Meanwhile, in Gaza
Posted: Sun May 16, 2021 5:29 pm
This is lifted from a mate on FB.
Background: he is an activist DJ / Producer on the techno scene and puts a lot of energy in to inter-cultural projects, such as No Beef. Very active on the sex-positive and antifa hooligan scenes, too. A more jewier Jew you'll struggle to find. He's from Haifa, a Hapoel fan, obviously.
I post this because it is the most compelling (but as yet unfathomable) explanation of the 2020s political situation in that part of the world. It is well sourced and I can post a link by DM if requested.
Background: he is an activist DJ / Producer on the techno scene and puts a lot of energy in to inter-cultural projects, such as No Beef. Very active on the sex-positive and antifa hooligan scenes, too. A more jewier Jew you'll struggle to find. He's from Haifa, a Hapoel fan, obviously.
I post this because it is the most compelling (but as yet unfathomable) explanation of the 2020s political situation in that part of the world. It is well sourced and I can post a link by DM if requested.
I try to get a bit disconnected from everything that is going around in Israel and in Gaza, but it seems to be a very difficult thing to do. The conflict chased me all the way to Berlin, and I read and hear so much bullshit about what’s happening, that it is time to update my previous post about the matter.
1. Netanyahu has been preparing for this moment for a quite a while now. Right wing Jewish militants were inciting violence for weeks in several Jewish - Arabic mixed cities. The hand behind is, was Netanyahu’s hand. Just a few hours before an opposition government was about to form and to send Netanyahu where he belongs - first to jail, and then to the garbage can of history - Netanyahu’s best and most loyal alley rescued him again: Hamas.
2. I know, I know, this all sounds like a conspiracy theory, right? Well, in March 2019 Netanyahu said the following things in his Likkud-Party meeting: “whoever wants to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state must support the strengthening of the Hamas. This is part of our strategy - to create a clear separation between the Palestinians in Gaza and those in the west bank”.
3. Understand this: the rule of the Hamas in Gaza is what prevents the international community from forcing Israel back into negotiations for the two state solution. Netanyahu knows it very well, and allows financial support to flow mostly from the Gulf states into the hands of Hamas.
4. Maintaining Hamas in power in Gaza as a strategic interest of the Israeli right wing was also confirmed many times, officially and unofficially, by politicians and IDF Generals. Here is a quote from General Gershon Hacohen from May 2019:
“we should not get to a point in which we defeat Hamas and then fall into the trap of a two state solution"
5. Let’s go back a bit in time. In August 2005, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to unilaterally remove all Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip. Despite many pleas made by the Palestinian Authority and its president Mahmoud Abbas to only withdraw as part of an agreement, Israel insisted on doing it unilaterally and by doing so - gave Gaza to the Hamas on a golden platter. It was Hamas that showed persistent resistance to the Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip, and it was Hamas that also functioned as a welfare organization inside Gaza, taking care of the poor, while the Palestinian Authority was perceived as being corrupt. Ariel Sharon, as well as Netanyahu who voted in favor of the withdrawal, knew very well that it will only be a matter of months until Hamas takes control of Gaza, and will bury any hope for a two state solution. This is EXACTLY what happened. In January 2006, Hamas wins a majority in the Gazan parliament. A year later, in June 2007, it completed a violent overtaking of the Gaza Strip by assuming control over all government buildings, jailing and executing all Fatah people who resisted.
6. In the meantime, Israel withdrawal from the Gaza Strip made it at the same time into the world's biggest prison. Understand this: a Gazan can spend an entire lifetime in an area in which a car ride from the eastern border with Israel to the Mediterranean see in the west takes ten minutes. Israel is like the prison guard that left the prison just to guard it from the outside. Israel controls everything that goes in and out of Gaza. It is also important to mention though, that Gaza also has a border with Egypt. Why isn't Egypt doing anything to help the humanitarian situation in Gaza is beyond my understanding.
7. Netanyahu's regime kept on feeding the Hamas on the expense of Israelis who live in towns around the Gaza Strip, who have been enduring rocket attacks for years. Military operation after military operation, and almost always in situations in which Netanyahu's reign is in trouble.
8. Now think for a moment. Israel was hours away from the formation of an opposition government that would have had to be based on Arabic parties and that would have ended Netanyahu's era. However, aside from Netanyahu and the Likkud voters, also in Gaza there is a partner which isn't interested in sending Netanyahu home. Just like Netanyahu and the fascist Israeli right wing, Hamas grows in power and in influence as long as there is a conflict. Fascists on both side can only flourish when there is a conflict. In fact, Hamas's power grew so much, that Israel basically prevents free elections in the West Bank out of fear of a Hamas victory there as well.
9. The last point I've made was proved just two months ago in a meeting between Nadav Argaman - the chief of the Shin Bet (Israeli Secret Service), and the Palestinian president Abbas. Argaman explained to Abbas that holding elections might very well result in Hamas taking control also on the West Bank. Abbas's response was this: "Who are you to tell me this? Who has been building Hamas all these years? Who is transferring millions to Hamas every month? You, the Israelis, built Hamas!”
10. So when I see queers marching with "Free Gaza" signs on May 1st in Berlin, I get quite confused. Free Gaza? From whom? Whenever there is a chance for Israel to rid itself of its Putin-wannabe tyrant, it is Hamas that makes sure that he stays in power. It is Hamas that makes sure that the Israeli peace camp is dwindling. I am also confused, since the same people who raise these signs would not survive 10 seconds walking in Gaza identified as LGTBQ. I have great sympathy for the Palestinian cause, and as an activist I spent much time and breathed much teargas promoting it. However, I did it because I hold a strong Hegelian believe that as long as the Palestinians aren't free, we Israelis will never be free as well.
11. Having said that, I have zero sympathy towards fundamentalism. When people demonstrate against the actions of a criminal Israeli regime and choose to do that in front of a synagogue, it only proves the point of all cynical right-wingers: that the motive isn't support for Palestinians but hatred for Jews. And indeed, any Arab who is honest with you will tell you that in the Arab world, Israelis are very rarely being regarded to as Israelis. They are almost always being regarded to as Jews, and Jews are the enemy.
12. So basically, it doesn't really matter if I personally left Israel because I object its policies against the Palestinians. It doesn't even matter if I was a hardcore activist against the occupation, and that I am currently a vocal advocate of the Palestinian cause. Being a Jew basically anywhere outside of Israel, means nowadays walking around with a target sign on your back. Wear a Kippa and this sign also becomes visible. Think about it, and how sick this is.
13. This long post has difficulties to find a bottom line. I didn't even talk about the tension between Jews and Arabs in mixed Israeli cities, and how Netanyahu's regime was cultivating them for years. I guess this is the saddest part. Settling in Palestinian territories isn't enough for the Israeli right wing anymore. Now also Arab neighborhoods in mixed cities are targeted by settlers, backed by a fascist police and endless money from religious freaks all over the world (including Trump evangelists loyalists).
14. Perhaps the sad bottom line is that Hamas wouldn't have to wait long for the destruction of the Israeli society from within. Israel has absolutely no demographic future. The most extreme populations in the Israeli society, and least productive ones, are growing in rapid speed. The Israeli middle class is diminishing, and with it the last signs of liberalism. In less than three decades, ultra orthodox and right wing nationalists will be able to form a very thick majority, and there not be any place for leftist liberals in Israel. Statistically, this is simply inevitable.
15. In my last post I anticipated that the flames from Netanyahu’s incitement will very soon spread to other regions. I thought that it could be Lebanon, but how could I forget Gaza? Gaza is the ultimate victim. Always there when you feel like participating in a bloody orgasm of nationalism. My heart goes to the poor Gazans who always end up paying the price. May you one day come to enjoy peace and security, in a world without Hamas or Netanyahu.
In the photo, a rocket that landed 200 meters from my father's balcony in Rishon Lezion, the day before yesterday.