* Agustín
Velloso
es profesor de la Facultad de Educación en la Universidad
Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED).
e-Mail: avelloso@edu.uned.es
Civil
war or 'coup d'état' in Palestine?
Interview with Professor
Agustin Velloso
'11th Week
of the Popular School Jose Luis Garcia Rua: The outcomes of fundamentalism',
Gijon, Spain, from 2 to 10 February 2007. Translated by the author
and revised by James Hollander. / CSCAweb: February 14, 2007
"Hamas'
response is what these same media outlets describe as civil war.
Their work of destroying yet another Arab and Muslim country
is almost complete. Another one on the list: Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan,
Somalia. Almost, because the Palestinian people, and not only
those affiliated with Hamas, will hopefully put an end to the
violence and force the political parties to come to terms with
the real enemy, the Israeli occupation, and punish the quislings
for their crimes".
Is there
a civil war going on in Palestine?
No,
but this question and an affirmative answer is what pro-Israeli
media are spreading all over the world. Hence, the average news
consumer knows nothing of the reality of this "civil war".
But, aren't
we seeing that Palestinians are killing each other in the streets
of Gaza?
What we are seeing is that since Hamas won the last legislative
elections of January 2006, which were monitored by hundreds of
foreign observers, Jimmy Carter amongst them, the Western powers
have made all kinds of political and economic manoeuvres to oust
the winner with the help of the losers, Abu Mazen and his Fatah
party.
However,
the situation is different than in Iraq. There are no Western
armies in Gaza, isn't just an internal Palestinian affair?
It
is not an internal affair. Palestine is just another piece on
the big Middle East chessboard, where the international community
is moving pieces to further its own interests, namely: the control
of oil and the support of its ally, Israel. The Western powers
support Fatah because they say it represents the " moderate
" Palestinians and are torpedoing the Hamas government because
its programme runs counter to the agenda of Zionism and imperialism.
Once Hamas obtained a majority of the seats in the Legislative
Council, the powerful leaders, Bush, Rice, Blair, Olmert, Solana
and others switched to plan B: oust Hamas from the government
no matter the price. This price would be paid by ordinary Palestinians,
in any case.
What role
is the international community playing in the fighting?
This
fighting is the last move in the chess game. Previously, the
West the supposed democratic guardians of international
law- invaded countries, flattened entire cities, bombed families
at weddings and on the beach, and forced Arab and Muslim prisoners
onto secret flights around the globe to torture them at will
and put them in cages like animals.
What moves
are you talking about?
They
have totally isolated the legitimate Palestinian government,
while Israel has declared its members a "legitimate"
target for its death squads, kidnapping several of them as well
as many members of the Legislative Council.
In addition to this political coup d'état, which makes
it almost impossible for the government to operate, they have
used their favourite weapon, the one they have used in Iraq for
so many years, leaving half a million dead Iraqi children in
its wake: an economic blockade. Israel is stealing the Palestinian
people's money, which it collects through taxes and which is
supposed to be handed over to the Palestinian government. Banks
have been prevented, under heavy pressure, from handling money
transfers from supporters of the Palestinian people. Finally,
when members of the government have tried to transport themselves
much-needed cash into the Occupied Territories, they have been
prevented from doing so. All this in order to achieve the goals
of the rogue state Israel, which in the words of one high official
include to put Palestinians on a diet. This peculiar sense of
humour in politics is reminiscent of Himmler, Menguele and other
learned Westeners.
Still, what
is the relationship between sanctions and shootings?
As
in Iraq, the Palestinians did not overthrow their government.
Clearly, they reject such "humanitarian" policies and
they are suspicious of Western help and their local delegates.
The Palestinian agent, Abu Mazen, has threatened to dissolve
the government, the Legislative Council, has demanded a national
unity government and early elections, all this when barely a
few months, full of unremitting Israeli aggression, have passed
since the 2006 elections.
Although Hamas is under no obligation to give up the government,
as the expression of Palestinian political will, prime minister
Hanniyeh made public his intention to resign, if necessary, in
the national interest. This is unheard of, not only in the Arab
world but in the West as well. The Western media, of course,
piad no attention at all to this offer.
Since things were not proceeding according to the "democratic"
plans of the Western powers, they have stepped up their pressure,
this time provoking Hamas through street fighting and threats
of violence.
Hamas' response is what these same media outlets describe as
civil war. Their work of destroying yet another Arab and Muslim
country is almost complete. Another one on the list: Iraq, Lebanon,
Afghanistan, Somalia. Almost, because the Palestinian people,
and not only those affiliated with Hamas, will hopefully put
an end to the violence and force the political parties to come
to terms with the real enemy, the Israeli occupation, and punish
the quislings for their crimes.
What is
going to happen now?
There
is ample reason for concern. We must recall what Western countries
and their main ally, Israel- have been doing for years in
the Middle East: destroying countries, killing millions and inflicting
immense suffering of many others.
The United States and Israel will keep on arming and funding
the pro-cup party and its militias in order to sabotage the Palestinian
national movement and foster instead the creative chaos they
are so fond. For the Palestinians, this means no return of the
refugees, the continuation of the occupation by close or remote
control, the "judaization" of Jerusalem, the continuation
of Israeli policies of ethnic cleansing and the subjugation of
millions of Palestinians in their own land. In any case, nothing
different of what has been taking place since 1948.
 Otros
textos del autor publicados en CSCAweb:
Agustín
Velloso: Palestina y la larga mano de la ocupación
Abu
Mazen, el cocinero del gobierno de Israel
¿Cambio
político en Estados Unidos?. Como en Israel, los mismos
perros con distintos collares
¿Political change in the
United States?. As in Israel, just different faces
'Roma
no paga a traidores', advierte el embajador del sionismo en España
Palestina
2006: los cadáveres por los suelos, los ánimos
por las nubes
¿Todos
contra Hamás? No, todos contra los palestinos
Enhorabuena,
Palestina. Bienvenido, Hamás (un comentario no político
a las elecciones legislativas palestinas de 2006)
Biografía
de Sharon, que es la de Israel y la del sionismo
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