Imperialist Promoted Israeli Attack on Gaza Strip
Once again from 27th December 2008 to 18th January 2009 - for 23 days the Israeli military carried on rampant killing and destruction in the Gaza Strip of Palestine. In continued bombing and rocket attacks more than 1300 Palestinians have lost their lives ( among which 410 were children ) and more than 5000 were either injured or maimed, Schools, hospitals, government offices were selectively targetted. Even an office of the United Nations was razed to the ground by bombarding, 80% of agricultural land destroyed. The barbarous attack did not stop there. So that the injured do not get medical treatment and relief the entry points of international relief to the Gaza Strip were almost closed down. There is tremendous clamour and outcry for food, water, medicines and daily necessities. In the refugee camps thousands of Palestinians have taken shelter — hungry , insecure, physically and mentally in a completely broken down state. Even now, after a month dead bodies are being recovered from the rubbles of destruction. On the other side, the Israeli ruling class and their servile media are declaring with devilish jubilation - all the Palestinian civilians ( even the children ) of Gaza are “terrorists” and they are not at all “sorry” for this aggression.
Just at the end of the 6 month period ceasefire in Gaza between the ruling Hamas and Israel on last -19th December, this hellish attack has been carried out. Israel complained that Hamas has broken the cease -fire by launching rockets on Israel. Actually this ceasefire was torn apart in November itself when the Israeli army entered Gaza and killed 4 Hamas men. An Israeli ex- army general has clearly stated that actually Israel has broken the ceasefire and not Hamas. But the Israeli ruling class has put up the Hamas conducted “terrorist” rocket attacks from Gaza during the ceasefire period as the alibi behind the latest aggression. It has been said that the Israeli state is being attacked and so the only guarantee for the defence and safety of Israeli people lay in wiping out the Hamas and their Palestinian supporters by carrying out attacks on Gaza. Needless to say, that the U.S. , Britain and the other imperialist countries of European union fully supported this Israeli rationale behind its Gaza aggression.
But is there really any substantiality in the above mentioned claim of Israel ? Firstly, it has been seen that the ceasefire has been broken by Israel itself and not Hamas. Secondly, is it true that Hamas has become such a dangerous “terrorist” military forces that as a consequence of it, the lives of Israeli people have become gravely insecure ? During the 23 day Gaza attacks when the world's fourth largest military power , Israel's, ultra - modern weapons ( the major part of which have been received from America ) accurately targeted and destroyed the whole of Gaza murdering 1300 Palestinians, injuring many more thousands , in that same time the few Hamas launched miniscule home made rocket like objects from Gaza killed only 4 Israelis, 2 among whom were Israeli military men. From this fact itself it can be clearly understood that all the claims of Israel that Hamas is a dreadful “terrorist” military force for Israelis is an outright overstatement. Even, after the stoppage of Israeli aggression, international human rights activists and observers who inspected Gaza said that the much hyped publicity made about huge arms and military power of Hamas is a fairy tale. Moreover, the no. 1 newspaper of Israel itself has exposed the comments of Israeli generals saying the Gaza aggression was not as a result of any instant reaction to the Hamas rocket attacks. The plans for Gaza attacks were made before even the declaration of cease - fire, that is at the start of 2008. In fact, behind the aggression on Gaza there is a deep conspiracy and politics with which the interest of U.S. imperialism ad other imperialist powers are closely involved. Through this aggression they wanted to obliterate Hamas from Gaza. Even if that cannot be done then to at least weaken Hamas to that extent so that the Palestinian people are compelled to give up their faith reliance and dependence on Hamas making it powerless.
The Plan to uproot Hamas from Palestine originated in January 2006, when in a “free and unobstructed” election held under the strict vigilance of international observers Hamas won. This incident was a big slap on the face of the Israeli ruling class and the U.S. led imperialists. They wanted the submissive Fatah Party to win. This Fatah party is the party of the deceased Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the political party which led the Palestine Liberation Organisation ( P.L.O.). The leadership of this Fatah Party, such as Arafat and those of other smaller organisations within the PLO surrendered the right of Palestinians to live independently with their heads held upright in their own motherland , or in other words their right of self - determination through the Oslo Accord with Israel and U.S. imperialism in 1992. The Oslo Accord lent legitimacy to the unjust aggressions of Israel in 1948 and 1967 by which Israel forcibly occupied 80% of Palestine territory and evicted 8 Lakh Palestinians from their homeland, transforming them into permanent inhabitant of refugee camps set in different countries. After this shameless betrayal by the Fatah and PLO, the leadership of the Palestinians' struggle for self-determination gradually came into the hands of the Hamas. In the 21st Century, Hamas has come to be regarded as the symbol of the struggle of the Palestinians, the symbol of their ‘Intifada' to regain their motherland. Subsequent to the Oslo Accord, the Palestine Authority ( P.A. ) government formed under the leadership of Arafat was in reality equivalent to a blatantly obedient servant of the Israeli ruling class and the U.S. Led imperialist camp. Under this government the Palestinians have repeatedly witnessed betrayal and fraud. They have seen how as a result of the nexus of corruption, nepotism and brokerage of the officials of the Authority, the Palestinians lost whatever rights to lands, living place, cultivation and livelihood they still had how their own motherland has been transformed into the world's biggest prison under the open sky by erecting huge walls, electrified barbed wires, numerous check posts and imposing on the people endless hurdles of permits and prohibitions restricting free movement. Just to stay and move about for livelihood and daily requirements is fully controlled by the Israeli army, the police and a host of restrictive laws. How the partitioning of the Palestinian people into two separate geographical regions of Gaza and the West Bank, including the sacred land of Jerusalem ( See map ) was finalized leading to loss of their right to self - determination.
It was in this background that the Fatah party was defeated in the elections of January 2006 and the Hamas won. After this ‘unwanted' and ‘unexpected' win of the Hamas, the countries - Israel, America Britain and other imperialist states of the European union, in the very presence of whose representatives the first ‘open and free' elections took place, declared in unison that Hamas is a ‘terrorist' organization and they are unable to recognize any government formed by Hamas.
History, it seems, has also a great sense of humour. In the decades of 1980s Hamas was a non - political, Islamic, religious charitable organisation. It mainly carried on services of relief, education and charity among the Palestinians. The U.S. backed Israel starting helping and giving aid to that very Hamas in those decades of 1980s. The aim was to prop up Hamas as an alternative force to the secular and socialism influenced PLO of Arafat and thus confuse and derail the secular, struggle of self determination of the Palestinians. The Israeli and US Leaders wanted a force servile and faithful to them, to lead the Palestinians. And for that they were not at all reluctant to promote a religious organization like Hamas. In fact imperialism often plays such a role like the promotion of Taliban in Afghanistan. The irony of history is that this same Islamic religious, but not fundamentalist, organization, Hamas has itself become the symbol of the Palestinians anti - imperialist struggle and struggle for self - determination today. On the other hand Arafat's organisation Fatah has become faithful and submissive to Israel and the imperialists.
In the 2006 elections although Hamas had on overall win but in the West Bank th Fatah Party remained in the majority. As a result the Hamas and Fatah Party formed a united coalition government. But the imperialist camp and Israeli ruling class were unwilling to accept the Hamas in any Palestinian government. From that time onwards they continually launched attempts to remove the Hamas from the government and isolate it from the Palestinian masses.
Throughout 2006-2007 the U.S. - backed Israeli ruling class directly supported or aided diverse anti - Hamas activities in Gaza and West Bank through the Fatah Party. Utilizing the majority Fatah Party in the West Bank government random torture, arrest and harassment of Hamas leaders and sympathizers continued. A substantial number of Hamas leaders and supporters had to flee out of the country.
Even such allegations have appeared that during the latest aggression on Gaza, the Fatah Party supplied Israel with information of those selected places where rockets or bombs are to be targeted! Although this conspiracy to gradually eliminate Hamas succeeded to some extent in the West Bank, but it failed in Gaza. Rather, in 2007 as a result of continuous conflicts between the Hamas and the Fatah Party , the Fatah party was compelled to withdraw from the government in Gaza and the Hamas took over full control. What the Israeli ruling class and the imperialists did not ask for, happened. The government in Gaza fell into the hands of the Hamas and it was recognized by only a handful of countries like Iran, Lebanon, and Syria.
After this, a new phase in the struggle of the Palestinians of Gaza started. On the one hand in Gaza there remained the Hamas in power, while in the West Bank the Fatah Party, surrendered and submitted to Israel , stayed in power and the Palestinians' struggle for independence and self - determination got further divided and weakened. In this back ground the main target of the Israeli ruling class and the imperialists became the Hamas and the destruction of the Hamas led Palestinians' struggle in Gaza.
In 2007 after Hamas come to power the Israeli rulers closed all roads and ports through which international relief , food stuff, medicines, other services..., entered Gaza and whatever little industrial and agricultural commodities produced in private enterprises of Gaza were exported. An economic blockade started. Its aim was to incite the Palestinian masses against the Hamas. The result of this economic blockade was disastrous. By itself the economy of Gaza was quite flimsy and tottering. The economic blockade further led to the closure of most of the private industries. Unemployment rate soared to 49% - the world's highest. 80% of the masses depend on foreign aids and grants. On top of it was imposed the pains of the blockade. Child death, poverty malnourishment, death due to lack of medical treatment,...... all these became the part and parcel of the lives of the Palestinians. Even the well known pet organisations of the imperialists - the United Nations and the World Bank - repeatedly expressed concern for the ‘ disastrous condition' and ‘ human rights violation' of the people of Gaza. The Palestinians of Gaza do not even have the right to leave Gaza for emergency requirements like medical treatment or visiting their close relatives. On the contrary, they have to regularly face bomb and rocket attacks. But the encouraging fact is that in spite of all this the Gaza Palestinians have not lost hope. They continued with their desperate attempts to at least etch out some means of living.
What were those attempts ? Between the Gaza Strip and neighbouring Egypt there exists only a few miles of border area which is known as the Rafah border. At this Rafah border Israel erected an iron wall, several feet high, enmeshed with electrified barbed wire so that the Gaza inhabitants cannot get supplies of daily necessities, food and medicines. Egypt is also at present a friendly country of Israel, often cooperating in such ventures. But still, by means of untiring labour the Gazan Palestinians dug out about a hundred underground tunnels at this Rafah border. These tunnels became the life line of the Gaza inhabitants. Through these tunnels, in Israel's version - in an ‘illegal' way the Gazans ‘smuggled' their necessities for living. The Hamas helped and led the Gazans in this. Apart from this, the Hamas also helped the ruined and encircled Gazans by opening relief camps and supplying necessities through the government in Gaza. Thus despite of the economic blockade, repeated bomb and rocket attacks, and other forms of aggression by Israel, with the aim to isolate the Hamas from the Palestinian masses their ties became further strengthened.
The aim of Israel and the imperialist camp is amply clear - to eliminate Hamas by any means or at least weaken its support base among the Palestinian masses to that extent so that the Fatah Party can once again be installed in the Gaza government. With this aim is mind the hundred of crude tunnels and entry points along the Rafah border were continually bombarded and attacked with rockets to permanently destroy the supply line of necessities to the Palestinians. But still , with such unbridled destruction, the Palestinians' struggle to live do not seem to be defeated. They have once again started taking initiatives to make tunnels usable. Hamas has also become more popular with the battered masses seeing how their activists stayed beside them through this latest phase of in human aggression.
The second reason behind this Gaza aggression has been geo - political. Adjoining the Gaza strip in the Mediterranean sea a large reserve of natural gas has been discovered. Now, Israel already has to depend on large amounts of imports of natural gas from foreign countries. So it is eager to reduce this dependence on gas imports. Hence taking this opportunity Israel wants to get hold of this newly found large reserves of gas in the Gaza region, legally which should be in possession of the Palestinians of Gaza.
Thirdly, the general elections in Israel was scheduled for the 10th of February. Many experts said, that by this aggression in Gaza just prior to the elections, the ruling and opposition parties of Israel wanted to whip up nationalist frenzy and thus ensure their win in the elections. In all probability these assessments were correct, as in the election it has been seen that the most extreme proponents of this nationalist furore, the extreme - right, according to many, the fascist forces, won and ascended to power.
Fourthly through this aggression the anti - US countries such as Iran , Lebanon and Syria in the region were also put on alert. Through this US imperialism backed Israeli aggression it was also sought to be re–emphasized that the unilateral hegemony of the US led imperialist forces and its patron Israel, which serves as a strategic military base for them in the region, remains unquestioned.
In fact, Middle East history of imperialist hegemony and dominance bears testimony that how for control and occupation of the huge oil reserves of the region during the past 100 years imperialism has continued with its shameless atrocities. How the Palestinian inhabitants have been brutally evicted from their motherland and by sheer force the Jewish State of Israel has been established and prepared as a permanent military base. Whereas in 1917, in the then Palestine the Israelis had only 2.5% of the total land, in the period after the second world war in 1947 the US - British imperialism controlled United Nations straightaway established the Jewish state of Israel and nakedly with a single stroke of the pen handed them over 54% of Palestinian Land ! Then with the US _ British support the Israeli ruling class, whose motive has been forcible eviction of Arabs from Palestine by any means, through the military aggressions of 1948 and 1967 took possession of more parts of the territory which in total now amounts to 80.5% of whole territory. Lakhs and lakhs of Palestinians were evicted; their homes, agricultural land, business enterprises steam rolled..... forcing them to take refuge in refugee camps established in nearby countries Jordan, Syria, Iraq.... These Palestinian refugees in the camps are somehow continuing to live depending on grants and doles of the United Nations, and Western powers. Just like the Palestinian masses of West Bank and Gaza They also dream of an independent Palestine.
But where lay the solution to the Palestine problem ? The Fatah Party whose previous leaders betrayed the Palestinians, struggle for self - determination by signing the 1992 Oslo Accord, now want a Palestine State dependent and under the control of Israel. On the other hand the religious organisation Hamas, which is identified by many as a terrorist organisation, and which once pursued the total eviction of Israelis from Palestine and formation of an independent Palestine, and launched an armed struggle for that, have changed its position now, demanding the pre-1967 position for Palestine territory. It means Hamas now has no objection to accept the capture of extra territorial regions by Israel through its 1948 aggression. It is being heard that even the majority of Palestinians are also not in disagreement with this latest Hamas' theory of territorial division. They are ready, it is being said, to accept an “independent” Palestine in shrunk territorial division, foregoing their demands of getting back original parts of Palestine territory. On the other side, sections of the imperialist camp have proposed a two-state theory as a solution for the problem. According to this theory in the geographically fragmented Palestine territory there will exist two states Israel and Palestine, where like the present the destiny and lives of Palestinians will remain wholly dependent on the state of Israel.
But are any of these the real solution to the Palestine problem ? Of course not. Then who can show the path to a real solution and where does it lie. From Palestine no voices of the proletariat can be heard. The manner in which for more than 60 years they have been transformed into refugees, the way in which every moment in their lives they have to face barrages of bomb and rocket attacks, the way the establishment of modern industries and factories in their own land has remained as an illusion, even most of the time they are unable to apply their right to cultivate their own agricultural land,.... in such a situation the Palestinian proletariat will be formed and expecting their voice will be heard is highly ridiculous.
On the other hand the voice of Israeli proletariat is also missing. The Israeli proletariat is today is unable to raise his voice separately and distinctly from that of the Israeli ruling class. Historically they are also in a large scale mired in colonial mentality. In a number of cases they are even seen to be desperate to seize land from the Palestinians to build their own homes. In the existing situation they are miles away from a real proletarian position.
If the Palestinian problem is to be really solve then that cannot come without the expropriation of imperialist intervention. Because depending on the imperialist powers only, Israel is able to stand and continue all forms of injustice and destruction. But who will expropriate imperialism from the Middle East? Majority of regimes of the Middle East countries are lackeys of imperialism - more specifically US imperialism. In majority of these countries there exist wide spread remnants of old feudal relations or monarchy. Of course a few of them through capitalist reforms have proceeded to some extent compared to others and the modern proletariat has emerged in those countries. During the recent Gaza aggression large scale agitations and protests have been noticed in these countries. But simply agitations are not sufficient. What is needed is the united struggle of the conscious proletariat of these countries. Unfortunately, no indications of such are being revealed yet. At the international level no conscious united struggle of the proletariat is seen. Till now the international proletariat has not been able to withstand and recover from the defeat of the 1st campaign of the socialist movement and rise up again in its own glory. But the solution of the Palestine problem lay in the expropriation of imperialism from the Middle East which only the proletariat can lead the masses and achieve and that is what history is demanding. For that to happen revolutions led by the proletariat in one or several countries of Middle East or its adjoining regions in Asia is necessary. Is there any other road open for the Palestinians to achieve their liberation rather than wait for such an inevitability ?