Here’s how Israel’s Debka-file reported* on today’s Gaza bust-out:
- Senior [Israeli] military sources told DEBKAfile that the strategic feat achieved by Hamas Tuesday night, in capturing a section of Sinai from Egyptian forces, is irreversible. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert held tense talks on the crisis Wednesday night, Jan. 23.
By demolishing the 10-km concrete barrier dividing the Gaza Strip from Egyptian Sinai, Hamas, backed by 200,000 Palestinians who surged across Wednesday, has acquired a new stronghold outside Israel’s military reach.
And here’s how they reported the Egyptian political dimension:
- [Condi] Rice and David Welch, assistant secretary of state for the Middle East, made a point of warning Mubarak that he must act expeditiously to restore border security because the entire Washington Palestinian strategy hinging on Abbas and the Annapolis declarations hangs in the balance.
But the Egyptian president replied that his main worry is not the Palestinian issue but concern that his own opposition, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, may adopt Hamas tactics and stir up trouble in his cities. Mubarak said he would leave the situation in northern Sinai as it is for the time being.
What did I tell you?
I see that Hamas’s spokesman in Gaza, Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, has meanwhile described Egypt as,
- the natural depth of the Palestinian people, adding that the Gaza people want to break their subjection to the Israeli occupation which blackmail them everyday with their basic needs; instead, they need their basics to come from their Arab nation rather than the occupation and this was what pushed them to rush towards the Rafah crossing.
The spokesman pointed out that the leadership of Hamas along with the Palestinian government in Gaza is conducting contacts with the Egyptian leadership to rearrange some issues about the Rafah crossing and also to find solutions to end the suffering of Gaza people.
The story continues…
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* Update Thursday morning: I just tried to revisit that Debka-File URL linked to there and found that the content quoted here has been replaced by some other extremely important content, which I comment on here.
An exodus from Israel into Egypt. Who can say what long-term consequences such an event might have?
The siege of Gaza has been lifted! A most welcome and unexpected surprise.
Who is now best positioned to get relief to the Gazans?
The siege of Ghaza has been lifted? I would not say so, and only one shoe has fallen to the floor so far. Wait for shoe number two.
I was talking this morning with a very old and dear friend in Ghaza. His sense is that the consequences of breaking down the wall are ultimately going to be very bad on the Palestinians. Recently for the first time he has begun to seriously think about trying to leave Palestine.
While Siege of Gaza has not been lifted, what has happened is of enormous symbolism and important long term consequences. For one thing it confirms that Gaza is unlikely to become a an economic and political Satellite of Israel, as the West Bank seems destined to be. Rather, the events seems to reassert the historic connections of Gaza to Egypt. Importantly, it thrusts Gaza right into the heart of Egyptian politics, as Hamas is a Palestinian branch of the Muslim brotherhood, which is effectively the shadow opposition movement in Egypt. At a time of political transition in Egypt, this is the stuff of serious politics. As to the Palestinian authority, it never plays well to take on the role of puppet government.
Shirin, say more. Why did your friend think that the long-term consequences of breaking down the wall would be bad?