Shameless in Gaza

By Ramzy Baroud

The most recent fighting in the Gaza Strip, which has left many people dead,
confirms that the internal strife plaguing the Occupied Territories since
the advent of Hamas to power in January 2006 was not entirely the outcome of
outside meddling in Palestinian affairs.

It is, in most part a violent expression of the already existing weaknesses
and disunity that has sadly defined the Palestinian political milieu for
generations.

The fighting intensified between Hamas and Fatah and then reached
unprecedented levels when 31 Palestinians, including a toddler were murdered
in the matter of five days, starting Thursday, January 25, raising the death
toll to more than 60 since last month.

It was on that day, one year ago, that Hamas was elected to power in an
impressive landslide victory. By dominating the Palestinian legislator with
an absolute majority, Hamas was comfortably able to solely form and confirm
a government. But since that critical date, the US and Israel have initiated
a campaign of economic boycott and military coercion that has cost hundreds
of Palestinian lives and has almost completely crippled their already
traumatized economy. This boycott was a sensational success, for it also
involved all the forces that traditionally came to the aid of Palestinians,
at least morally and financially, including Arab neighbors, the United
Nations and the European Union.

There was no doubt that Palestinians were collectively punished for electing
Hamas, whose victory meant that the easy ride that Israel has enjoyed
dealing with the self serving elites of Fatah would be disrupted. It also
meant that the United States’ regional designs, which were meant to
introduce artificial democracy to the Middle East, merely aiming at giving a
face-lift to the already corrupt political structure of its friendly allies
—  coupled with a regime change for it foes —  was disastrously violated by
Hamas using the same democracy vehicle assembled in Washington.

It was not the religious posture of Hamas that irked the US and Israel –
America’s unwarranted invasion of Iraq, for example, has given rise to all
sorts of political religious organizations, that seem to fit neatly into US
strategy in the war torn country; nor was it Hamas’ rhetoric, an extremist
from the viewpoint of Israel and the US, for the latter knew too well that
Hamas is simply not capable of ‘destroying’ Israel, whose security remains a
top priority for the US.

Hamas has enjoyed a safe haven and financial backing from both Teheran and
Damascus. By isolating Hamas, who was subsequently ostracized and deprived
from the Arabs’ support, the options of the Islamic movement were limited
even more, further radicalizing its rhetoric and henceforth increasing the
Iranian influence over the beleaguered group.

Though the interests of the United States and Iran have met on more than one
occasion in the past —  most notably in Afghanistan and Iraq —  the US was
equally wary of the fact that Iran’s influence in the region was reaching
unprecedented heights, beginning with the US invasion of Iraq and the rise
of Shia political exclusivism there. The astounding victory of Hezbollah
against the much more sophisticated, US-armed Israeli military in
July-August 2006 war was another battle that the US was forced to yield to
Iran, whose confidence, as exhibited in the speed and intensity of its
nuclear program, is at an all time high. Hamas’ survival in the face of the
decided American-Israeli campaign prolonged and strengthened the Iranian
alliance. Expectedly, Iran vowed hundreds of millions of dollars to support
the Hamas government, funds that are largely blocked from entering the
Occupied Territories.

Contrary to the recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton report, the Bush
administration is yet to heed the advice of engaging, rather than isolating
Syria and Iran, despite the fact that the latter’s considerable sway over
many Iraqi Shia groups is giving it a serious stake in determining the
stability thus future of Iraq.

Fatah had received generous financial help from the US, and President Bush
recently requested the Congress to approve an additional $85 million,
notwithstanding massive amounts of American weapons and training. But even
more directly, according to the Washington Post, citing senior US officials,
the US decided to upgrade its confrontation with Iran by ordering the
killing of Iran’s ‘agents’ in Iraq, put at nearly 40,000 individuals. All of
these policy revelations coincide with the US pronouncement to beef up its
naval presence in the Gulf, the surest sign of the encroaching military
showdown between the US and Iran.

The lines of hostility have never been clearer between the two countries,
where the US is still spearheading a campaign aimed at banishing Israel’s
remaining foes, joined by Israel, Fatah and Arab governments who are
increasingly uneasy over the Shia political resurgence. On the other side,
Iran stands backed by Syria, many of Iraq’s Shia and Hamas — the latter
being unwittingly shoved into the alarming equation. Though Iran may seem
the weakest link, its strength stems from two important cards, one being the
US military failure in Iraq, and the other Israel’s poor performance in its
most recent military showdown in Lebanon.

That said, one should not succumb to the analysis that puts the entire blame
for this unfolding drama on the active Cold War between the US and Iran. In
Lebanon, for example, sectarianism and factionalism, similar to Iraq’s
sectarianism and tribalism, has rendered the country nationally fragmented
and hardly possesses the necessary requirement of a nation state, where
allegiance is made to the state, not to a sect, clan or tribe. The same is
true for the Palestinians, where corruption is rife and disunity has been
the longest defining factor of the Palestinian political temperament. While
plenty can be said as of how physical fragmentation has lead to national
disintegration in Palestine, and how many Palestinian groups, willingly or
otherwise, served the interest of regional powers, the truth is that the
Fatah- Hamas clash was forthcoming and preceded the US’s ongoing blunders in
the region. The US-Israeli backing of Fatah merely exposed the perpetual
weaknesses that have marred Palestinian society for generations, by
providing political, financial and military requirements to intensify the
fight so that Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation might
fizzle out, an evident outcome of the current fighting.

It is indeed more than disheartening to see that Palestinians have
themselves surrendered readily to the Israeli and American designs, allowing
their revolting factionalism to morph into a near civil war which has
already harvested many lives. Those responsible for the violence —  blame
that can no longer be placed on a cluster of individuals —  must have
forgotten that their infighting is taking place in an occupied land,
besieged by Israeli fences and walls, and under the watchful eye of Israeli
intelligence, who must be brimming with glee as Palestinians are shamelessly
slaughtering one another, a job that has for a long time been reserved for
Israel, and for Israel alone.

-Ramzy Baroud’s latest book, The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of
a People’s Struggle (Pluto Press), is available at Amazon.com and also from
the University of Michigan Press. His website is ramzybaroud.net