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I took out the more visible sloganeering 'cause it wouldn't make sense on a message board, and I won't quote the name of the author of the text. This sums up my feelings about the whole thing perfectly, though. Sorry about the long text.
Just over a year since the last Lebanese conflict, the permanent crisis in the Middle East has again exploded into open war. This time the theatre is the “Gaza strip” one of the most densely populated territories in the world. The scenes are the same: missiles and aerial bombardments, followed by tanks and by street-by-street, house-to-house fighting, with a vertiginous increase in the number of victims. As always, the civilian population also pays an extremely high price.
Coming suddenly to a head, this crisis is just the latest episode in the unresolved “Palestinian question”, which is the epicentre of a wider Middle Eastern question: a drama with many actors, all jointly responsible. Firstly, imperialism as a whole, and its various fractions endlessly in competition with each other – primarily the USA and the European Union, but also Russia and the Asian powers – who exploit and feed local conflicts in order to retain or increase their economic and political presence on both fronts.
Secondly, the bourgeoisie of the countries in the area – from Israel to Iran – are also involved in the game of clashes and alliances, whether declared or kept quiet, in defence of their own capitalist interests. Countries such as Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia have historically brandished the banner of the “Palestinian question” as a shield in their respective national politics, manoeuvering the Palestinian fractions to their own advantage, even within their own internal military conflicts. Today Iran presents itself as a “champion” against Israel, in order to assert itself as a power in the region, and finances Hamas, while conversely Egypt applauds a defeat for Hamas, as weakening Iran. Coming from those who put fuel on the fire, calls for a truce and for peace are tardy and hypocritical.
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