By Khalid Amayreh

It seems that the tight Jewish stranglehold on the American government is not only preventing the Obama administration from pursuing a fair, rational and honest approach to the enduring Palestinian crisis, but is also inhibiting the formulation in Washington of an accurate and objective understanding of basic facts in and about the Middle East.

An example of this willful and unnecessary ignorance was a statement made recently by the US Ambassador for Middle East Peace David Hale.

According to Hale, the Arab Spring could "sweep Hamas from power."

"The Palestinians are no more immune to currents of change and demand for democratization, reform and freedom than any other people in the region," he was quoted as saying.

"I think you will see those same forces affect Hamas because clearly their leadership is not characterized by any of those words."

Hale's words exude a lot of ignorance and misunderstanding of the facts and realities in the region.

First of all, the Palestinian people have been languishing under a sinister Israeli military occupation for 44 years, and no amount of "democratization" in occupied Palestine will change this fundamental fact.

The Palestinian people therefore need, first and foremost, freedom from the Nazi-like occupation before they can exercise democracy. Perhaps people like Hale can't bring themselves to uttering the word occupation for fear of upsetting the Jewish lobby in Washington . He presumably could lose his job if he did, especially in a sensitive election year. Hence, the conceived phobic reaction.

Like most Palestinians, I am not against genuine democratization in Palestine. However, let us be honest and have no illusion: Without ending the evil Israeli occupation, no amount of democratization would really help the Palestinians attain their freedoms. The absence of democracy in Palestine is due to the presence of the occupation. Twisting this fact would be an expression of dishonesty and mendacity.

Does democracy practiced by inmates in a maximum-security jail bring freedom to prisoners? Yes, it might help them manage their daily life and routine inside the jail, but it won't help them regain their freedom.

Likewise, the Palestinian people are not merely striving to enhance their daily life, though this is a legitimate and important task, if only to help Palestinians withstand the systematic and institutionalized oppression meted out to them by Zio-Nazism.

The Palestinian people want absolute and total freedom from the decades-old nefarious Israeli occupation.

Besides, since when did the US really show any serious concern about democratization in occupied Palestine or elsewhere in the Arab-Muslim region?

Didn't the U.S. abruptly lose its composure and mental equanimity when Hamas won the Palestinian elections in 2006? Didn't a U.S., under aggressive and frenzied Jewish pressure, acted rather spasmodically to strangle and throttle the Palestinians following the said elections which by the way the Bush administration itself had Okayed?

I am afraid I have bad news for Mr. Hale and his equally ignorant boss or bosses in Washington. Hamas is here to stay. Hamas, which only last week forced Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from its dungeons and concentration camps, is strong and getting stronger:

Strong because it represents the true aspirations of most Palestinians for a better tomorrow; and stronger because an arrogant Israel driven by Talmudic insolence only understands the language of force, stubbornness and strength.

More to the point, a soft, obsequious approach toward Israel won't take the Palestinians anywhere. It will only transform them into vanquished supplicants begging for their legitimate rights from an arrogant and rapacious Israel that is hell bent on stealing the remainder of Palestinian land.

The truth of the matter regarding the impact of the Arab Spring on Hamas is that it has not only vindicated the liberation movement's approach toward Israeli occupation, but it has also created an auspicious atmosphere conducive to helping Hamas and the Palestinians as a whole expedite their goals.

The growing good chemistry between Hamas and Cairo is undoubtedly an auspicious development. The upcoming elections in Egypt, slated to start on 28 November, is expected to produce pleasant surprises if the nationalist and Islamist forces achieve victory in the polls and form the next Egyptian government.

Israel and her guardian-ally, the U.S., (the latter is getting weaker and bankrupt by the hour) know that hundreds of millions of Arabs and Muslims expect the next government in Cairo to find a real correlation between the Egyptian commitment to uphold the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty and Israeli treatment of and behavior toward the Palestinian cause and people. I bet this is going to be a serious matter for Israel's firsters and the Zionist shipyard dogs in Washington who think Israel's interests come even before American interests.

In any case, the Islamists are simply coming, and Israel will soon become bereft of friends in this region, no matter what desperate feats Israel is trying. And Israel has only itself to blame.

The Israeli state, itself a crime against humanity (perhaps people like Hale would shake in fear while reading this shocking but veracious phrase) never really lost an opportunity to alienate Arabs and Muslims. The murderous Israeli modus operandi toward the Palestinians and other peoples in the region has generated a huge reservoir of hatred toward the Jewish state. The Arab masses, whether in Egypt or Tunisia or even Libya, will not waste anytime venting their frozen rage and accumulative frustration vis-à-vis Israel when they are given the chance to do so.


The King of Jordan Abdullah II recently "warned" that Egypt might effectively abrogate its peace treaty with Israel and that Jordan was effectively becoming the last remaining advocate of peace with the Jewish state? The king knew what he was talking about. However, his warnings are unlikely to be heeded, given Israel's characteristic insolence and America 's brazen subservience to the evil entity and its backers in Washington .

As to the whoring peace process, it is really difficult to talk about this process using dignified language. How else can one relate to a process that is based on lies, fraught with lies, and shaped by lies?

Israel, which we earlier described as a crime against humanity because it is based on ethnic cleansing, genocide, and aggression, wants Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to become a full-fledged traitor.

Israel wants him to kiss the paramount right of return for the refugees goodbye, wants him to forget East Jerusalem, and wants him to formally accept perpetual Israeli control over Palestinian borders, water resources as well as the settlements established by Israel on occupied Arab land since 1967.

Needless to say, Abbas would rather commit suicide than agree to these irrational demands. He knows that any Palestinian leader agreeing to these capitulations will not live long to even regret his folly.

Besides, how can Abbas possibly offer a "workable" alternative to Hamas's seemingly more logical and appealing line, which is based on resistance and steadfastness?

Will Israel, for the sake of Abbas's legendary moderation, withdraw to the borders of the 4th of June, 1967? Will Israel terminate the building of colonies and Judaizing of Jerusalem? Will Israel allow for the repatriation of millions of refugees uprooted from their homes when the evil entity was established 63 years ago, which is a sine-qua-non for any genuine and durable peace deal in the region? Will Israel dismantle the settlements?

The answer is a plain NO.

Another question: Will the U.S. pressure Israel to end its decades-old occupation? The answer is also a plain NO because the Jewish lobby is in tight control of American politics and policies. Moreover, an American president, especially in an election year, won't commit political suicide by displeasing the only state in the world that truly calls the shots in Washington. (end)

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By Khalid Amayreh Source: the Palestinian Information Center http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7uYhAUwYs6ZGUlOXkqDH73%2fchB4w2g67G%2f7TX6GkwsRGbsXEPQmP5VSq68cQ2hI5c8kytvZ21XQqE5FLLLN8IJgmj1k1SJaED%2fxtxWNKpuI0%3d