Will Gaza Become Palestine's Bakhmut?

It’s unlikely the remaining erect buildings in these pictures will stay in that condition long. What you see is the coming terrain of the Battle for Gaza—the Zionists attempt to destroy all the Palestinian “animals.” The question begged is this what Hamas’s political goal was at the outset, to draw the IOF—Zionist Occupation Forces—into such a battle zone so they can be destroyed instead? As this item at The Cradle suggests, Hamas was very surprised that its surprise assault went so well initially, so the goals were altered to try and link with the West Bank. But Hamas must also be disappointed that the West Bank remained mostly uninvolved as well as with Hezbollah, which has done very little. Here’re the author’s thoughts:

Tel Aviv and Washington want to take down the Palestinian resistance while ensuring that no other battle fronts flare up to distract from that mission. Of course, the Resistance Axis principals will seek to do exactly the opposite, doing what is necessary to distract Israel from its strategic objective.  

The situation is very complicated. If Israel manages to eliminate the Palestinian resistance - which it has never been able to do before - the entire region will undergo seismic changes and Tel Aviv will be able to impose its will across occupied Palestine.

Those gains would be extremely painful: the crippling of the Palestinian fighting spirit; No impediment to the Judaization of the al-Aqsa mosque; the possible annexation of the West Bank; increased settlement building; the mass detention of Palestinians with impunity; normalization with all remaining Arab and Muslim countries; and the loss of the Resistance Axis' Palestinian ally.

These variables would fundamentally alter the balance of power in West Asia. The Axis of Resistance will not stand by idly and allow an Israeli ground operation against Gaza's resistance - it will throw in new variables to confound and weaken the enemy.

As we’ve seen, maximum effort’s been made to link Iran to this event so it can be bombed, but there’s nothing to be found. What is revealed in the article is Hamas’s initial modest goals to merely defeating the ring outside the fence/wall, tasks it accomplished. Other cells within Occupied Palestine emerged and began their assaults. And here we must now confront a big issue: Who constitute combatants on the Zionist side? Most of the population is an IOF reservist, and the so-called settlers are paramilitary vigilantes if not outright terrorists, a quality not confined to males in either case. And politically, all Zionists agree with the policy of stealing Palestinian land and forcing them to go elsewhere, and if not to their deaths—A Second Nakhba. I cited this passage by Crooke who in turn cites Gideon Levy, a very experienced observer and writer on Palestine from four months ago:

Gideon Levy trenchantly lays out the longer-term implication of these events: Netanyahu, in “removing the entire Palestinian issue from the public agenda in Israel… [where] no one is interested in it anymore, other than paying it lip service - is a tremendous achievement” (at least in the eyes of the Right).

This act thus distills Israeli options down to two -- and no more: A unitary (one democratic state for the two peoples) between the River Jordan and the Sea; or, secondly a second Nakba (cleansing of Palestinians from the ‘Land of Israel’).

Here is the ‘rub’, as Gideon Levy puts it: The present situation which he calls ‘apartheid’ is but a stop-gap. “Its’ end will come”. And if the government goes on entrenching Occupation … “Not that there’s much more to entrench: the occupation is deep, consolidated, strong and irreversible. But if you can consolidate it further … this will enable an official declaration of the death of the two-state solution, decades after it died de facto”.

In killing this as a ‘Palestinian solution’, Netanyahu has left us with only two possible solutions, Levy avers: 

“How will it play out: One is preferred by the extreme Right, and horrifically, perhaps by almost all Israelis – a second Nakba. If things come to a head, and Israel is faced with a choice of one democratic state for two peoples, or a mass expulsion of Palestinians in order to maintain the existence of a Jewish state - the choice will be clear for almost every Israeli Jew [i.e. they would choose Nakba]. The moment a two-state solution was taken off the table, they were left with no other choice” (emphasis added).

There’s been lots of speculation that this entire doing is a hybrid false flag that allows the Zionists to attain their goals of both flushing the Palestinians down the toilet and ending the political circus around the so-called Judicial Reforms that will place the ultra zealot Zionists into total control over what remains of the Liberal Zionist faction. The question begged: Is that the reason why Hezbollah and the West Bank have stayed out of this because they suspect a trap? No answer will be given, but the initial assumption is no because too many Zionists have died.

And that brings us back to the header photos and the wastage that’s to come. Note the impassability of the terrain for vehicles—everything is rubble. Rubble makes the erection of defensive works somewhat easier and easier to disguise. The only way to capture Gaza will be via infantry assault that can then clear the way for bulldozers to clear vehicle passages. Hamas and its allies know the terrain. Yes, Zionist artillery will help the infantry advance but only so far as much is already rubble. A great deal will depend on motivation—for the Palestinians, this is existential, and it isn’t for the Zionists.

As Rybar reports, damage to Occupied Palestine will also be economic and more so than previous Zionist attacks on Gaza:

According to economists, during the conflict, the Israeli consumer will leave the house less and, naturally, reduce consumption. Also, with a high probability, the volume of investment in the economy, both private and public, will decrease. In addition to this, it is likely that in the near future we will see a weakening of the shekel against the dollar and against other currencies. The Bank of Israel has already announced foreign exchange interventions in the amount of $30 billion to stabilize the national currency.

In addition, the Israeli government may now be forced to make tough decisions, including in the field of financial control, which will not be favorably received by large investors. This could provoke a large-scale outflow of private capital. The flow of international investment into Israel and trade relations with other countries will suffer. This will affect both economic activity and the stability of the national currency.

In the current conflict, unlike previous operations against Hamas, unprecedented challenges are emerging. First, the tourism and event industries will suffer. The flow of tourists will now decrease sharply. The number of visitors to cultural events will also come to naught. It is also possible to approximate the damage caused to the industrial sector, since about 18 per cent of industrial production in Israel is in the Ashkelon area, and if the Beersheba area is added to it, it is about 25 per cent.

This indirectly confirms that Gaza is the main target of Israel's military operation. Destroying the military potential of the enclave, while maintaining it as a source of cheap labor for local industries, is quite similar to a business plan. A recent economic study by the Bank of Israel concluded that the high-tech sector, which is the main engine of the economy, is the least sensitive to military action.

If the threat of rocket attacks persists for a long time, then it is likely that a decision will be made to relocate production. This can be used by partners, for example, from the United States or Switzerland, who have comparable technological potential. According to a report by the Bank of Israel, the 2006 Second Lebanon War resulted in a loss of 0.35-0.5% of GDP. These were insignificant figures, especially against the backdrop of a rapid economic recovery. But now the losses will be many times greater.

Israel's budget will now be severely strained. Of course, the Ministry of Defense will require additional funding. The health system is already overstretched and will require additional budgetary allocations. In the southern part of the country, non-urgent patients are sent home. The system of medical institutions has actually turned into a huge field hospital.

Against this background, in the medium term, the forecast for the Israeli economy is moderately negative. In the current environment, raising funds to finance the costs of the war will not only be more difficult, but also much more expensive. Israel's economy could take years to recover, and the costs to the population would be substantial.

If the siege of Gaza lasts months as it well could, the Zionist economy will take a big hit.

There were reports of many people going to the airports and trying to flee, but many airlines ceased flights to and from Occupied Palestine. Notably, the Outlaw US Empire has not issued a warning for its nationals to leave the conflict zone. Rybar reports that casualties are about even at 5,000 each. As for atrocities, the main one’s been ongoing for years which provides the motivation for reprisals. And the 100% indiscriminate bombing of Gaza is a major crime all in itself. Add to that the cutting of water, and there’re two big war crimes chalked up to the Zionists already. But the much bigger crime was described by Russian President Putin when he met with Iraq’s PM Sudani earlier today:

I think a lot of people would agree with me that this is a clear example of the failure of the United States' policy in the Middle East. who tried to monopolize the settlement, but unfortunately were not are concerned with finding compromises acceptable to both sides, but, on the contrary, putting forward their own ideas of how this should be done, Pressure on both sides, on both: first on one, then on the other. But every time without taking into account the fundamental interests of the Palestinian people, meaning the need to implement the decision of the UN Security Council to establish an independent, sovereign Palestinian State.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in a long article published today also noted another behavior on the part of the West that’s directly led to what’s clearly a tragedy:

The hallmark of the "collective West" has long been the rejection of the principle of equality and the associated total inability to negotiate. Accustomed to looking down on the rest of the world, in line with the logic of "leader" and "follower", the Americans and their European satellites often take on obligations, including written and legally binding ones. And then they simply don't fulfill them. As President Vladimir Putin noted, the West is a veritable "empire of lies." We, like many other countries, know this firsthand.

We should also expect an escalation of terror attacks within Syria as the Zionists activate their allies. Statements coming from Iraq say Outlaw US Empire assets will be attacked if it aids the Zionists. A very long statement was voiced by Maria Zakharova in her weekly briefing today announcing Russian flights were available for the many asking about them—there’re close to 2 million ethnic Russians living in Occupied Palestine. There’s a temptation to provide it all but these excerpts will have to suffice:

As for how the situation will develop further. As we can see (and observers and experts in the region say this), a decrease in tensions is not expected in the near future. We are working on the possibility of evacuating fellow citizens who have asked for help from the war zone (the Gaza Strip, Ramal and Palestine). Russian diplomatic missions are preparing relevant lists and providing the necessary assistance to those in need. The relevant information is posted on the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign missions….

The main thing now is to cease fire and stop the bloodshed. We support the efforts of stakeholders to address this priority. This would make it possible to avoid new casualties, end the suffering of the civilian population, ensure their evacuation through humanitarian corridors and prevent the situation from sliding into a region-wide humanitarian catastrophe. This is not just a crisis or an emergency. We are talking about the fate of millions of people….

In the course of our contacts, we reaffirmed our unwavering position that a solution to the long-standing Palestinian-Israeli conflict can only be achieved through the relaunch of a full-fledged dialogue between the parties aimed at finding compromise solutions to all final status issues. The result of such a negotiation process should be the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, coexisting in peace and security with Israel. If we see so many supporters of international law, this is what it is.

The tragic events unfolding in the region show that there is no alternative to this approach. The U.S. stake on "freezing" the status quo and promoting "economic peace," as well as the use of collective formats tailored to crisis response, has not justified itself. Everyone can see the result. In the absence of a clear "political horizon" for a settlement, the Palestinians and Israelis have not been able to break the vicious circle of violence….

The statements of American (as well as regional) politicians and public figures calling for ethnic cleansing in the region look monstrous. They openly call one group of people almost doomed to total annihilation. Once again, aggression, violation of the rule of law and cavernous hatred have surfaced on the surface of the declared American decency and human rights dogmas.

I will not quote the words of former US Permanent Representative to the UN and now presidential candidate Nikki Haley – it is monstrous. Among all the statements that are beyond the scope of legal and any ethics, I will take only one phrase. It managed to incorporate the events of September 11, 2001 in New York into its hysterical appeal. Haley said that America needs friends. "Just like we needed them on 9/11. That's why Ukraine needs us when Russia does it. That's why Israel needs us when Hamas and Iran are doing it."…

The calls of American politicians and public figures for murder and the complete annihilation of people of the same nationality, regardless of the legal side of the issue, testify to the deep-seated problems of liberal society in the United States, its propensity for violence, and the justification of ethnic cleansing and chauvinism.

If everyone there has begun to discuss the current situation in the Middle East and is ready to talk about Russia in this context, I would like American politicians (starting with the head of state, all representatives of law enforcement agencies, the State Department and those who aspire to top posts) to answer the primary question, which for some reason they are not going to answer. How did it happen that the United States, as Israel's closest ally, did not warn about this for a year (this is how long the operation was being prepared, which is now carried out in a few days)? They have satellites, tracking devices and military bases everywhere, including in the region. There is every opportunity to carry out not just monitoring, but surveillance (the facts speak for themselves) of all information circulating on American-made equipment (hardware and software). For a whole year of preparation for such a large-scale operation, the United States, with all the power of its intelligence services, did not transfer anything to Israel as intelligence.

We remember how Washington was privy to everything related to Novichok. They call it a chemical warfare agent. The Americans were absolutely sure and disseminated information "in the first person" that this substance was used by Russia. In all these years, there has been no confirmation of this. The U.S. was aware of everything. Constant accusations of hacker attacks and the use of the "Kremlin's hand" to interfere in internal affairs, both in the United States and in other regions of the world. How did it happen that during the entire year of preparing for the relevant operation in the Middle East, the United States did not pass on any information to its partners in Israel?

One can imagine what Outlaw US Empire Neocons like Haley would have said when Germany invaded the USSR in 1941—Kill all those Commie rats! Lebensraum for Germans! And such an excellent question for the All Seeing, All Knowing Empire intel agencies. One explanation is Hamas used Huawei phones because they don’t have the built-in backdoors for use by the West’s spies.

Iran’s leader Khamenei made an expected speech on the issue as Rybar reported:

He supported the actions of Palestinian groups against the Zionist state, calling the cause of the conflict "Israel's crimes against the Gaza Strip and Palestine." The leader of the Iranian nation noted that the Palestinians have the right to fight for their freedom. However, there were no statements on his part about the possible entry of the Iranians into the conflict. At the same time, he noted a very important thing: after October 7, Israel's position has changed radically, and it will not be the same. [My Emphasis]

The bolded text poses the question, In what way as Khamenei sees it? Is it what Levy predicted up thread?

Yemen’s Houthis—Ansar Allah—have announced if the Outlaw US Empire enters the conflict, they will side with Palestine. Rybar’s convinced that “the Houthis are armed with missiles and drones that can theoretically reach Israel.” (For those who don’t know, Ansar Allah has said the Outlaw US Empire is the force that waged war on them through its Saudi proxy and holds it responsible, which is correct.)

One other item is the threat by the Zionists to bomb an Egyptian humanitarian goods convoy President Sisi ordered sent to Gaza, which again shows the genuine face of the Zionists. Such an act would not just be a war crime but an act of war against Egypt. Of course, the main crime’s been ongoing since the Balfour Declaration which gave agency to the plans of the Zionists for their Imperial exploit, which first the British then the Americans thought they could use to advance their own Imperial agenda. Instead, both were used and continue to be used by the Zionists.

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