The resistance system achieves victory despite the wounds.

By Ghaleb Kandil

The resistance system achieves victory despite the wounds.

“Israel is weaker than a spider web.” This is the conclusion with which the leader of the Lebanese resistance, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, presented the 2000 victory achieved by the Lebanese resistance when it ousted the Zionist occupation from most of the Lebanese territories following an ongoing struggle led by the popular and armed resistance throughout one quarter of a century, i.e. since the first invasion in 1978.

The compass governing the action of the Middle Eastern populations is the Palestinian cause. This is the reality which mobilized the Islamic Republic of Iran led by Imam Al-Khomeini since the dawn of the revolution and then by Sayyed Khamenei, and this is the prevailing reality – based on the history of the region and the struggle of its people against colonial hegemony - which pushed the great late leader Hafez al-Assad and President Dr. Bashar al-Assad to enhance and the strategic Iranian-Syrian alliance since the eruption of the revolution and its victory in Tehran.

Hence, this alliance was the one that embraced the resistance option and allowed the Middle Eastern populations to acquire technologies which they used to establish missile factories in Iran and Syria, and then to transfer these techniques and lessons to the resistance fighters in Lebanon and Palestine. The latter for their part used this experience, even developed it, and ensured great victories in favor of the resistance option against the Israeli enemy.

The lesson provided by Gaza and its heroic resistance fighters exposed the fakeness and the misleading spread by the so-called Arab spring supporters, regarding the friendship of the West and the United States. At this level, the important lesson provided by the resistance fighters in the Strip – from all factions – is that the deceitful promises made by Erdogan and Morsi cannot paralyze the action of the resistance fighters in accumulating the elements of strength to deter the ongoing Israeli aggression.

Now, the entire East is resisting from Gaza, and the weapons, combat methods and technical tools with which the resistance fighters from the Islamic Jihad, the Al-Nasser Brigades and the Al-Qassam Brigades are beating the Israeli war machine are the joint produce of the Syrian Arab Army, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon. During the last three decades, the latter came together to allow Gaza and its resistance fighters to acquire the strength which liberated the Strip and ousted the occupation from its land, defended it and achieved victory against the 2008 aggression. Today, this power is setting the foundations for a new victory.

Palestine is the central cause upon which the future of the East depends. It is the primary regional arena based on which the future and balances of the region are determined. This is the reality which has governed the region’s history for decades, and still constitutes the foundation to understand the developments and the ongoing events in whichever area on the eastern side of the Mediterranean Basin. Israel was established to act as a dominating power and a Western colonial base to deplete the region’s populations and prevent them from moving forward. This is the main contradiction between Israel and Iran and the main object of the conflict between Israel, Syria and the resistance movements. Whoever does not recognize that reality would be mistaken, or has fallen in the trap set up by Western colonialism for whoever deals with it and supports its projects.

Arab Affairs.

By Ghaleb Kandil

Facts exposed by the war.

The ongoing confrontation between the Gaza Strip and the Zionist occupation army revealed a series of facts which will have a great effect on the direction of the war and the formation of the new equations and balances throughout the entire region.

Firstly, there is no arguing about the fact that the deterrence equation established by the resistance, Syria and Iran throughout the past years have transformed into a law governing the conflict between the populations of the region and the Zionist entity. Since the year 2000, the establishment of this equation was made based on the experience acquired from the confrontation between the Lebanese resistance and the Israeli enemy in 1993 and 1996. Now, the illusion is once again collapsing in 2012 from Gaza in particular, just like the Israeli-American-Western-Gulf attempt to strike the resistance and deterrence system established by the resistance camp during the 2006 and 2008 wars against Lebanon and Gaza, ones which ended with the victory of the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance movements due to the Iranian-Syrian support and the capabilities and qualitative sacrifices offered by the Lebanese and Palestinian people and by the resistance factions in Gaza and Lebanon.

Secondly, the frail structure of the Zionist entity was exposed by the events. Scientifically and objectively, all the experts agree the besieged Gaza from the Egyptian side is showing a great deterrence and depletion ability, reflecting the reality of the upcoming collapse inside Israel if the confrontation is launched with the Lebanese resistance, Syria or Iran individually. However, according to the expectations, the confrontation will be between the Zionist entity and all the sides of the resistance system combined, which is the real and realistic expression of the balance of powers and confirms that the deterrence ability of the resistance system has become the ceiling governing the equations in what is dubbed by the West the Middle East.

Thirdly, the Gaza war confirms the actual target behind the West’s exploitation of the climate of the so-called Arab spring, through the use of the leaders of the International Muslim Brotherhood Organization and the Gulf governments to achieve two main goals: the first is to weaken Hamas’s relationship with the resistance system, and the second is to proceed with the global war to destroy the Syrian state. However, the resistance system is showing further immunity and strength, despite the losses and wounds caused by these two developments, which reveals that the resistance option in the region is a historical transformation that will not be recanted or broken, regardless of the efforts deployed for that end.

Fourthly, the wisdom shown by the Syrian command, the Islamic Republic and Hezbollah’s command in dealing with the way Hamas reacted to the incidents in Syria, proved to be right on the mark, regardless of the moral and material cost induced by this reaction. Indeed, it was known that the key contradiction with the Zionist entity and the strategic and organic ties between this entity and the colonial West will redirect the compass and bridge many gaps which the West was able to create and exploit under the cloak of the so-called spring.

News Analysis.

By Nasser Kandil

A Palestinian-Syrian statement of account

By statement of account, we definitely do not mean that was offered by Syria to Palestine or to a certain Palestinian faction, considering that during these critical times, we are all Palestine, and all that was offered by Syria, Iran, Hezbollah and Sudan is nothing compared to the heroism shown by the Palestinians who proved they deserved what they got, if not more.

What we meant was a statement of account in the Palestinian currency, i.e. how Palestinian was treated by Syria, in comparison with those standing against it and participating in the war targeting it. Naturally, there is no need to reiterate that Palestine – according to what is announced – is the combining compass of the nation and all its governments and forces, and that it comes ahead of all other causes, whether humanitarian or Islamic ones.

But how did the Arab League deal with what is happening in Palestine? With what language did it address the enemy, knowing of course it is still silent and might be waiting for the golden number of 100 martyrs to speak? This League severed its diplomatic relations with Syria, imposed an economic siege on it and stopped all the flights to it, while on the other hand, pampered Israel and mediated with Obama at best.

How is the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt dealing with the situation, despite the praise it earned from the MB in Palestine? What did it offer other than words? Where is the Egyptian president’s threatening rhetoric towards Syria and why was it not used with the beloved Peres? What happened to the opening of the crossings and to the MB’s proclaimed demands to Mubarak’s regime, knowing they were all rightful and legitimate?

Was it confirmed that those who rushed to support Israel and justify its aggression by describing it as being an act of self-defense were the same ones who met under the headline of Syria’s Friends to plan war against it? Were they the ones who described Syria and are now describing Palestine of being a terrorist state? Are they the allies of Arab governments that are hostile to Syria? Israel’s friends are Syria’s enemies, and there is no denying that.

All the Gulf leaders remained silent. From Hamad to all the emperors, kings and princes, has anyone heard their voice? Did they pack their bags and head to the Security Council to demand an intervention under Chapter VII? Did they gather the leaders of the factions and put them on house arrest until they announce their unification and the formation of a government which they official recognized? Did they put money, weapons and the border at its disposal and say to Egypt and Jordan what they had said to Erdogan regarding the fact that the Gulf states will compensate for the Turkish economic losses due to the opening of the border with Syria to weapons and armed men?

As for Al-Qardawi and the imams of strife, they only have Syria on their mind. Indeed, what did they have to say about Palestine? Has anyone heard them calling on the Mujahedeen to fight in Palestine or heard fatwas assuring that martyrdom on its soil would bring the martyrs closer to heaven, as it was said in regard to Jihad in Syria? Has anyone heard them prohibiting infighting between the brothers at a time when the enemy is shedding Palestinian blood?

As for Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya and the other hired channels round the clock, did you see them allocating their airtime to Palestine 24 hours a day, without caring about the reaction of the enemy? Or were they merely carrying reports as appetizers before the hot death meals in Syria? And when we heard their analysts bitterly talking about how the events in Gaza were shifting the attention away from what is happening in Syria, should the channel not have said that because of the events in Palestine, it will completely block out the other events, thus shaming those who believe there is a cause more important than the Palestinian one?

Did anyone see Azmi Bechara in this ordeal? Has anyone heard about George Sabra, Ghalioun, Seida and Maaz in the context of the talk about the reports coming from Palestine? Palestine is a compass, but it also exposes the fake.

Arab File.

Palestine.

The Israeli occupation launched a series of raids against the Gaza Strip at the beginning of the week, thus causing the fall of six martyrs and dozens of Palestinian wounded. On Wednesday, Israel assassinated seven Palestinians, including prominent leader in the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades – Hamas’s armed wing – Ahmad al-Jaabari, and two girls under five years old. In an official statement, the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades threatened Israel they will “open the doors of hell” in response to Al-Jaabari’s assassination.

For its part, Washington announced it supported Israel’s right to self-defense, while the Israeli aircrafts launched a series of raids on Gaza, causing the martyrdom of more than ten people and the injuring of dozens. The Palestinian resistance factions responded to the Israeli attack by launching dozens of rockets, knowing that the resistance’s rockets reached Tel Aviv for the first time ever, leading to the fall of Zionist dead and wounded.

Also, Hamas’s armed wing, i.e. the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, announced the downing of an Israeli warplane with a land-to-air missile on Friday, while it was flying in the Gaza Strip’s airspace. On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved the summoning of 30,000 reservists as per the announcement issued by the Israeli army’s spokesman.

Syria.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad assured that when the opposition does not stem from the country’s soil and is not supported by the people, it is a mere foreign formation used at a certain point in time to destroy the country. In an exclusive interview with Russia Today, Al-Mekdad added: “The Americans established the Istanbul Council. But after a while, they saw it did not achieve their goals, which is why they decided to establish a new entity. Consequently, they headed to Doha which is always willing to engage in such ventures at the expense of the Arab causes and created this new entity. The world is heading in one direction and they are heading in another.” Al-Mekdad stressed: “The entire world, and we in Syria, are saying that the problem should be resolved in a peaceful way and around the national dialogue table. But the first decision adopted following the formation of the opposition Coalition in Doha was the rejection of national dialogue and the announcement of the continuation of war and the use of weapons. They want to destroy Syria.”

On the field, the explosions being carried out by the terrorists in various Syrian regions are proceeding, thus causing the fall of victims among the citizens, mostly women and children. On the other hand, the armed regular forces are continuing to target the terrorist group’s strongholds in several areas, namely in Damascus and Aleppo. In this context, they were able to kill dozens among the most dangerous wanted elements, destroy cars equipped with weapons and ammunition and defuse dozens of bombs.

In the meantime, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, both of which work on the defense of human rights, called on the Syrian opposition coalition on Tuesday to end the violations being committed by some of its fighters. At this level, Human Rights Watch documented more than 12 executions carried out “outside any judicial context” at the hands of the opposition forces, in addition to acts of torture and abuse in detention camps run by the opposition.

Following lengthy meetings which lasted several days in Doha and under clear international pressures, the Syrian opposition forces signed on Sunday night-Monday morning a final agreement to unify their ranks under the banner of a new entity dubbed the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The Gulf Cooperation Council states recognized this so-called national Syrian coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The same was done by the Arab League, while the United States announced it will support the unified Syrian opposition.

French President Francois Hollande also announced that France recognized the Syrian national coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people, adding on Tuesday that the delivery of weapons to the Syrian opposition, which was rejected by Paris until now, will be placed back on the table.

Jordan.

On Tuesday night, the Jordanian government announced it was raising the gas prices in accordance with an agreement signed by the previous government with the International Monetary Fund. Indeed, this agreement had stipulated the lifting of the subsidies off the basic products and oil derivatives, in exchange for the IMF’s support to the treasury that is suffering a deficit close to $21 billion. As soon as the government announced its decision, spontaneous protests broke out in several areas of the Kingdom and a wave of night protests erupted.

In this context, youth and tribal activists gathered around the Interior Ministry Square in Amman, condemning the government’s decision and calling for its immediate freezing. In addition, most of the Jordanian provinces witnessed on Wednesday wide-scale protests against the government’s decision, leading to the injuring of 17 people, including 10 from the police force. The protesters thus called for the “restoring the people’s money from the corrupt instead of lifting the subsidies.”

Consequently, the Jordanian capital was turned into a military barrack following wide-scale protests which led to the closing of the main roads, while demanding the toppling of Dr. Abdullah Ensour’s government. In the meantime, the nationalistic and leftist youth activists called in a statement for a popular uprising, in which all the movements would come together from the North to the South. They considered that raising the prices was an “organized pillaging of the poor, in complete disregard of the interests of the people.” They also called on the Jordanians to “carry out a general strike in all the sectors, in case the government does not recant its decision,” warning the authorities against “the attempts to use the security option in dealing with the popular protests opposing this decision.”

On Friday, dozens of marches were organized in the capital Amman and the various Jordanian cities and villages, under the banner of the Friday of Wrath as it was dubbed by activists. For their part, many syndicates, at the head of which is the Teachers’ Syndicate, announced a general strike on Sunday, while many clashes were seen between the loyalists and the oppositionists.

Israeli File.

The Israeli papers issued this week tackled the repercussions of the military confrontation between Israel and Hamas. Some believed there was a possibility of seeing the launching of a land attack against the Strip, while others believed that the mission will not be easy, especially in light of the unification established between Hamas and the other Palestinian factions. In this context, Haaretz said that for the time being, Netanyahu, Lieberman and Barak rejected any talk about a ceasefire, especially after the Islamic Jihad was able to infiltrate the 40-kilometer barrier and launch two rockets towards the center of Israel, one of which fell in Tel Aviv and the other in a nearby area.

The papers issued this week also expressed their surprise vis-à-vis the rockets reaching Tel Aviv, indicating that the area’s sirens had not gone off since 1991. In a related context, the papers quoted the army’s spokesman as saying that the operation against the Gaza Strip was just starting, and that the Israeli army was focusing on its main task, i.e. on restoring calm in the South and undermining Hamas’s infrastructure. On the other hand, the papers tackled Israel’s threat to partially or fully annul the Oslo agreements, in case the Palestinians were to insist on heading to the United Nations to request Palestine’s recognition as an observer member state in the United Nations.

Lebanese File.

On Sunday, the city of Sidon witnessed a clash which caused the fall of a number of dead and wounded. The papers issued this week carried information revealing that the tensions emerged after Sheikh Al-Assir demanded the removal of slogans and flags related to Ashoura from some streets. The army intelligence apparatus thus conducted a number of phone calls with leaders from Amal and Hezbollah to contain the situation, and both sides cooperated with the attempts to establish truce and removed the Ashoura banners which were the object of the complaint.

As-Safir newspaper quoted security sources as saying that later on, Al-Assir raised the ceiling of his demands and insisted on the removal of a picture of martyr Imad Mughniyeh in the Al-Taamir neighborhood, while eyewitnesses stated that a number of his supporters – and Al-Assir was said to be among them – headed directly towards a picture of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah which had been there for years, and starting tearing it apart. The situation then degenerated into a security clash between Al-Assir’s supporters and a number of Taamir inhabitants, featuring shootings which led to the injuring of the Hezbollah official in the region, Sheikh Zaid Daher. The clashes also led to the fall of two men among Al-Assir’s supporters, the injuring of three others and the death of an Egyptian citizen who was passing through the area. In this context, Al-Assir stated before his supporters at the Bilal Bin Rabah mosque: “The banners of the party of Iran will only be raised in Sidon over my dead body.”

For his part, Prime Minister Najib Mikati assured that the situation in Sidon was a priority and that the government was responsible for deterring any security incidents. As for head of the National Struggle Front, Deputy Walid Jumblatt, he cautioned that the “situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly dangerous, in parallel to the escalation of the Syrian crisis. The experience has confirmed that the abstinence policy has achieved its end, and has distanced the Lebanese arena from the Syrian volcano as much as possible. Any shift away from this policy might be too costly for Lebanon.”

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah considered that the prevention of strife in the capital of the South was primarily a Sunni-Shiite responsibility, stressing that Sidon will remain the capital of the resistance and the South and the city of Muslim-Christian coexistence. And while he accused some of wanting to lead the city towards strife, he wondered: “Whom does this serve?” He then addressed the Sunnis and the Shiites by saying: “This stage requires vigilance and reason. Do not allow anyone to lead you behind lies and slogans. We must communicate with each other to handle the problems, remove the mines and avoid the ambushes,” blaming the state for having relinquished its responsibility at this level.