With the Palestinian death toll at 167, and with no Israelis killed, one must question the validity of Hamas’s discourse on resistance and call for a collective rethinking of the Arab political culture.
The Palestinian people is at a turning point in its modern history as the Arab countries who are supposed to back them up are torn apart and are totally preoccupied with resolving internal conflicts. The international community is manipulated by the Zionist media and lobbies; Europeans and Americans believe the Israelis’ claim that they are victims of terrorism, and support their war on Hamas. It is more practical for the Palestinians to rely on themselves to manage their conflicts with Israel and pave the way for a future Palestinian state.
Israel is well aware of the situation and is bent on cutting the grass of Hamas’s militancy by dealing a fatal blow to this Islamist movement. Whatever the excuse, Israel launched its operation “protective Edge” on Tuesday and hasn’t eased its aerial bombardment of Ghaza since then. In the Hebrew Biblical tradition, war against enemies is legitimate; so don’t expect the Israelis to feel embarrassed by their killing of children and the disabled. To counteract any reproach from the international community, Israel warns Ghaza Targets by phone and leaflets, and even gives them two long minutes to escape from death.
This generous act appeases their critics in western countries who are already biased against Palestinians and Islamism and who consider the killed children as a collateral damage that can’t be avoided. Hamas‘s armed wing, the Azzedine Al-Qassam brigades, launch rockets that kill nobody as they either are shot down by the Iron Dome anti-missile system or fall in open areas. They claim, though, that they have made victory over Israel because no militants were killed! Other citizens who have nowhere to hide from Israeli missiles and bombs, are put in harm’s way and must die to keep the myth of resisting Israel with crude homemade weapons alive.
This Brechtian absurd reality makes Arabs and Muslims indignant but most of them don’t keep enough critical distance toward what’s happening in Ghaza. The religious feeling of solidarity makes them unable to see the bare facts: a lot of people die but in vain as Hamas has made no political gains and Israel is always gaining ground, imposing more and more conditions for peace. My point is not to ask Palestinians to give in and accept the occupation, but actually I invite them to resist in ways that are more effective in a world where might is right and the most powerful ubiquitously and insidiously circulate a certain truth about us. We need to recognize this foucauldian interdependence of power and knowledge (truth) and we have to find (or prepare as the Koran urges us to do) more might to support our rights and be able to face our enemy on equal terms.
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