Analysis: The Palestinians on the Gaza street no longer believe that their living conditions will ever improve. The fiery protests of the past few days are an uprising in the making and have exposed, for the first time, the potential of toppling the Hamas government from the inside.
When thousands of members of “The Young” movement marched last Thursday on the streets of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip, chanting the battle cry of the Tahrir Square, “Al sha'ab yureed iskat al-nizam” (the people want the fall of the regime), they attracted the attention of quite a few people in the Israeli defense establishment. There was a feeling that we are witnessing a rerun of the Arab Spring, threatening the Hamas regime this time.
This demonstration was the highlight of about 10 popular protests held in the strip in the past month, since the heavy cold wave began. It was the biggest popular protest since Hamas rose to power about 10 years ago, and it was held on the backdrop of the deteriorating living conditions. Palestinian journalists have been referring to this protest as ‘The Electricity Intifada,’ and it has already generated symbols: A Palestinian who set himself on fire in Jabalia outside the offices of a charity organization, and three babies who died of hypothermia.
Hamas panicked. While its leaders are used to periods of unrest among the public during the heavy cold of January and the heavy heat of August due to the lack of electricity, this year the protest took on dimensions which could have been interpreted as a revolt. Alarm bells began ringing in the region’s countries: For the first time, the potential of toppling the Hamas government from the inside was exposed.
The Israeli policy is driven by the fear that Hamas’ collapse at the current stage will create chaos in the strip, which will pave the way not only for ISIS fighters from Sinai but also for 14 armed organizations of different types and dozens of armed clans from within the strip, which will make life in southern Israel intolerable. Moreover, as long as Hamas controls Gaza, the current Israeli leadership is gaining from the split in Palestinian society, between Gaza and Ramallah. So why ruin it?
Palestinians in the streets of Gaza, for their part, have had enough. The slogan used by Hamas to take over Gaza—“Islam is the solution”—has lost its meaning. Ten years of siege and Operation Protective Edge have dealt a death blow to the chance that the living conditions there will ever improve. The “Electricity Intifada” is an uprising in the making. It’s just a sign of things to come.
[Lets hope so]
A pro-Palestinian professor created controversy on Thursday after commenting that under the incoming Trump administration, advocates for Israel would come to "infest" the United States government.
During an interview with Chicago public radio station WBEZ, Columbia University Professor of Modern Arab Studies Rashid Khalidi surmised that supporters of Israel would have greater influence on incoming US President Donald Trump, which would impose a new "vision" of the Middle East disproportionately favoring the Israeli government.
During an interview with Chicago public radio station WBEZ, Columbia University Professor of Modern Arab Studies Rashid Khalidi surmised that supporters of Israel would have greater influence on incoming US President Donald Trump, which would impose a new "vision" of the Middle East disproportionately favoring the Israeli government.
"So they have a vision whereby the occupied territories aren’t occupied, they have a vision whereby there is no such thing as the Palestinians, they have a vision whereby international law doesn’t exist, they have a vision whereby the United States can unilaterally cancel a decision in the United Nations," Khalidi said.
"And unfortunately, these people infest the Trump transition team, these people are going to infest our government as of January 20. And they are hand in glove with a similar group of people in the Israeli government and Israeli political life who think that whatever they think can be imposed on reality," he added.
"And unfortunately, these people infest the Trump transition team, these people are going to infest our government as of January 20. And they are hand in glove with a similar group of people in the Israeli government and Israeli political life who think that whatever they think can be imposed on reality," he added.
The inauguration of Donald Trump will mark the first time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ever had a Republican to work with in the White House.
Bill Clinton was President in Bibi’s first term (1996 to 1999) and repeatedly pressured Israel to make dangerous concessions to Yasser Arafat. When Bibi resisted, Clinton deployed his top political advisors — James Carville, Bob Shrum and Stan Greenberg – to run Ehud Barak’s campaign to oust Netanyahu from office.
When Bibi returned to office in March 2009, Barack Obama had just been inaugurated. The Illinois Democrat proceeded to skip Israel on his first visit to the region. He suggested creating “daylight” between America and Israel would help make peace. He aggressively pressured Israel to divide Jerusalem and to retreat to the indefensible pre-1967 lines. And when Netanyahu balked, Obama made Hillary Clinton his “designated yeller.”
In his final days in office, Obama doubled down on this disastrous legacy, refusing to veto back Israel at the U.N. and supporting a pointless “peace conference” in Paris that excluded Israelis and Palestinians.
For Netanyahu, Friday can’t come soon enough.
Dismissing recent moves by Obama and the French as the “final palpitations of yesterday’s world,” Netanyahu told reporters, “Tomorrow will look a lot different, and tomorrow is very close.”
The Israeli public overwhelmingly agrees. Fully 83% of Israelis say they expect Trump to be “pro-Israel,” according to a December poll.
This may prove true, but a new strategic challenge is emerging: a growing number of Democrats are turning against the Jewish State.
“There is now a 41-point gap between the shares of Republicans (74%) and Democrats (33%) who say they sympathize more with Israel,” finds a new Pew Research survey. “This is the largest party gap in views on this question in surveys dating to 1978.”
Liberal support for Israel, in particular, is cratering. In 2001, 48% of self-described liberal Democrats said they sympathized with Israel. But the latest Pew poll found that number has plummeted to just 26% today.
Plummeting liberal support for Israel also helps explains how Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison is a serious contender to be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee despite widespread criticism of his hostility towards Israel. “Keith Ellison’s record is one of overwhelming anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activities,” argues Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America. Haim Saban, a billionaire donor to the Democrats, says Ellison is “clearly an anti-Semite and anti-Israel individual.”
Of self-described liberals, 53% believe Obama was right to go after Israel. Among those describing themselves as “very liberal,” 56% want Washington to get tougher on Israel.
True, the Trump-Pence administration is expected to be pro-Israel. But growing numbers of liberals, Independents and young people are breaking against Israel. This is a serious strategic challenge and one Israeli leaders and American friends of the Jewish state urgently must analyze and address.
As it has been recently noted by the Italian journal Gli Occhi Della Guerra, once Donald Trump won the recent presidential election, one could start tracing strange patterns in the behavior of the 86-year-old President of the Open Society Foundation, George Soros, who controls a variety of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world. The media source notes that Soros has been paying for anti-Trump protests, while claiming that American people have elected a novice dictator who is supported by incompetent managers who often express radical views and positions.
As it’s been reported by various media sources, demonstrations are planned to be held by a protest group DisruptJ20 in Washington next Friday. The group claims that it wants to prevent Donald Trump from being inaugurated by closing down 12 security checkpoints at the US Capitol, which may result in massive riots and numerous cases of civil disobedience. It’s been announced that protesters will be coordinated by volunteers. According to the National Park Service, protest permits have already been handed over to a total of 27 groups, which is four time higher than one can expect on average during a US president inauguration.
As it’s been noted by Reuters, a representative of the Trump transition team could not be immediately reached for comment, nor could a spokesman for the District of Columbia police, even though it has been previously been stated that DC authorities are prepared for any attempt to disrupt the event.
The scheme of transforming such “protests” in coups d’etat have been tried and tested by George Soros in Belgrade (2000), Tbilisi (2003), Kiev (2004) and other countries, where Soros-funded NGOs triggered all sorts of “color revolutions”.
Against the background of George Soros’s role played in sponsoring unrest both abroad at the home front, it’s curious what positions the Trump administration will take on allowing him to “sharpen his color revolution tools” even further.
1 comment:
Such an incredibly tense day this is going to be. Referring to the US inauguration – what will happen is anyone's guess. Not to mention the rest of the tenseness around the globe. Praying that the Lord keep us all safe and focused upon Him. Maranatha!!!
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