CAIRO: Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, the official Egyptian propaganda machine has been working at full capacity, but what it has produced is a mixture of sheer lies and half-truths. There is a political and moral imperative to evaluate the basic arguments of that machine.
1. Hamas is responsible for the war
Hamas was the result of the lingering Palestinian-Israeli conflict, not the cause of it. The clock of Egypt’s propaganda machine, however, started ticking on Dec. 19, 2008 when Hamas rejected an extension of the truce with Israel if its unjust conditions are not amended, particularly the lifting of the blockade imposed on Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinians. Israel’s aggressive intentions need no elaboration; it had fought the Arab world five times (in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982) and occupied the land of four Arab states (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt) before Hamas even existed.
Today’s offensive is reminiscent of the invasions of Lebanon in 1982 and the West Bank in 2002 waged to demolish the PLO and the Palestinian National Authority respectively. Israel’s target has always been the obliteration of Palestinian resistance, irrespective of the banner it raises.
The moral and political responsibility of the current aggression lies primarily on Israel, whose war machine has brutally bombed civilian quarters in total disregard of international law and human rights conventions. Moreover, it is highly questionable that Israel would not have carried out its attack had Hamas agreed to extend the ceasefire. Besides, the current aggression is an extension of the so-called truce, during which Israel had turned the Strip into the biggest concentration camp on earth, and deprived it of basic food and medicine supplies.
Nevertheless, Egypt’s insolent propaganda machine blames the victim and is satisfied with directing meek condemnations at the assailant who would have carried out the attack in all cases, driven by a military doctrine premised on aggression and expansion and internal political ambitions that thrive on Palestinian blood.
2. Egyptian diplomacy is doing its best to stop the Israeli aggression
Egypt’s diplomatic reaction to the war on Gaza has been, at best, cold. It is interesting to note that on the day following the start of the Israeli offensive, the Egyptian President contacted one foreign head of state: the King of Bahrain Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa. If the conflict-rich Middle East resembles a jungle, then Bahrain – the smallest Arab nation – would be the jungle’s harmless ant; and ants do not have any leverage over elephants.
Any student of international politics knows that any serious diplomatic effort to stop the aggression would have approached Washington, and major European and Arab capitals that can make a difference in the Middle East.
Egypt remained aloof for the first days of hostilities. President Mubarak’s first statement came on the fourth day of aggression and its diplomatic effort commenced only after Israel had started its ground operation.
Furthermore, Egypt has not been enthusiastic about the idea of convening an emergency Arab summit. One could also wonder why the sale of Egyptian gas to Israel continues uninterrupted. Verbal condemnation and humanitarian relief is all Egypt could do in the face of the slaughter in Gaza. An article appearing in The Middle East Times a few years ago carried the title: “Egypt Slips from Powerbroker to Event Planner. Inspired by the current crisis, the title could be rephrased to “Egypt Slips from Powerhouse to Ambulance.
3. The Rafah Crossing is subject to an international treaty that Egypt must respect
In response to mounting popular pressure on Egypt to guarantee the permanent opening of the Rafah Crossing, Egyptian top officials contend that the treaty signed in 2005 by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the European Union to regulate the Rafah Crossing is binding to Egypt. Thus, the gate will remain closed, except for the treatment of humanitarian cases.
Contrast the Egyptian regime’s absolute adherence to this insignificant treaty which it did not even sign, with its domestic disregard for the constitution, laws, and basic principles of human rights. Contrast that posture also with the number and intensity of Israeli violations of international law, human rights conventions, and Security Council resolutions over six decades. In the period between 1967 and 2000, for example, Israel had been the subject of 138 Security Council resolutions. Most of these resolutions called on the Jewish state to end its occupation of Arab land and to act in accordance with the basic principles of international law. Israel flouted them all.
The reason why a treaty that encroaches upon Egypt’s sovereignty and that aggravates the human tragedy of Gaza’s population is so revered by Cairo is political, not legal, namely destabilizing the rule of Hamas in Gaza and emboldening its rivals in Ramallah.
4. Hamas is totally under Iran’s control
Hamas receives political and financial support from the Islamic Republic of Iran, but that does not necessarily mean that the former is a stooge of the latter.
First, Iranian financial support to Hamas has been minor. Shaul Mishal, professor at Tel Aviv University, says: “I don’t really see Iran stepping forward and filling the gap for Hamas as far as money is concerned, and whatever assistance is provided will certainly have many strings attached – perhaps too many to make it worthwhile, for the amounts of money we would be talking about.
Secondly, sectarian differences and Hamas’ inclination to ward off outside influence propelled it to put Iran at arm’s length. Anat Kurtz, a scholar of Hamas at the Israeli Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, explained that Hamas is, first and foremost, “a nationalist organization – it is Palestinian before being radical Islamist. Too close an affiliation with Iran could undermine its goal of establishing itself as the leading actor in the Palestinian political scene. Another Israeli scholar, Meir Litvak, argued that Hamas “might like some kind of beneficial partnership [with Iran], but subordination – never.
5. Egypt has always served the Palestinian question
Egypt staunchly supported the Palestinian cause in the few decades following the loss of Palestine and the establishment of the state of Israel.
But when Egypt’s rulers saw a contradiction that could not be reconciled between its national interests and its pan-Arab commitments, they opted for the former. The product was Egypt’s separate peace treaty with Israel in 1979 that neutralized the strongest and most populous Arab country, thereby depriving the Palestinians of their only stalwart Arab ally.
The argument that “Egypt has always served the Palestinian question is clearly used to tickle chauvinistic feelings, but it is not scientifically accurate.
Obviously, to thwart supra-state identities (such as Islamism and Arabism), the Egyptian state has opted for reviving nationalist Egyptian feelings.
6. The Egyptian officer killed by Hamas militants is a martyr
Perhaps. But what about the Egyptian soldiers who were killed by Israeli fire across the Egyptian-Palestinian border? In the period between 2004 and 2008, at least eight Egyptians were killed along Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip. They were buried in silence, no reverence, no attention. In contrast, heroes are made of the Egyptian victim of Hamas; prime media time is generously offered to highlight the agony of the deceased’s loved ones and a military funeral is held in honor of “the brave officer who was safeguarding Egypt’s sacred land.
In other words, Egyptian bloodshed at the hands of Israeli Apachi helicopters and F-16s is cheap and neglected. But hostile Palestinian bullets are an opportunity to legitimize Egypt’s antagonistic stance toward Hamas and mobilize people against it. Double-standards reveal hypocrisy and reflect policy too; the crimes of Israel are forgiven because Israel is an ally, Hamas is a foe. No wonder the Is
raeli commentator Zvi Bar’el wrote in Haaretz that following the Egyptian media gives the impression that the real war is between Egypt and Hamas, not Israel and Hamas. President Mubarak spelled out his intentions when he told a European delegation that “Hamas must not be allowed to win, a statement which the regime was quick to deny.
The bloodbath on Egypt’s doorstep is a reminder that Israel comprises the real threat to Egypt’s national security, not Hamas. But the strategic calculations of the nation have been overshadowed by the narrow interests of a ruling elite.
Nael M. Shama, PhD, is a political researcher and freelance writer based in Cairo.
