Gilad Atzmon –
Israel
Has Managed to Lose Again
By Gilad Atzmon • Jan 14th, 2009 at 23:55 •
Haaretz reported today that IDF Senior
officials “believe that Israel
should strive to reach an immediate cease-fire with Hamas, and not expand its
offensive against the Palestinian Islamist group in Gaza .”
This
shouldn’t take us by great surprise. Though Israel has proved beyond doubt that
it is rather capable of conducting large-scale genocide, it also proved that
its military forces do not have the answer to Islamic resistance. The
Israeli chief military officials admitted as well that ” Israel achieved several days ago all that it
possibly could in Gaza .”
The IDF, so it seems, finished its role in Gaza . It turned its neighbourhoods into piles
of rubble. Relentlessly, it even murdered the civilian population in broad
daylight by means of air raids and attacks from warships. Images of white
phosphorus artillery shells bursting over schools and hospitals are now part of
our collective memory. Tanks firing into schools loaded with evacuees
seeking refuge from the bombing of their buildings is now the image associated
with the Hebraic soldier and yet, the Israelis failed to achieve any of their objectives.
I must admit that it must take a special talent to be an Israeli general.
As much as they are good in committing war crimes, they somehow fail in
everything else.
The
Israeli politicians initially swore to destroy Hamas, they then lowered their expectations, they promised
just to destroy Hamas’ rocket launching capabilities, all the while reassuring
their excited Israeli voters that this time the Jewish State will fight till
the bitter end. Seemingly, their promises fell too short once again.
Hamas is
still there; its support within the Palestinian street is stronger than ever.
But it is not only the Palestinian street. Hamas’ message of defiance is
spreading all over the Muslim world and beyond. Last week I was marching in London together with
another 100,000 protesters. The support for Hamas was all around. It was on
placards, flags, headbands and loudspeakers. Not only is Hamas far from
being defeated, its rocket launching capability seems to be unaffected. Day
after day Hamas combatants manage to remind Israelis in Ashdod ,
Ashkelon and Sderot that they actually live on
stolen Palestinian land. Give Hamas the necessary time and the ballistic
message will be carried to every corner of stolen Palestine .
Israel is
desperate for an exit strategy. I learned today that Defence Minister Barak is
looking for a week long humanitarian ceasefire. Please do not hold your breath, the notorious mass
murderer didn’t change his spots all of a sudden. Being a veteran general,
Barak realises very well that his soldiers on the ground need a break and they
need it now. Being that they are gathered together in a few scattered
open areas, they are currently exposed to Hamas’ snipers and mortar fire. In
the last few days, Israeli forces started to suffer a growing number of
causalities. The attempt to step up the battle into Gaza ‘s neighbourhood met with some severe
resistance. The Israeli army is stuck once again.
If
this is not enough, within a few days Obama is going to reside in the White
House and the Israelis are not totally convinced that the new American
president will blindly support their murderous strategy. Defence Minister Barak
realizes that his window of opportunity might be closing down. He realises that
IDF soldiers may have to dig in Gaza
city outskirts without achieving any of the war’s military objectives. Barak
needs a few days of ceasefire to create a new reality on the ground. He
obviously prefers to hide behind a humanitarian effort. This is far easier than
admitting that once again the IDF was caught unprepared. Olmert aids, however
were stupid enough to admit the lie. Apparently one of them slammed Barak earlier on today suggesting that “Hamas sees the
scenes and hears the voices, these comments are a shot in the arm for Hamas and
its leaders.”
As
things stand, IDF soldiers are now stranded in Gaza . Don’t misinterpret me, they are still
capable of spreading death and inflicting carnage, yet they cannot win this
war. The IAF ran out of ˜military” targets a week ago and the artillery is
probably facing the same situation. As news floods in it becomes evident that
once Israeli soldiers leave their armoured vehicles and Merkava tanks they are
subject to the mercy of Hamas. I have read today on Ynet that some IDF soldiers
reported that they “don’t really see the enemy”, “we get hit and
we do not know by who and how.”
As
things stand, Hamas is becoming a symbol of heroic persistence. Its combatants
on the ground fight almost with bare hands against America ‘s most lethal technology.
Similarly, Hamas’political leadership has managed to set itself as the key to
any possible resolution of the current conflict. The hope that Hamas would be
toppled or discredited proved to be just another Jewish wet dream. Hamas
is now becoming a widely accepted entity by the international community. It is
regarded as an elementary ingredient in any possible solution. Israel , on the
other hand, is seen for what it is for real, a murderous criminal state
involved in genocidal war crimes of the worst order.
However, there is a new reality that we have to bear in mind. The
damage Israel is leaving behind in Gaza is horrific. It has flattened
neighbourhoods, it has spread white phosphorus in populated areas. As
if this
is not enough, the many tons of bunker buster bombs which Israel was
using day
and night have shaken the foundations of every building in Gaza and the
question looms large as to whether Gazan houses that are still standing
will be
safe to live in. EU officials raised the question today wondering who
is going
to pay for the reconstruction of these eradicated towns, camps and
villages.
In
an ideal ethical world, Israel
would have let the Gazans go back to their land. But ethics and Israel are very
much like parallel lines. They somehow never meet. As much as it is clear that
Palestinians will come back to their land, it won’t be Israel that
that will welcome the inevitable returning Palestinians.
Someone will have to rebuild Gaza ,
and the only name that comes to mind is the democratically elected Hamas. Such
a huge project maintained by Hamas will be the right answer to Israel ‘s
criminal war and its murderous objectives.
Gilad Atzmon (Hebrew: âìòã
òöîåïý, born June 9, 1963) is a jazz musician, author and anti-Zionist activist who was born in Israel and currently lives in London .
He was born a secular Israeli Jew in Tel Aviv, and trained at the Rubin Academy
of Music inJerusalem.[1] His service in the Israeli
military convinced him Israel had become a militarized
state controlled by religious extremists.[2] In 1994,[3] Atzmon
emigrated from Israel to London , where he studied
philosophy.[1]
