Why
are the Israeli military invading Palestine
and Lebanon,
again?
John Gowland, Perth
Why?
The invasion of the Gaza Strip in Palestine and the invasion of Lebanon is not about the captured Israeli soldier.
The Israeli soldiers only want the return of the soldiers; they have
been deceived as have the Israeli people. If all three soldiers were
returned today this would not stop the invasions.
Palestinians, Arabs and most working people throughout the world were
at first bemused about Israeli’s attack on Gaza, …. “All this for just one soldier?”
Then it dawned on the people of Palestine and Lebanon: this invasion
has been planed to drive wedges between the people in these countries
and Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. It is also
an attempt to consolidate all Israelis to support the Israeli state.
CNN reported that on the streets of Lebanon the youth who
have not been interested in politics, are at this moment driving around
the streets of the cities and towns screaming support for Hezbollah. In a later report the so called left
wing peace groups in Israel are saying that
Hezbollah has to be dealt with. This is what the attacks on Palestine and Lebanon is about divide
and rule the people of the Middle East.
These invasions will
increase the already huge support for Hamas and Hezbollah. These organisations
are not traditional terrorist groups they have a mass membership and
support. Socialists condemn the suicide bombing of civilians, in part
because it disempowers working people and
brings more state terror. But in the Middle East these organisations are not seen as
terrorists, the terrorists are the state terrorists of Israel and the US governments. Both in Gaza and Lebanon these mass organisations are, for
the most part, the only source providing education, health general welfare
and defence. Time and again when Gaza and Lebanon have been invaded it is not the governments
that have organised the defence of the people it has been Hamas and
Hezbollah. It is not lost on the Israeli and US governments that these
organisations were actual curtailing their suicide bombings and becoming
the mainstay political organisations of these areas. Hamas, until very
recently had ceased suicide bombings for two years!
The growth of Islamic parties internationally is a
direct result of the imperialist aggression on much weaker countries.
In many ways support for such organisations, and increasingly on a government
scale is seen as the only way out.
These invasions have been planned with the full support
and advise of the Pentagon, Bush and other
world capitalists want to consolidate support in their own countries
against the new boggy man, they created, Islamic Fundamentalists.
Is it a personal hatred of Islam?
In the Arab and Islamic world there is the belief
is that the Bush government have a deep seated racial hatred of Islam.
The Bush Government is full of fundamentalist
Christians. Even John Howard has a similar racist hatred. In May of
2006 Howard went on radio saying he was affronted by Muslim women wearing
black on the streets of Australia. But these
US government supported invasions are not just personal it is mainly
political, holding on to and extending power is fundamental aim of capitalist
power.
Devastation of nations.
To the people of the Middle East Lebanon is The Paris
of the Middle East, or jewel of the Middle East. It has taken Lebanon twenty years
to recover from the Israeli occupation. The main source of income is
from Arab tourism, days before the Israeli invasion the streets of Beirut were
full of tourists, mainly from the Gulf States. This was the first year in twenty
that the economy boomed. In one day this country has all but been destroyed.
The economy is shattered; the loss to tourism and the economy is near
fatal. But also communications, roads and airports disabled, the only
exodus is via pot filled roads bombed by Israeli missiles. After twenty
years of families struggling to make a living all shattered in a day
of inhumane bombing. In Gaza what little infrastructure was left is also being dismantled. Even
the United Nations, usually cowering quietly to the US government, has warned
of a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza on a frightening scale, with little
power, safe water and sanitation, not to mention food.
The plans of the Israeli and US governments.
The Israeli and US leaders
don’t want governments in Palestine and Lebanon to implode, its too much trouble administrating a constantly rebellious
people. They also don’t want the huge headache of feeding, supplying
food, water, power and all the other essential and social services needed.
They also have horrible memories of when they occupied
South Lebanon and the cycle of capturing of soldiers on both sides and the endless
deals to get captured back.
Zeev Elkin, a member of Israel's parliament
from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima Party, says the
events in Gaza "require new thinking" about West Bank withdrawal. "The Israeli military
might need to consider leaving a presence there even if the settlers
are evacuated to prevent a security vacuum."
It seems as though a re-occupation of both Gaza and parts of southern Lebanon is inevitable. This will be accompanied by ever more suffering. But
the US and Israeli leadership are playing with fire. Every step they
take creates more opposition and the very forces they say they are against.
What is beyond doubt is that the very nature of capitalism
will propel it to more wars and invasions, the increased, demonisation of sections of societies to hold on to power
and resources. But it is also tinged with the ugly side of humanity
of racist and religious hatred.
Now for the first time an Israeli attack on Syria and Iran is seriously on the cards. Wait for the excuses of direct support
for terrorist organisations and a movement of US war ships moving into
the area to “create stability” to back up the Israeli attacks.
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