This is apropos a letter to the Editor “Hamas attacks constitute another 9/11 for US?” carried by the newspaper in its yesterday’s issue. The writer, Syed Rizwan Shah, has presented an informed perspective on the situation by giving a context to the Middle East conflict that is rooted in historical facts, including the WWI period during which the British government put its full weight behind Zionists’ quest for a homeland of Jewish people in what constituted the Palestine under the British Mandate.
Having said that, I would like to point out that Hamas is largely concentrated in Gaza, a territory that has never been the centre of Israel’s attention although it fell to it following its 1967 historic victory against the Arab countries. Tel Aviv ended its occupation over Gaza in 2005.
But it has always shown a lot of interest in the West Bank where it has been creating settlements after settlements.
In my view, Hamas has carried out attacks by itself or on its own with possible support from Russian military officers who are still present in Syria although Hamas’ relationship with Bashar al Asad is far from ideal.
Iran too seems to have helped this militant Palestinian entity but from a distance; it has done it through its proxies in Yemen, eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon and Iraq.
The Muslim Brotherhood (Sheikh Yasin, the founder of Hamas, was from the Muslim Brotherhood) in Egypt, Jordan and Syria has also lent a helping hand to Hamas. Turkey, too, seems to have supported Hamas in a meaningful manner in view of the fact that Hamas’ modus operandi or assault tactics bear the Turkish marks.
Moreover, Sunni Hamas has access to massive funding from the Saudis and Emiratis who do not approve of their governments’ decision to establish or normalize relations with the Jewish state.
What has happened in recent days shows nothing but the Arab world’s quest for restoration of karama (self-esteem).
Needless to say, the Arab world was deprived of both hurraa (freedom) and karama (self-esteem) following Israel’s victory over Arab countries in 1967.
The Hamas’ action has helped the Arabs’ in general and the Palestinians in particular to reclaim some of the freedom and self-esteem that they lost long ago despite amassing, in the case of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, unimaginable wealth in recent decades.
Abu Ma’aroof (Dubai, UAE)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023