Watching Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu interviewed on French television was fascinating last night. His message was that rather than undermining Israel—by criticizing its action in Gaza and recognizing a Palestinian State— as some European countries are doing--the West should be totally behind Israel. The beleaguered Zionist state, he emphasized, is a bulwark protecting the civilized world from the onslaught of jihadist terrorism. The face of that threat is the monster Hamas.
What was ironic about all this was that, from the beginning, Israel played a significant role in creating that monster. The relationship began and ripened in the 1970s and 80s and continued on and off over the following years, even as Hamas became more radical. (This has been the subject of detailed reports in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal years ago, but we keep forgetting uncomfortable facts.)
To summarise, Israel, under Golda Meir, first backed a small radical religious Palestinian group linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. Her idea was to use that group to undermine the secular PLO, which had broad support among the Palestinians and refused to recognize the State of Israel.
Later, when the PLO did recognize Israel, the Israeli government still continued to do everything in its power to repress the PLO and bolster Hamas—even though Hamas adamantly refused to recognize Israel. PLO Chairman Yassir Arafat even condemned Hamas as “made in Israel.”
Why support Hammas? Because it condemned the Oslo Accords, which opened the way for at least a limited Palestinian State. The politicians who ruled Israel for the past twenty years—most of the time under Netanyahu—were also determined to sabotage the Oslo agreement. The last thing they wanted was a Palestinian state. Hamas's violent rhetoric and acts would help them achieve their goal.
Over the past few years, Netanyahu and Israel didn’t just close their eyes to the huge sums being sent to Hamas-controlled Gaza by Qatar; according to a recent report by Gideon Levy from Haaretz, the Qataris claim it was the Israeli Mossad, not Qatar, who sent the funds to Gaza.
“Officials in Doha reiterate that the funds transfers to Gaza were made via the Mossad, and therefore, they view as false the accusations that Qatar delivered them for the construction of tunnels.
Another fascinating nugget from Levy’s report:
“The [Doha] officials note that the original decision to provide a base for Hamas in Doha also followed an American request: Better that it be in Qatar than in Iran.”
AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE TUNNELS?
And, as for those miles and miles of tunnels that Israel “discovered” in Gaza. Are we supposed to believe that all those tunnels –more than 350 miles in length, some 150 feet deep--were built without Israeli knowledge? More likely, Israel knew all about them, but Netanyahu felt it was better to let Hamas dig holes rather than attack Israel.
And what about Israel’s ally, Egypt? It turns out there were at least 50 tunnels between Gaza and Egypt. According to Yoni Ben Menachem, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, those tunnels were not just used for smuggling weapons. “They also were used for the transportation of luxury goods, cigarettes, and pornographic materials, which are then sold on the black market in Gaza at high prices.”
AND EGYPT’S RESPONSIBILITY?
How could they operate under the noses of Egyptian security officials? Said Ben Menachem, “According to Palestinian reports, bribery of senior officials at the Rafah crossing and Egyptian military officers on the Philadelphi Route enabled the transport of goods and weapons.” There was an extensive network supporting smuggling activities, which he said had been occurring both over and underground. They were also “part of a larger industry that includes the transfer of residents of Gaza into Egypt and beyond.”
The end of that clandestine traffic, says Ben Menachem, is a blow not just to Hamas. “The Egyptian army will have a financial problem because they are being disconnected from the smuggling, an important income source.”
Ben Menachem adds that one official in particular who may have profited is Mahmoud el-Sisi, the son of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, “According to Palestinian claims, Mahmoud el-Sisi, the powerful figure in Egyptian intelligence, is behind a front company named Hala, which organizes the passage of Gaza residents into Egypt. Those families pay thousands of dollars to leave Gaza.”
Are we really to believe that Israel’s vaunted intelligence agencies didn’t know the whole story?
The “discovery” of these tunnels to Egypt from Gaza raises a ticklish problem, says Ben Menachem. “Israel cannot at this stage risk a direct diplomatic clash with Egypt over this, so the Americans will, I believe, deal with this on Israel’s behalf.”
Excellent reporting Barry! Bravo.
I wish this piece could get a wider audience. It’s helpful information towards getting a better understanding of the Israeli inion interface.