The main confrontation between the Israeli ruling capitalist elite and the Palestinian
working people which have continued forcefully over the last few weeks forms part of
ongoing efforts by Israel to transfer them out of Palestine, or at least pressure them
into voluntary transfer. ---- The pressure is applied in the territories still in the
possession of the Palestinian citizens of Israel and more intensively in the territories
occupied after the war of 1967 and still held by the Palestinians - mainly in the
territories annexed to Jerusalem, the C-status areas of the West Bank and the areas
adjacent to the separation fence of the Gaza Strip. ---- The current confrontation ----
The reason for the eruption of the intense confrontation of recent weeks is the recent
intensification of international pressure exerted on Israel to withdraw from the
territories occupied in the 1967 war. Most of its efforts are to relieve this pressure,
and to overcome the contribution of the recent agreement between the West Bank (partly)
ruling elite and the Hamas ruling elite of the Gaza Strip.
Years ago, in order to diminish the pressure to get out of the territories of Palestine
occupied in the 1967 war, Israel gave in to a small extent, evacuating its settlers from
the Gaza Strip, taking its forces out of it and ending its direct rule. It converted the
Gaza Strip into a huge ghetto, controlling all supplies entering into it or going out, and
all movement in and out by the residents. As part of its strategy when Israel partly
"freed" the Gaza Strip, it refrained from an orderly transfer of jurisdiction and internal
rule of the area to the Palestinian Authority, instead enabling it to be taken over by the
separatist Hamas fundamentalists - which Israel itself promoted years ago as competition
to the Palestinian ruling elite with whom it had made the Oslo Accords twenty years ago.
Controlling the residents of the Gaza Strip and its regime (and avoiding setting it
entirely free from Israeli hegemony) is a way to protect Israel's main efforts to keep its
rule in the West Bank.
Israel's repeated refusal over many years to sign a non-aggression treaty (tahadia, or
ceasefire) with the Hamas ruling elite revealed a significant part of the lies and excuses
about an "inability to reach agreement with Hamas".
When the change of regime in Egypt defeated the Muslim Brotherhood, which Hamas was allied
with, the siege of Gaza saw an immense increase and the supply pipeline of resources and
funds to the Hamas regime was almost lost. As an act of desperation, the Hamas ruling
elite came to an agreement of conditional surrender to the ruling elite of the Palestinian
Authority in the West Bank (whose details have not yet been finalized). This threatened
the Israeli strategy of divide and rule which worked for so many years and was part of the
justification for avoiding a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority and a
withdrawal from the West Bank occupied in the 1967 war.
To disrupt this surrender agreement and unity between the existing splits in the
Palestinian ruling elite, Israel launched an attack on Hamas - both in the West Bank and
in the Gaza Strip - with the hope of inciting an intense confrontation whose resolution
will restore the independent rule of a separate, weakened and submissive Hamas... But the
Egyptian government ruled by General Sisi which was responsible in the first place for
cutting supples to the Gaza Strip ruled by Hamas, refused to play its part because of its
enmity with the Muslim Brotherhood and its Hamas branch, and thwarted this attempt.
The confrontation is still far from resolution
Top Israeli heads admit that they want Hamas rule in Gaza to continue. However, Israel's
immediate rejection of Hamas' conditions for an immediate ceasefire - without ending the
occupation - is conclusive evidence of the real motives behind Israel's current
hostilities. Hamas itself publicly admits that it will agree to a no-fire agreement
lasting many years which is less than independent (and will agree to less, if minimal
supplies of materials and money enabling it to continue functioning are ensured). However
the Egyptians are still refusing "to play ball".
Israel could independently consolidate the rule of Hamas in the Gaza Strip - independent
of the West Bank Palestinian Authority and independent of Egyptian cooperation. However,
the sacrifices involved are so large and the political costs and dangers are so great that
Israel is trying to gain time and delay the resolution by increasing the pressure on the
Hamas elite, and try secret political efforts to pressure Egypt behind the scenes to yield
a bit, in the hope of reaching a better and cheaper agreement.
Ilan Shalif
For more on the Israeli anarchist communists' position on the Palestinian struggle, see
Ahdut's (Unity) Position Paper at http://www.anarkismo.net/article/27019
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* The Israeli National Socialist elite that has dominated the Zionist settler colonialist
project in Palestine, established the State of Israel. It was sponsored by the imperial
powers and functioned in their service. After establishing Israel, it was pressured/forced
to promote an Israeli capitalist elite. This capitalist elite, nurtured by the National
Socialist elite into which is integrated part of the older elite, integrated into the
global capitalist system, and controlling Israel for the past 37 years - since taking over
rule in 1977.
The Israeli capitalist elite continues with the Zionist settler colonialist project which
enables it to exploit the toiling masses in Israel and in the occupied areas of 1967
(including the Gaza Strip) while functioning as a junior partner in the global imperial
system. Besides the Palestinian lands being taken over and pressuring the Palestinians to
transfer, the occupied territories supply cheap wage slaves, and are held as captive
markets and suppliers of natural resources.
Anarchists Against the Wall: http://awalls.org
Ahdut: http://unityispa.wordpress.com/
Related Link: http://ilanisagainstwalls.blogspot.com
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