Certainly, inside hours of the Hamas invasion, Saudi Arabia issued a assertion saying, in line with Al Arabiya community: “The dominion is intently following up on the unprecedented developments between numerous Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupying forces,” including that it has “repeatedly warned of the results of [the deterioration] of the state of affairs because of the occupation in addition to of depriving the Palestinian folks of their reputable rights and of [not halting] systematic provocations in opposition to their holy [sites].”
I’m watching how the Hamas-Israel earthquake will shake up one other earthquake.
Ukraine was already coping with the temblors within the U.S. authorities. The toppling of the speaker of the Home, mixed with an more and more vocal minority of Republican lawmakers — shockingly to me — popping out in opposition to any extra financial and navy help to Ukraine has created a political mess that has resulted, for now, in no extra U.S. help for Ukraine being authorized. If Israel is about to invade Gaza and embark on a protracted battle, Ukraine must fear about competitors from Tel Aviv for Patriot missiles in addition to 155-millimeter artillery shells and different fundamental armaments that Ukraine desperately wants extra of and Israel certainly will, too.
Vladimir Putin has seen. Final Thursday within the Black Sea resort of Sochi, he stated that Ukraine was being propped up “due to multibillion donations that come every month.” He added, “Simply think about the help stops tomorrow.” Ukraine “will dwell for less than per week after they run out of ammo.”
Can something good come from this horrible new Hamas-Israel battle? It’s far too early to say, however one other longtime Israeli good friend and analyst I belief, Prof. Victor Friedman (no relation), who teaches behavioral science at Jezreel Valley School in central Israel and is aware of the Israeli Arab neighborhood very effectively, wrote me late immediately, saying: “This horrid state of affairs continues to be a chance, identical to the Yom Kippur battle turned out to be a chance that ended with a peace settlement with Egypt. The one actual victory will probably be if what occurs subsequent — in all probability Israel going into Gaza — creates situations for an actual, steady settlement with the Palestinians.” In gentle of what the Palestinians did immediately, he stated, they’ll “declare some ‘victory,’ it doesn’t matter what occurs subsequent.” The purpose is, he added, ‘Somebody must assume past extra power and extra power.”
Personally, I don’t consider that Hamas can ever be a accomplice for a safe peace with Israel. Hamas has had approach too many probabilities for approach too a few years to show that the duties of governing in Gaza would average its aim of destroying the Jewish state. It seems to be nothing greater than a Palestinian Islamist mafia, solely in preserving its grip on Gaza and able to function a cat’s paw for Iran as a substitute of creating its essential aim a brand new future for Palestinians there and within the West Financial institution. Its historical past of rule in Gaza is shameful.
However the Palestinian Authority generally is a accomplice. So if there may be going to be an Israeli invasion of Gaza to attempt to destroy Hamas, it needs to be paired with a political initiative that empowers and helps to strengthen that Palestinian Authority so we are able to forge, as Victor put it, “a settlement that gives all sides with one thing they’ll dwell with. In any other case, in the end, we will probably be proper again in the identical state of affairs — solely worse. That was the true lesson of the Yom Kippur battle.”
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