generalspeaking

Brave, Courageous, Victorious Hamas!

The humanitarian disaster that is Gaza is a construct of the Palestinians' own making, however indirectly. Palestinians have allowed themselves to become the Arab world's bone of contention, a useful display of need and privation, placed in that condition by an unfeeling and stridently militant State of Israel. And latterly, the plaything of two disparate Islamic sects, divided further into the 'moderates' and the 'fanatics' in the Muslim world.

In the Middle East the Palestinians have become the darlings - the needy orphans, the useful demonstration of the vulnerability of the Arab world by predatory Western interests - of the mostly Shi'ite axis of Iran, Syria, Qatar, Hezbollah and Hamas. In opposition to the Arab countries, mostly Sunni, like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan which have tired of the failed end-game, and the unwillingness of Palestinians to settle themselves into the future.

And who, just incidentally, see the machinations of the fanatic axis as directly and deliberately injurious to the hegemony of their combined interests, in the face of the obvious intention of Iran to overwhelm the Middle East with its fundamentalist spiritual superiority, ascending to a modern-day caliphate, with tentacles eventually reaching globally.

The international community behaves as though it has no inkling of these internecine and inter-communal, and intra-territorial antagonisms and sly initiatives toward an ultimate conquest of the area. They prefer to recognize only a conflict between the State of Israel and that of the downtrodden Palestinians. Deigning to ignore any connection to Iran, to Syria, to the status of Hamas as a proxy, jihad-driven militia.

Instigating violence against Israel - with the echoed boasting reminiscent of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's promise to the UN world body that Israel would be driven into the sea - stating its proud mandate to destroy the Jewish state and install in its stead a fanatical Islamic state.

Hamas is seen by the European Union both as terror group and as defender of the Palestinians. The United Nations bemoans the penury and want of Gazans, offers censure to Israel for their offensive.

After Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, Iran boasted openly of the support Hamas received from them. Hamas's 'victory' over the superior military force of the IDF was reflective of the success of the Islamic Revolution. Iran's Majlis Speaker, Ali Larijani linked Hezbollah's 'victory' in the Israel-Lebanon conflict, and Hamas's in Gaza as fruits of the "great tree" that is Iran's Islamic Revolution.

Got that? Could it be any clearer? "The residents of Gaza, [just like] Hezbollah, have managed to defeat the army of the Zionist regime thanks to the beneficial influence of Iran." Beneficent Iran. Guardian Council Chairman Ayatollah Jannati preached in his Friday sermon in Tehran: "[In 2006] the host of Hezbollah [fighters], inspired by Islamic Iran, managed to deliver a crushing blow to Israel, to America and to the other Western countries supporting Israel.

"Now the same thing has happened in Gaza. Wherever Iran has a toehold, it will save and rescue [the Muslims]..." The Iranian newspaper Kayhan, dear to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, clarifies that Israel's war on Hamas has delineated a new Middle East, proving that the alliance consisting of Israel, the U.S., the European Union, Egypt and Saudi Arabia could not defeat a small group like Hamas.

Palestinians are puffed with pride over their courageous defenders. Those very defenders whose rocket launching installations, weapons depots, snipers, were placed within their midst, to ensure that the greatest collateral damage could take place, eliciting the sympathy and support of the world looking on at the carnage caused by Israel, attempting to defend itself from irreconcilable jihadists.

That in the midst of conflict there would of necessity be civilian victims in any war is a reality; that that risk to civilians is multiplied exponentially when they are deliberately placed in the line of return fire is another reality. But Hamas has cleverly learned that being identified to the West as righteous underdogs stands them in good stead, and any libel against Israel will work to their advantage.

While in the same breath, presenting themselves to the Arab world as defenders of the underdog, and Islam-blessed warriors for justice, they are able to turn any humiliation they may suffer into a warped version of victory, presenting themselves as the nemesis of the West, the triumph of Islam. Of course they're also crude in their instincts to avail themselves.

And although Fatah has bemoaned the nastiness of Hamas in their brutal campaign against its members, attempting to point out also that Hamas has taken it upon itself to commandeer all manner of humanitarian supplies, from food to medicines, into their own warehouses for distribution to their own supporters, little attention is paid.

Yet when Hamas police had the unmitigated temerity to raid an UNRWA warehouse it is as though something extraordinary has been observed. "It's a very serious incident", United Nations Relief and Works Agency spokesman Chris Gunness moaned.
"We condemn it in the strongest terms and we demand that the items be returned immediately."

Now that's quite the about-face for a UN agency. Affronted that Hamas police, following orders, raided their warehouse to remove thousands of blankets, hundreds of food parcels from local staff - faced with the business end of guns. "We were there, we tried to stop them, but they were armed and we were not", said the distraught Mr. Gunness. Surprise? How can that be?

This is not, after all, the first time that Hamas terrorists have absconded with humanitarian aid supplies, despite that Mr. Gunness claims such supplies had never before been looted from UNRWA. The aid is meant to be distributed widely among the impoverished residents of the Strip, irrespective of their allegiance. UNRWA has distributed 50,000 blankets and 12,000 food packages to date.

"Given that, this was a relatively small amount", he said, "but that's not the point. It is a serious issue." Is it? Have the noble Hamas militants' halo become suddenly tarnished?

Labels: Israel, Middle East, Terrorism, United Nations

posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, February 04, 2009