Belying Israels claims, the unequal and one-sided nature of the war can be gauged from the fact that just four Israeli civilians have been killed and 30 injured in Hamas attacks. The sophisticated weapons deployed by Israel are in stark contrast to the primitive rockets used by the Hamas. The assassination of Ahmed Jaabari, the head of the military wing of Hamas, seems to have been aimed at scuttling ongoing truce talks.
Repeating a pattern from four years ago, this attack on Gaza comes after a US Presidential election and before an election in Israel. The motive of reaping an electoral harvest from a war on Palestine is rather obvious. Israeli citizens have reportedly put out ads in papers declaring No to the election war.
The newly re-elected US President Obama has supported Israels war in the name of its right to self-defence, as has the EU. Yet again, the US and EU have supported Israeli war crimes, reinforcing Israels sense of impunity.
Israels latest war on Gaza may also be part of its preparation to launch a war on Iran. By attacking Gaza, it seeks to test the Arab waters, to see the impact of the Arab Spring on countries like Egypt. So far, Egypts new leadership has behaved much in line with its predecessor, the Mubarak regime. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has recalled Egypts ambassador to Israel (which Mukarak had also done four years ago), but has avoided breaking off relations with Israel. Reportedly, Morsi called Obama, only to be told by Obama to control Hamas.
A former CIA analyst has revealed how Washington think-tanks, echoing Israeli ideologues, refer lightly to periodic attacks on Palestinians, as mowing the lawn. This kind of racial discourse reveals that Israels occupation and wars on Palestine ultimately have the genocidal motive of ethnic-cleansing.
The Indian Government, shamefully betraying Indias long-term solidarity with Palestine, has chosen to remain neutral and call for peace, without outright condemning Israeli aggression. The Indian people, however, have responded all over the country with solidarity actions for Gaza, demanding an end to Israels war and a principled stand by the Indian Government.
Israels war on Gaza is a war on humanity, and Palestines struggle is a courageous struggle for liberation from colonial occupation. Anti-imperialist forces the world over must protest Israels war on Gaza, and support the Palestinians aspirations for freedom.
