December 30th, 2008 | 
Author: The Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip enters its fourth day today with over 350 Arabs purportedly dead and over 600 wounded and figures from all sources with the exception of Hamas imply that the vast majority of casualties were Hamas affiliated. After three days of non-denial Hamas announced today that the policemen that were hit within the first 3-4 minutes of the initial attack were simple policemen doing their jobs and were not affiliated with Hamas.
Israel’s Air Force chief said Monday night, “The army is ready to go all the way” and Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gabriela Shalev, also said on Monday, “the operation will continue as long as necessary until it completely destroys Hamas” and went on to say that “Israel would like to see its negotiating partner, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, regain control of Gaza”.
The attack began soon after Hamas, which is on the terror list of most Western countries, allowed a quasi-cease-fire to lapse and began firing more rockets into Israel. “Quasi” meaning that kassams were continually fired at Israel during the previous six months although Hamas always claimed that other groups were responsible.
After the supposed cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended on Dec. 19, dozens of rockets landed inside Israel, killing one civilian last week and another, an Arab-Israeli, on Monday.
For several weeks, the threats voiced by Israeli politicians were loud and unambiguous and only last Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued a stark warning to the Palestinians in an interview with an Arab TV channel and, “Stop it now, or Israel will respond with violence to the rocket launchers and their backers” was the essence of his message.
A closer look suggests that the attack was intentionally provoked by Hamas which knew that that Israel could not tolerate the relentless cross-border rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip indefinitely and the grisly television pictures that were beamed around the world following the Israeli air raids appear to have been part of its plan. It would appear that the Hamas leadership not only accepted the likelihood that many Palestinian civilians would be hurt following an Israeli attack but were, and are actually counting on it.
Why?
Hamas hopes the current escalation of violence will make the West take it seriously as a negotiating partner but the carnage that it willfully incited will mostly likely have occurred in vain because the Arabs in Gaza and those in the West bank are too politically divided. Abbas for example, condemned the attacks but also blamed Hamas, “We talked to them (Hamas) and we told them ‘please, we ask you, do not end the truce. Let the truce continue and not stop’, so we could have avoided what happened”, and Egypt too considers Hamas to be responsible.
Arabs that were displaced after the various wars with Israel are scattered across the Middle East and their politics fall across the whole political spectrum with some being ready to fight and die to achieve their goal of an Israel free Middle East whilst others seek peace with their Jewish neighbors, and meanwhile the two dominant Palestinian parties, Hamas and Fatah are united only by their hate for one another.
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