The Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmad abu al-Ghait, recently threatened to break the legs of any Palestinian if they tried to cross the Egyptian border again. His comments came days after Palestinians from Gaza broke through the Egyptian Rafah border seeking temporary relief from the siege that the occupying forces have been imposing on the Gazans.
The brutality of Abu al-Ghait's comments amazes me. Instead of advocating breaking the siege, he threatens to break the legs of those under siege.
This same government is one that recently had to apply to Israel to seek permission to increase the number of border patrol on the Egyptian border. The application was refused!! Ironically, this initiative by the Egyptian government was in response to Israel's request to better control the borders to prevent the siege on Gaza being breached.
So in the midst of this humiliation and lack of control over his country’s border, Ahmad abu al-Ghait decides to attack an easy target. He announces the gruesome threat to cut the legs of anyone who violates the Egyptian border. It takes no genius to work out that he is referring to the Palestinians and not Israelis. Israelis, under the Camp David peace accord, are free to enter Sinai with no visas.
Mr Ahmad abu al-Ghait, it is time to make a stance of courage, a stance of humanity a stance of justice. Break the siege ….. don’t break the legs of those under siege.
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Egyptians Have Changed Their Attitude Toward Gaza Border Chaos, U.S. Tells Israel - Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff
Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch visited Egypt, Israel and the PA last week and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to visit the region shortly. Welch said that the breaching of the Gaza-Egypt border wall by Hamas has led to a significant change in Egypt's attitude. He said the Egyptians are now more ready than ever to cooperate to change the situation at the border as well as combat smuggling there. (Ha'aretz)
Egypt Grills Arabs Who Entered Gaza - Khaled Abu Toameh
Egyptian authorities have begun questioning hundreds of foreign Arabs who entered Gaza after the border was breached, and then returned to Sinai. Some 2,000 foreigners, mostly Egyptians, are believed to have entered Gaza. (Jerusalem Post)
Is the "Armed Resistance" Dying Down? - Zvi Bar'el
In a sharply critical commentary in Al-Hayat, Majed Kialy wrote, "Somewhere along the way, the Palestinians have lost sight of the real cause." Hamas' "grandiose" objective of "liberating all the land which was occupied in 1948" is unachievable. "Instead of making the withdrawal from Gaza a national achievement, it has become a liability for the Palestinian national project," he says. Hamas has "increased its military might within Palestinian society, but has diminished its capacity to act against Israel." "These facts require courage and self-criticism especially on the part of Hamas' leadership, who must tell the people with all honesty that the armed resistance is dying down." This is an internal Palestinian debate that does not usually reach Israeli ears. (Ha'aretz)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
What Is Israel to Do? Ignore the Attacks? - David A. Harris
Israel withdrew all its forces and civilians from Gaza more than two years ago. It created the first opportunity in Gaza's history for self-governance. Never before, certainly not during Egyptian military rule till 1967, did local residents have their fate in their own hands. Those who predicted that governance would moderate the Hamas message were proven wrong. And those in capitals from Moscow to Riyadh who believed they could talk sense to Hamas had little to show for their efforts.
Israel faces an Iranian-financed franchise on its border. Since Israel left Gaza, literally thousands of rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli towns and villages have occurred. What is Israel to do? Ignore the attacks? Turn the other cheek? Some would have Israel negotiate with Hamas, but over what? If the other party does not recognize your right to exist, what is there to discuss? The timetable for your own destruction? Others propose a hudna, or temporary truce. But if the outcome is to allow Hamas to strengthen its terrorist infrastructure, much as Hizbullah did in southern Lebanon after Israel's unilateral withdrawal in 2000, then Hamas, not Israel, benefits.
Hamas wants to use Gaza as a launching pad against Israel, while seeking protection from the international community. That gives new meaning to the word chutzpah. To protect the possibility of peace, the international community mustn't let Hamas get away with it. The writer is executive director of the American Jewish Committee. (Miami Herald)
Gaza's Factions Take Their Fight to Elementary School Playgrounds - Peter Beaumont
The four armed men who assaulted eight-year-old Shahab al-Akhras on a street corner in Rafah for wearing the black-and-white checked scarf associated with Fatah were wearing the uniforms of Hamas' Executive Force, Fatah's deadly rival. "They said that if they saw me wearing the scarf again they would shoot me in the legs," said the boy. The internal struggle between the Islamist Hamas and Fatah in Gaza is now over Gaza's children. "There is a preoccupation among the children about the issue of who is Hamas and who is Fatah," said Iyad Sarraj, a Palestinian psychologist.
The children of Fatah families in particular, who saw fathers, brothers and uncles defeated by Hamas last June, are taking responsibility for the adult world. They fly the yellow Fatah flag on their bicycles to taunt the gunmen of the Executive Force, on occasion riding in gangs through Hamas demonstrations. They sometimes throw stones and insults, shouting "Shia!" at Hamas members. Ghazi Hamid, a former spokesman for Hamas, says, "I have never seen such splits in Palestinian society. Such hatred. And it really worries me. I have eight children and they talk about what goes on in school. The children abuse each other over what party they say they follow." (Observer-UK)
Observations:
Restraint Is Not Possible - Editorial (Ha'aretz)
The firing of Kassam rockets against Sderot and the nearby kibbutzim is not stopping and is extracting a heavy price in terms of fear and blood. Responsibility for the shooting from Gaza, which has been going on for seven years, falls on the Palestinians. Were it not for the shooting, Israel would not respond. For the past eight months Hamas has ruled Gaza alone, and it is no longer possible to explain away the shooting as due to a lack of control over rogue organizations.
Are the West Bank and Gaza still one entity, aspiring to establish an independent state alongside Israel? Is it possible that in all situations, Israel will hold negotiations for the establishment of such a state while Hamas is shooting at it? Israel left Gaza in the summer 2005 to signal the start of an end to the occupation. The ball passed to the Palestinian court, where it has been stuck after the Palestinians elected Hamas, which opposes a peace agreement with Israel.
If the limited military actions Israel is undertaking in an effort to bring an end to the Kassam rockets will not bring an end to the shooting; if the moderate states, and first and foremost Egypt and Jordan, fail to contain Hamas - Israel will have no option but to embark on a broad military operation.
The Israel Defense Forces raison d'etre is to protect the country's citizens from attack. Israel must prove that the blood of its citizens cannot be forfeited - so that in the future, its neighbors will abide by the agreements to which they have committed.
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