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Thank you Gaza; message received

Pro-Palestine-protest-inGermany-on-30-JULY-2014

Everyone has the right to recognise Gaza’s honour and pride and praise its people for their heroism, which has written a new chapter in the Arab-Zionist conflict. Due to their epic battle over the past few weeks, witnessed by the whole world, against those who have defined themselves as civilised and modern but were able to kill women and children unlawfully and in cold-blood, the Palestinians in Gaza have provided rich material for analysts and historians for many years to come. Despite their limited capabilities, the Palestinians have triumphed and can add this victory to the list of their many achievements.

Gaza is now associated with pride in the free world and has become a symbol of heroism, steadfastness and victory. However, it also symbolises the international community’s hypocrisy and exploitation of “human rights”, “the fight against terrorism”, “protection of children and women”, and “international conventions”. Their mantras on such issues sound like broken records. Will Obama, the criminal Netanyahu and other leaders succeed in convincing the younger generations around the world that they are really fighting terrorism while they are committing one massacre of civilians after another? There is a history of Israeli massacres of Palestinians, and while we reflect on them the bottom line will always be that Gaza triumphed.

Gaza’s victory is special because the circumstances under which the current war began are completely different to Israel’s previous attacks. In addition to this, the ordeal itself was different, with Egypt under the military coup regime playing a very different role. The Arab world is unstable and faces internal conspiracies aided by foreign states against the will of the people, Egypt included.

Israel’s latest attack on the Gaza Strip will go down in history for three reasons. First, besieged Gaza has triumphed through the steadfastness and resourcefulness of its people. The Palestinians have impressed the world even though a great deal of time and effort has been spent trying to isolate them.

The second point is the hypocrisy of the international community, especially the larger countries which monopolise political, military and economic decisions. They do not translate any of the human rights, democracy and justice slogans, which they promote in their universities and media, into actions on the ground.

The third issue is the official Arab position, which has moved from secret collusion and hypocrisy to open and public collaboration with Israel, with notable exceptions such as Tunisia, Sudan and Qatar. The collaborators have done this out of their desire to eliminate the Palestinian resistance that has now become a symbol of honour and pride, and to ensure the survival of their own regimes. Why are they demanding conditions to be complied with by Hamas while they are witnessing the crimes committed by Israel against civilians, including women and children?

Arabs, Muslims and every other human being with the tiniest bit of dignity, have acknowledged the strength of the people of Gaza and opposed the actions of their own governments by taking to the streets in solidarity with the Palestinians. Nevertheless, as the bodies are being dragged from beneath the rubble in Gaza, the people are asking, “Where are you, Arabs? Where are you?”

Such messages from Gaza, as the Palestinians count the cost of the destruction and the number of dead and wounded, are very strong. What is the meaning of the unified political and military resistance among the various factions in the Gaza Strip? What about the words of the people who now thank the resistance fighters readily, to the extent that they are prepared to risk their lives and money for them?

Yes, there are media and political platforms, unfortunately they nearly all belong to Arabs, which push a different interpretation of events. However, the truth is that the Palestinian people, and the people of Gaza in particular, are certain and firm in their belief that unity with the resistance, along with their steadfastness and patience, is the only way to end Israel’s brutal occupation and colonisation of Palestine.

Many will write about Gaza and its glory, as well as about Palestine and the steadfastness of its people, and the resistance and its achievements. I would like to thank Gaza and its people for wiping away much of our collective shame, and say with unmatched humility in my heart: Thank you Gaza; message received.

Translated from Al Araby Al Jadid, 7 August 2014

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