Gaza Is Not on the Shelf

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

Writings recur about the indifference of the Arab regimes, the Egyptian regime foremost among them, to the electricity crisis in Gaza, and some writers say the regimes are now preoccupied with the Syrian crisis and pay no attention to Gaza’s problems. Matters have gone so far that Mr. Ismail Haniyeh has appealed to the regimes to help resolve the crisis.

No — the Arab regimes are not preoccupied and diverted from Gaza; rather, they are preoccupied with Gaza, and the crisis is manufactured to achieve political goals. The Arab regimes, along with some Palestinians, Israel, and the Western states, have previously tightened the noose on Gaza and worked to stir internal strife in order to change the political situation there. Israel has also previously waged, on behalf of most of the Arab regimes, a war on Gaza in order to change the political situation, but all these attempts failed.

I have written on this subject several times, warning the Syrian opposition against chasing after the Arab regimes and the United States, but Dr. Ghalioun misjudged the matter and thought well of their efforts.

Since the Syrian regime, according to the Arab-Israeli-American alliance, has become — as was thought — on the verge of collapse, there is no objection to manufacturing an electricity crisis in Gaza, especially in the winter season, in the hope that the people of Gaza will rise up against Hamas, causing the existing political order to collapse. The pillars of the alliance calculated that the weakening of the Syrian regime would lead to the weakening of Hamas, even if Hamas were not a supporter of that regime, and that it was therefore important to deal Hamas a blow, exploiting the weakness that had resulted, especially in the era of the Arab uprisings.

Another important point, one that must be noted, is that America and Israel are working with all their effort and weight to secure the position of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in Egypt, which serves as a guardian of Mubarak’s regime. This council is not happy about the presence of weapons in Gaza, or about rebellion outside the framework of the Oslo Accord and the agreements with Israel that followed it. There is a fear that Hamas might influence the Muslim Brotherhood movement, should the elections bring one of its own to the presidency, and push it toward open hostility with Israel.

What is the solution? It would be best for Hamas to manufacture a crisis, so that the Arab-Israeli-American alliance understands that the price of the electricity siege on Gaza will be steep. Hamas has manufactured a crisis before, when the citizens stormed the imaginary Palestinian-Egyptian border, and I think that ideas for manufacturing a new crisis are not lacking.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “غزة ليست على الرف” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.