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Beirut: Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has stirred
anger across the Middle East among populations who hope that Arab
uprisings can translate into a tougher stance against Israel.
Television footage of Israeli air strikes and pictures of civilian
casualties, including four children killed Sunday, have fuelled
rage in the region.
In six days of hostilities, 100
Palestinians have died in Gaza, while three Israelis have been
killed by rocket fire from the blockaded coastal territory.
The violence echoes
Israel’s invasion of Gaza four years ago. But since then,
revolutions in North Africa have brought Islamist allies of Gaza’s Hamas rulers to power, changing the political map and raising
expectations of a more robust Arab response.
“In every Arab state
where the nation is rising up to demand its rights, it is also
demanding the rights of Palestinians,” Egyptian novelist Ahdaf
Soueif wrote in Al-Shorouk newspaper.
More than 500 Egyptian activists crossed into the Gaza Strip
Sunday to show solidarity with Palestinians, something unthinkable
under former president Hosni Mubarak, who kept Egypt’s border with
Gaza closed during the bloodiest days of the 2008-2009 Israeli air
raids and land invasion.
Mubarak was overthrown last year and his
successor Mohamed Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood is closely
linked to Hamas, sent his prime minister to Gaza Friday.
“For us
to mobilize, and not close our ears and close the crossing like
what used to happen before, is something good,” said Islam Mahmoud,
a 30-year-old engineer speaking in Cairo.
“A military confrontation is very
difficult now, but there are a lot of things that Arabs can do
like pressuring countries that have interests with us to call on
the US and others to stop Israel’s savage assault.”
Wary of Israel’s military superiority, few voices are calling for
an armed Arab response. But Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has
called on Arab states to raise oil prices to pressure Israel.
Palestinians demonstrating in the West Bank, home to Palestinian
President and Hamas rival Mahmoud Abbas, have demanded the armed
wing of Hamas, the Izz El-Deen Al-Qassam brigades, take revenge.
“Al Qassam, strike Aviv,” they chanted. “Hamas will shake the
ground.”
In Libya’s capital Tripoli, a taxi driver who gave his
name as Mohammad said he was shocked by what was happening in
Gaza.
“This is not just a problem for Palestinians – the whole
world should intervene.”
“The barbaric bombardment we saw
yesterday of Gaza children is a crime against humanity,” Lebanese
Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said.
“The world must not stand silent.
This is a terrorist act by all standards,” he said.
Palestinians deserved a “courageous and honourable stand” from
Arab governments, Mansour said. Despite the rhetoric, the violence
in Gaza has not prompted demonstrations on the scale of the
uprisings which toppled four Arab leaders last year, threaten
Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad.
Adel Soliman, head of the
International Center for Future and Strategic Studies in Cairo,
said the sweeping political changes in the Arab world had not
shifted the balance of power.
“The Middle East is changing, yes,
but only in the political structures that are starting to form.
The new structure is not stable and the capabilities are the
same.” Jordanian Islamist Jamil Abu Bakr said Arab states should
do more.
“Although the Arab stance after the Arab spring is different from
before, even now the steps taken - important as they are – are not
sufficient to stop the aggression,” he said.
Jordan and Egypt are
the only Arab countries to have signed peace treaties with Israel.
Egypt recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv last week while
Jordan, which has not pulled its envoy out, called for an end to
“the targeting of civilians.”
“This matter will only lead to more
tensions in the area and will lead to an explosion of the
situation,” Foreign Minister Nasser Joudeh said.
In Turkey, a
photograph showing the burnt body of a three-year-old girl was
widely shared on Twitter under the caption “Ranan Yousef Arafat. 3
years.
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