Palestine and Lebanon under new Israeli aggression:
Muslim world’s response

Professor Khurshid Ahmad

The Saga of Zionist aggression, violence, terrorism, and illegal occupation of Palestine is spread over a long period of more than half a century.

Jews have always had every opportunity to progress and live in peace in the Muslim world. When they were denied the right to live with dignity in the Christian world, and oppression and discrimination took the form of genocide, then it were the Muslim countries – especially those in the Arab world – who opened not just their doors but also hearts for the oppressed. But the Zionist movement, founded on secular and hegemonic designs, rewarded Muslims for this historic benevolence with terror and violence, deceit and fraud, aggression and occupation in collusion with the hegemonic powers and use of naked force. Soon after the First World War, under the Balfour Declaration, waging a 30-year fight, it at last got a foothold – and was given the status of State through an illegal UN Resolution in 1948.

This is how Israel came into being. But it did not feel contented on this, and continued to expand its area of rule through frequent resort to use of force and military invasion into the neighboring countries’ areas. In 1967, it occupied the whole of Palestine, Golan Heights in Syria, some area in southern Lebanon, and the vast Sinai in Egypt. After the Ramadhan War of 1973, Arab countries tried to rid themselves of the Palestine issue. In a bid to secure their respective interests, they struck Camp David Accord and Oslo Agreement with Israel. In such circumstances, people of Palestine stood up against the Israeli occupation and launched their struggle for freedom. They had gathered under the banner of Al-Fatah to challenge the Israeli occupation, but when Al-Fatah began to dilute their freedom struggle on negotiation table, and politically turned its direction to secularism and adjustment with the U.S., the proud Muslims of Al-Quds held the flag of Islam aloft by continuing their struggle from the platform of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

In spite of their resources and military means, Arab governments not only did not play their due role in the struggle, they practically withdrew themselves from supporting the cause. Separately, through open and secretly reached agreements, they began to establish relations with Israel. In contrast, Hamas continued the struggle and ultimately showed to the world that, despite the acute imbalance of resources and power, Israel and its backers could be challenged and forced to retreat.

It is in this background that Hamas, after proving its mettle in the battlefield, participated in the political democratic process, won public support, and made a successful bid to political power. Its victory in the January 2006 elections for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and Western Jordan transformed the political scene. With this victory, Palestinians’ struggle against Israel and the West entered into a new era. In spite of their tall claims about democracy and its promotion, America and European countries refused to accept the decision of Palestinian people and used every tactic – political, economic and financial – to deny to Hamas its right and opportunity to come to power. When failed to achieve their end, they did whatever they could to sabotage the ‘take off’ of the Hamas government.

During this period, Israel continued targeting Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and every worth-mentioning force in Palestine with military invasion, arson and violence, ‘target killing’, kidnapping, illegal and extra-judicial murders and arrests. It stopped payment of the amount of the tax that is levied on Palestinians. All international aid was stopped, and banks, even those of Muslim and Arab countries, were stopped from transferring financial remittances to Hamas and its government. This is how a whole nation has been ‘under siege’ and is facing ‘genocide’.

Hamas faced all these situations with courage and sagacity. It could not be provoked into war. In fact, it tried to create better conditions through practical cease-fire in spite of all the Israeli incursions, missile attacks, killings and arrests. It also persuaded other Jihadi forces (groups waging armed struggle) for restrain and patience. However, Israeli provocations continued unabated with its attacks on innocent Palestinians and ‘target killings’. In this aggravating situation, a Jihadi group ambushed Israeli troops, on June 25–killing two and capturing one of them. Using this as an excuse, Israel launched a massive military invasion of Gaza and indulged in large-scale destruction. Its cruel and indiscriminate use of force resulted in the martyrdom of dozens of Palestinians, with 70-80 percent among them being women and children. Destroying the electricity system, roads and bridges, schools and hospitals, storage houses, urban areas and markets, Israel has destroyed the whole economic and political infrastructure in Gaza.

In order to release the pressure on Palestinians, Lebanon’s Hezbollah – which is braving Israeli aggression in different forms since 1982, and was a target of Israeli provocations in spite of Israeli evacuation from southern Lebanon in 2002 – did the feat of killing a few Israeli soldiers and capturing two of them alive. This ambush took place on July 12, 2006 after which Israel has killed hundreds of Lebanese people – more than one-third of them children – in its indiscriminate bombardment on civilian population. Like Gaza, the whole civil infrastructure of Lebanon has been destroyed; the loss runs into billions of dollars, and what Lebanon had succeeded to reconstruct in 20 years has now been reduced to dust.

While Israel committed, and is still committing, war crimes and crimes against humanity ever since the victory of Hamas in January 2006 elections, the Western world – and the United Nations – is silent; America and Britain are brazenly supporting Israel whereas Germany is somewhat less brazen. But unfortunate is the stance of Arab world and Muslim countries. They are behaving as bystanders or fence-sitters. Egyptian, Jordanian and Saudi leaders did not even avoid adding insult to injury when they blamed oppressed Palestinian freedom fighters and guerillas of Hezbollah for recent crisis. Mulsim masses are disheartened for the sorry stance of their rulers; they have no fear in their heart, they are rising in protest. But the rulers are insensitive and so fearful of America and Israel that they cannot even condemn naked force and crimes against innocent people. If anyone has said something, it is only in very muted words and with ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’.

Even those Western nations that have not totally sided with America, or whose interests are so linked with the Middle East that they consider public mood in these countries dangerous, are very apologetic to Israel and, in great deference to it, trying to persuade it for restraint while directing all their criticism to Hamas and Hezbollah. The Western media is already engaged in a war against Islam and, with some exceptions, is aggressive and hostile. Like a parrot, it keeps repeating that Hamas and Hezbollah started the present crisis whereas Israel is fighting in its own defense – though it is also admitted that Israel’s reaction has exceeded all proportions.

For these reasons, it is imperative to look into the issue in its entirety and with objectivity–so as to draw an outline for the truth-seeking and peace-loving people in the Muslim community and the rest of the world to play their role.

The first things worth noting is that along with the Palestinians, the people of Lebanon and Syria (and governments, too, if they rise to their responsibility) are in the state of war with Israel. Though this process of war had started in 1948, or even before that, but there has been no change in the state of war especially since 1997 – what is generally referred to as cease-fire exists only in name, with dubious legal and moral credentials. Moreover, Israel has unilaterally continued with its invasions, arrests and killings, and destruction of civil installations with persistence and impunity, the second party, therefore, has the right to react and retaliate.

The way the Palestinian Authority has been destroyed, since the days of Yasser Araft to date, and especially since the electoral victory of Hamas, is nothing less than provocation to and declaration of war. Thousands of Palestinians have been killed. Hamas leadership has been subjected to ‘target killing’. According to the daily Guardian, Palestinian territory has been attacked 650,000 times since 1967. There are 9,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons and torture cells – even the members of the Hamas cabinet and parliament are kidnapped and under arrest. Is not this a provocation to war? There is a whole category of prisoners of war in the Geneva Convention; and the well-known third and forth conventions deal with the same issue. Then, there have been exchanges of prisoners of war and others under arrest, in the past, between Israel and both Palestine and Lebanon. In the presence of this much evidence, how can the capture of just three soldiers be a justification for destroying the whole range of Palestine and Lebanon, mass murder of innocent civilians through brutal air bombardment, land incursion and sea offensive?

In spite of its evacuation from Lebanon in 2000, Israel continues to occupy a number of border areas and fields, and many Hezbollah members and citizens of southern Lebanon are in Israel’s custody. In such conditions of war, with daily Israeli military action, how can a specific raid against Israeli troops – by some Palestinian Jihadi group or by Hezbollah – be made an excuse for the large-scale destruction of Palestine and Lebanon? There is a scheme in this; it is a fraudulent twist, an attempt to deceive and cover up Israel’s own war crimes.

This is, however, not the whole truth. The real issue is about Israeli occupation of Palestine and other Arab territories, which are part of the sovereign states of the region. The central issue is Israeli occupation; and where there is occupation, there would be resistance, naturally. This is why international law and the Charters of the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement accept the right to freedom and to wage freedom struggle; and none considers even armed resistance for this purpose as terrorism.

The entire game of America and Israel is not to let the issue appear as stemming from occupation, but rather to present the resistance to it as the issue. The reality, however, remains that Israel is the culprit and conflict and bloodshed cannot be stopped without bringing an end to Israel’s illegal occupation and restoring to the real inhabitants of the region their right to rule and shape their future according to their own aspirations.

In the light of this main issue, the second major issue is whether it is right for the subjugated people to wage a struggle against the colonial rule for their freedom, system of life, creed and rights – and offer whatever sacrifice such a struggle requires – or they should opt for surrender to colonial rule and accept subjugation and slavery. All truth-seeking people would confirm, and it is also the verdict of history, that colonial rule might last for a while but resistance against it emerges and prevails in the end. The 400-year history of the Western colonialism itself bears witness to this fact – a history of ups and downs that ultimately resulted in retreat. The course of the present and the future, too, cannot be different from that of the Past. Every colonial power considered itself unsurpassable and undefeatable, tried to use its political, economic and military power to subjugate others, but had to retreat and wind up its colonial agenda. The retreat of a colonial power can be realized only through resistance; those who opt for surrender can never achieve freedom and dignity.

The present struggle of Hamas and Hezbollah in Palestine and Lebanon can only be understood in this historical background. The 20-year struggle by Hamas, especially since its electoral win in January 2006 elections, its perseverance and prudent approach, and Hezbollah’s struggle since 1982, especially since the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, amply show that Israel’s arrogance and its military might can be not only challenged but that it can be forced to retreat; that the issue is not about balance of power, since much depends on truth of one’s stance and determination, courage and resolve for resistance against oppression and colonial occupation. Resources, no doubt, are important, and can be had if there is a will, but even abundance of resources and stocks of weapons are of no use if there is lack, or total absence, of will and determination – as is evident from the helplessness of Arab governments of the Middle East. One the one hand is Israel with all its military supremacy and American political, financial, technical support and provision of all types of weapons, on the other are poorly equipped freedom fighters of Hamas and a few thousand guerillas of Hezbollah. Yet, the events of June 25 and July 12, and the whole of the fight in their wake, prove that Israel is not insurmountable – that a few freedom fighters can make life for it quite miserable.

Hezbollah has Israel’s arrogance to dust. By launching rockets inside Haifa, it has given the message that the fight can be taken well into Israel, and that America’s Patriot missiles fail to check Hezbollah’s missiles. Then, destruction of Israel’s airplanes and naval ships, which were equipped with latest technology and were source of pride for both America and Israel, proved that hand-propelled rocket and grenades can challenge these hi-tech war machines. Pitched battle is continuing on the ground for many days now but the military that claimed to be able to conquer, vanquish and control the area within 24 hours could not move a few kilometers forward, while reports of deaths of Israeli soldiers and destruction of its tanks and planes are increasing. The myth of Israel’s military might being undefeatable is weaning away. This is a great feat of Hamas and Hezbollah, which has given a new resolve and determination to the oppressed people. 

Lebanon has been destroyed, yet not just ordinary Lebanese Muslims but its Christians too take pride in the resistance Hezbollah has put to Israel. An Arab woman whose house was destroyed in Isreali bombing was brought to hospital amid a volley of bombs and fire. After giving birth to a new life, she gave a bold message to Arab people and Muslims as well as to Israel and its backers when she named her newborn baby ‘Hatif’ after the name of the missile with which Hezbollah had attacked Haifa in Israel. A nation with such a level of courage and determination cannot be kept subjugated on the basis of better technological power. This is the message of Hamas; this is the message of all resistance movements of Iraq and Afghanistan, Kashmir and Chechnya. 

Israeli and American plan was that Israel would wreak havoc and destruction through ‘sharp action’ to such a great extent in Lebanon that Lebanese would desperately try to get rid of Hezbollah. Change of government being the real target, the end was to silence the northern front for Israel, cleanse southern Lebanon of Hezbollah, and install UN observers there. This would allow Israel to do whatever it wanted to do with Gaza and Western Jordan without taking the risk of any significant resistance. But it is now becoming clear that this plan is hard to realize. America had given one to two weeks to Israel for military action, a license to brutal campaign, after which it hoped it would make Israel’s military successes part of the permanent political landscape through diplomacy. But, these plans are doomed, God willing!

Voices against Israel are increasing. People in the Arab and Muslim world are rising in protest, and are holding their own rulers accountable. Hundreds of thousands took out a rally in Istanbul, Turkey, and a chain rally stretching over 1,134 kilometers from a U.S. cantonment to Istanbul on July 17, 2006 shook the whole country. Rallies are being held in Cairo and people are openly saying that on the one hand is a leader Hasan Nasrallah who offered his son in Jihad against Israel and takes pride in his martyrdom in 1993, and he is still challenging Israel, but on the other hand in another type of leader Hosni Mubarak who, after a long rule for himself, is now trying to appoint his son his successor. (See International Herald Tribune, July 20, 2006: On the Streets: Prayer for Hezbollah)

Israel’s famous newspaper Haaretz in its editorial raised the question that for how long Israel would be able to live in this area with so much bloodshed, that Israelis have to live with the same people. They should, therefore, rethink their approach and make a long-term strategy. Dismissing the demand of exchange of prisoners, Israeli Prime Minister had vowed to annihilate the enemy, but one of his cabinet ministers has said talks on exchange of prisoners are possible. Steven Eslanger, correspondent of the International Herald Tribune in Jerusalem, concluded his report with this sentence: Wars end with diplomacy; you cannot win a war with F-16s alone. (July 19, 2006)

In a few days long war by now, 30 Israelis have been killed and more than 150 have been wounded. With conviction and determination, great feats are possible even when material means and powers are little.

Another very important and worth noting aspect of this battle is that at a time when America’s global political strategy in the war against Islam is aimed at pitching Sunnis against Shiites, divide them further, create conditions of civil war among them, and create sectarian and ethnic-based states after fanning Sunni-Shia differences, mainly Sunni Hamas and largely Shia Hezbollah are presenting the best model of unity, cooperation in the face of aggression to strike hard against the enemy, and are marching ahead hand-in-hand. This is the model that Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (United Action Front – MMA), and Milli Yakjehti (National Solidarity Front) before it, presented in Pakistan. Cooperation and success of Hamas and Hezbollah in Palestine and Lebanon can be a prelude to larger unity of the Muslim world and an effective means to foil the conspiracies of the enemy. This can brighten the prospects of a whole new era.

Yet another message of this battle is that the present rulers of the Muslim and Arab countries no more enjoy the trust and confidence of their people and are, in fact, an obstacle in the way of political, economic, military, and civilizational revival of Muslim community in the world. The problem is not about their helplessness, it is their insensitivity and disloyalty to Allah and Ummah that is the real problem. If these rulers cannot change themselves even now, then there is no way to life and progress save through their replacement with credible and competent leadership. To achieve its rightful place, Muslim world needs to set its own house in order and to bridge the gulf between the rulers and the ruled. Our resources and abilities are wasted in confrontation between the people and those who happen to rule them. We need a leadership in which could reflect aspirations of the masses. A Muslim’s heart is brimming with national/ummatic sentiments, but the hearts of the people and the rulers are not throbbing with same frequency. Only such a leadership could bring about change in prevailing conditions that really represents peoples’ aspirations. Without removing the present hurdles, Muslim nation cannot play its role properly. Palestine and Lebanon are enveloped in flames, but this fire can be transformed into a garden by emulating the model of Prophet Ibrahim. Al-Quds is inviting all to this end!

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Translation and adaptation of the editorial of Tarjumanul Quran August 2006.