies coming into the strip.. Among other ‘necessities’.

·         The Egyptian initiative for truce, promptly welcomed in Tel Aviv and rejected in Gaza, did not give the Palestinians any gain whatsoever to convince them quit their “resistance”.

·         The Egyptian Military hostilities towards the Muslim Brotherhood (of which Hamas is a loyal derivative), and the difficult rapports with Syria and Iran; caused the loss of 60thousand jobs to increase the unemployment rate to 40%.

·         Qatar offer to finance the unpaid wages of the 40 thousand administrative employees was blocked by the USA, considering that “Financing a Terrorist Organisation”. When the United Nations offered its agencies as intermediary, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman prevented it.

·         Hamas had to choose between dying rapidly as martyrs in the offensive or slow in hardships as miserable?

The Israeli version, according to its falcons Lieberman and Naftali whom have exercised enormous pressure locally and internationally to force the country into an open war and escalate progressively its course; can be synthesized as follows: Israel in principle defends itself against any type of danger jeopardising the peace and security of its citizens and the stability of its democratic way of life. Since the Gaza strip is an overpopulated area, with a plain flat landscape; the mobile rocket launch paddocks are by necessity moving within a highly dense zones, so air bombing cannot avoid civilian casualties (that Israel can claim them Human Shields, so moving them away from their homes by the excuse of avoiding civilian casualties fit perfectly within the “Deportation” tactics); so a ground offensive must be on.

The sad part is that no one cares to examine the fact that the Palestinian primitive and poor artisanship is producing card-board grenades (that Israel call rockets), sort of insignificant explosive devices which, along with the Iranian and Syrian middle and long range versions, should any succeed to escape the anti-missile Iron Dome Shield cannot inflict any serious harm whatsoever on Israel’s well-guarded infra-structure, administration buildings, reactors..etc. While Israel’s sophisticated war arsenal coupled with its advanced intelligence technologies can, and do, inflict severe damage to a fragile and costly Palestinian sub-structures. Not to mention how disproportionate is the monstrous civilian death toll.

The situation risk getting out of hands.. Hamas hands.. If Hamas fighters would succeed in making numerous casualties and capture prisoners, they will enforce Israeli stands and weaken Hamas’s. That’s why Israel counts on the impulsive reactions of Fanatic Extremist Groups.. Arab or Israeli.

So, the worse is coming.

Pass On The Word.

PS: on its web-site Israeli NGO Gisha remind us how Israel control Palestinian life:

·         territorial water, air space, registrar office and the only commercial terminal.

·         Gaza fishermen repeated requests to extend their sea borders to 6 nautical miles instead of the actual 3 are systematically rejected.

·         Gaza farmers wish to work the fields now inside the so called “Buffer Zone” (along what Israel decided as its borders with the strip) where 35% of cultivable fertile land. They cannot reach these fields because Israeli soldiers shoot at sight.

All despite the 2012 accords where Israel allowed Palestinian fishermen larger fishing waters further at sea, and permitted farmers to work their farms.