Saleem Qamar
A series of coordinated attacks, conducted by the Palestinian Islamist liberation fighter group Hamas, from the Gaza Strip onto bordering areas in Israel, commenced on Saturday 7 October 2023, a Sabbath day and date of several Jewish holidays. The attacks, referred to as Operation Al-Aqsa Flood by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups and Black Saturday in Israel, initiated the ongoing 2023 Israel–Hamas war, nearly fifty years to the day after the Yom Kippur War began on 6 October 1973.
What has been projected by the Israeli and American sources as revelations after the Hamas greatest tactical, operational and strategic surprise, either to cover up their intelligence failure to pre-empt or as a ruse to hide the induced attack by Hamas is beyond belief either way. As per them, the tunnel network, known as the “Gaza metro,” serves Hamas for storage, movement, and command. Hamas used hardwired phone lines within the tunnels for covert communication over two years, evading Israeli intelligence. This allowed a successful surprise attack on Israel, with specific plans disclosed shortly before the operation, catching intelligence agencies off guard. The surprise attack by Hamas, untraced preparations, quantum of rockets fired, failure of Iron Dome air defence system, much delayed reaction by the IDF, casualties/ hostages taken accepted and immediately jumping in of USA/ UK and other allies including India in the so called war between a ragtag militant group and the most modern Armed Forces is mind boggling to say the least.
There are a lot of debates still going on in order to figure out as to how could few thousand Hamas fighters living under complete siege of a small sized Gaza Strip ( 41 kilometers (25 miles) long, from 6 to 12 km (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide, and has a total area of 365 km2 roughly the size of Washington DC, with 2.3 million population) and with heavy sprinkle of Israeli human and technical intelligence all over Gaza, achieve such detailed preparations and conduct execution undetected deep inside Israel occupied areas? After all Israel is considered to be the 5th technologically most advanced armed forces duly backed up by the USA/UK and other allies like India. So why just a few hours after the motley Hamas fighters’ presumably induced incursions, Israel puts global media monopoly to use and made hue and cry as it had been invaded by a Super Power, suffering another holocaust and USA responded with alacrity… politically, diplomatically and militarily by moving its Aircraft carriers, destroyers and air force in support of Israel making UN Security council inert and UN General Assembly as a dud.
How do America and her allies get served by this latest Deep Cut by the Western Deep State? One, the Ukraine misadventure becoming a stalemate, NATO /EU as usual becoming disenchanted sooner than expected due to well-known reasons, hence face saving strategic distraction from Eastern Europe to the Middle East. Two, after a brief US sponsored rapprochement between Israel and America’s overly influenced ME friendly countries, this development may be taken as a stitch in time towards realisation of greater Israel that has also paved the way for greater American Military deployments in the region for even greater interests. Three, it may ultimately also help Israel and parent state and sponsors to eliminate the two main threats still out there as stated by Netanyahu i.e. a Nuclear Pakistan and a potential and hostile Iran…Man proposes, God disposes, nevertheless. Four, Israeli Zionists Jews who call Palestinian as animals, beasts and hostile settlers, are going to execute maximum kill, destruction and expulsions of Palestinians from Gaza and West Bank; and for that reportedly tent villages are already coming up in the Sinai desert sponsored by the USA/ allies. So a two states solution seems to have hit the rock bottom for the Palestine as per Israeli plan. Five, the Hamas attack unwittingly may have also thrown a wrench in the rapprochement process between Saudi Arabia and Iran with China at its back. Six, the envisaged settlement of Palestine issue on the American / Israel’s terms shall also be emulated more vigorously by her second most important strategic ally India for settling the illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir issue in defiance of UN Resolutions and be able to breathe down Chinese and Pakistani necks with pride and relative ease. Seven, American policy and strategy for Asia Pacific Region and Quad Alliance’s potential expansion gets well served with stronger America and allies’ deployment in the region. Eight, Chinese BRI projects and expanding influence in the region and proximity with Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and CARs gets checkmated until and unless responded with equal or even better counter strategy. Nine, American and allies’ Defence Industrial Complexes continue to flourish with ME countries as main buyers till sucked dry and kept on a tight leash militarily, politically and economically with monopoly on their natural resources and markets. Ten, last but not the least, it is likely to keep American led global economic and security structures in place, ensuring effective domination of the Global Commons and least chances of interference in their other spheres of influence. Worst: If the UNO like its redundant predecessor called the League of Nations, failed to control the conflicts mostly perpetrated and supported by the members of the UN Security Council, which have consistently resulted in colossal loss of human lives and economic backlash since 1945, the Gaza / Palestine current conflict may turn into yet another cataclysmic clash of religions/ civilisations, engulfing the world in an end of the world war scenario. Allah forbid!
If the Israelis could face up to their history and to the events from 1949 on, the world would no longer be threatened by the Israel/Palestine dispute and the madness of this conflict. It cannot go on like this into an indefinite future.
