Two views on Israelis v/s Palestinians
For
the Muslim ummah at large as well as liberals around the world, Israel
is the aggressor in perpetuity as long as it exits in Palestine by
force. Hamas is fighting a war of liberation and for the first time it
has virtually tied up Israel in knots. Yesterday Israel was threatening
every Muslim country in the Middle East. Today it is virtually on the
ropes. Even with the Iron Domes protecting Israel cities from Hamas
rockets, Hamas has virtually invaded Israel. No other Muslim country has
the guts to take out or take on this bully head on. It is their shame that is
preventing them from lauding and helping Hamas. There is more evident
gulf between the people and rulers of the Middle East than it was as
ever before. Hamas has brought Israel to its knees and it is now amply
proved that Israel can only be managed through use of power. Let nobody
for reasons of their own and their vested interest, spoil the real chance to force Israel to free
the people of Palestine.
One can witness Israel panelists on Israeli
online i24news overwhelmingly conceding defeat and advising their rulers
to free Gaza from the seize or Israel itself will remain in siege for
ever.
Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
Hamas gets a rap in the Arab world for provoking Israel
By Siraj Wahab in Jeddah
As Palestinian casualties rise following Israel's ground invasion of
Gaza, there has been significant criticism of Hamas in the mostly Sunni
Arab world.
Hamas, which has been ruling Gaza since 2005, is seen as an Iranian
proxy in a region where every move of Shiite Tehran is eyed with
suspicion and derision. Yasser Arafat's Fatah, currently headed by
President Mahmoud Abbas, is seen as the real and legitimate
representatives of the Palestinians.
Hamas is hardcore Sunni but since it is not supported by the Arab
countries, Iran has cultivated it to further its political goals in the
Sunni-dominated region.
Many credible analysts have gone to the extent of saying that the
current conflict may have been engineered by Iran to take the pressure
off Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Iran's major proxy, Hezbollah, fought off a major Israeli attack in the
past and it then went on a killing spree on behalf of Assad against the
Sunnis of Syria.
While Israel continues to invite the ire of all Arabs, it is Iran that is seen as the real, long-term threat.
Eyad Abu Shakra, managing editor of the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat,
says the Iranian leadership discovered some time ago that there is a
significant commonality of interest between Tehran and Tel Aviv.
"The Iran-Contra scandal was an early indication of Tehran’s pragmatism,
based on the idea that 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' Today, the
intersection of Israeli and Iranian interests manifests itself in the
war on 'terrorists,' in Tel Aviv’s discourse, and against 'takfirists'
(extremist Sunnis) in the parlance of Iran," said Abu Shakra in his
recent piece.
"Regionally Israel requires, if only on a temporary basis, that Iran use
its affiliates in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq for the protection of
Israel’s borders. In return, Iran is seeking full control of the Arab
Mashreq, from the Gulf to the Mediterranean."
According to Abu Shakra, Israel does not seem to be opposed to Iran’s
aspirations and actions because it benefits if Tehran succeeds in
protecting its borders, and benefits even more if Tehran’s failure
intensifies the intra-Islamic civil war.
Taking a dig at Hamas, high-profile Saudi journalist Salman Al-Dossary said the current conflict is all too familiar.
"Hamas provokes Israel; the latter responds to the blow with a thousand
of its own. Israel doesn’t find those it is searching for, so it takes
out its anger on the innocent Palestinian people ... But it’s only a few
more days and the Israeli war will end. Hamas leaders will reappear
after hiding underground throughout the war, to return to their former
locations once the billions of dollars’ worth of humanitarian aid has
been received," he wrote in a major Saudi publication.
"Israeli jets will safely return to their bases, and Hamas will stop
firing missiles too. The biggest loser is the Palestinian people," wrote
Al-Dossary. "It was the same story with Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah
in 2006. Half of Lebanon was destroyed, and then eventually Hezbollah
deployed its weapons for the killing of innocent Syrians."
Popular Saudi columnist Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, says Hamas does not pay
much attention to the number of dead Palestinians. "Hamas is not gaining
anything by locking horns with Israel," he wrote in his column in the
Jeddah-based Arab News.
Asking pointed questions, Al-Mulhim said: "Does Hamas receive orders
from abroad? Some of Hamas missiles are either from Iran or used Iranian
technologies. So, the question is, can Hamas use these missiles or its
technologies without a green light from Iran and is the attack from Gaza
planned by the Iranians to take some of the pressure off Bashar Assad?"
According to him, Hamas had been in isolation from the day it took control of Gaza because of its behavior.
"So, maybe Hamas wanted to emerge from this isolation and catch the
world’s attention... Hamas leaders are jet setters. They travel high
class, stay at the best hotels and eat the best food but their people
are not paid their salaries on time," said Al-Mulhim, articulating the
widespread indignation at Hamas for sacrificing innocent Palestinian
blood.
@sirajwahab
sirajwahab@arabnews.com
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
|
|
|
Ram
