|
18 November 2012
By Stephen Lendman On
November 15, thousands in Gaza City residents mourned
Jabari's assassination. Israel murdered him the
previous day in cold blood.
Score another victory for occupation harshness. Add
one to the column of Israeli crimes against humanity.
Volumes are needed to list them. Israel lives by the
sword of injustice. One day perhaps it will perish for
its villainy.
Hamas officials and Qassam Brigades leaders stayed
away from Jabari's funeral for their safety. They're
marked men. IDF spokesman General Yoav Mordechai said,
"Were I a Hamas operative, I would opt to shelter
underground."
Mourners carried Jabari's body ritualistically. Others
fired guns in the air chanting, "You have won."
London Telegraph writer Phoebe Greenwood said Gazans
called his assassination "the straw that's broken the
camel's back. The people are saying that 'we don't
care. We want all our men to fight. We've got nothing
to lose now.' " Gaza
is in "emergency mode." People are angry and defiant.
The London Independent headlined "Massed Israeli
troops poised for invasion of Gaza," saying:
"Military sources told The Independent that a ground
invasion was 'a distinct possibility.' The army has
deployed extra infantry units near the Gaza border,
halted major exercises, cancelled soldiers' leave and
mobilized some reserve forces." The
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
and its military wing, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigade,
mourns Jabari's death. They called him a martyred
liberating struggle "great leader." They
promised greater resistance. They called for
Palestinian unity and solidarity against a common
enemy. PFLP's Political Bureau spokesman said: "The
crime committed by the Zionist gangs by assassinating
martyr commander Ahmed Jabari represents a new crime
against our people, and confirms beyond any doubt that
we are facing an aggressive, racist terrorist entity
that does not understand anything but the language of
confrontation and resistance." They
promised Israel would pay a heavy price. Its crime
won't go unpunished.
Jabari was born in 1960 in Gaza City's Shujaiyya
neighborhood. His family was activist. He earned a BA
degree in history at Gaza's Islamic University.
Earlier he allied with Fatah. In 1982, he was
imprisoned for 13 years. He joined the Muslim
Brotherhood before Hamas was established. He
met future Qassam Brigades leader Salah Shehadeh and
other Hamas figures. He became politically and
militarily active. After release from prison in 1995,
he ran a Hamas-affilated organization. It worked for
current and former prisoners. In 1997, he worked with
the Hamas-connected Islamic Redemption party. In
2002, an Israeli air strike killed Shehadeh and
seriously injured his successor, Mohamed Deif. In
August 2004, Jabari gained Qassam Brigades operational
control. He built it into a 10,000-strong force. He
helped Hamas maintain control of Gaza after Abbas
established an illegitimate West Bank coup d'etat
government. He's known as Qassam Brigades commander. He
was actually second in command to the figure who
hasn't been seen since the early 1990s. Called "the
general," he survived several earlier assassination
attempts. In
2004, Israeli helicopters targeted his Shujaiyya home.
He was slightly wounded. His oldest son, Muhammad, his
brother, and three other relatives were killed at the
time. He
gained prominence for his role in capturing Gilat
Shalit and negotiating his release in exchange for
1,027 Palestinian prisoners. After Cast Lead, he
gained greater political influence.
Haaretz writer Jack Khoury asked "Who was Ahmed Jabari?
He was well known and respected in Gaza. He didn't
gain prominence until negotiations for Shalit's
release. Many considered him the most important
military and political Hamas leader. "A
former inmate who shared his prison cell told Haaretz
that Jabari was a dominant figure in the prison." "We
would sit and drink tea. It was a different period,
before the first intifada, and he wasn't considered a
leader at that time and didn't think he would reach
such a senior position." In
Gaza, he was active in Hamas' charitable work. He was
in charge of coordinating fundraising and military
activities. He
became influential in establishing ties with senior
Hamas figures abroad. In 1998, the PA arrested him. He
was released when the second Intifada erupted in
September 2000.
Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin said Israel
erred in killing him. Lives on both sides will be
lost.
Hours before he was assassinated, he got a truce
agreement draft. It included ways for establishing
ceasefire in case of future flare-ups.
Israel knew he was working with Egypt to establish
permanent truce. Nonetheless, the killed him.
Israel abhors peace and stability. Its agenda depends
on conflict and violence. It blames victims for its
own crimes. It gets away with murder with impunity.
Blood could have been spared, said Baskin. Instead,
Israel chose to keep living by the sword. Netanyahu
will probably benefit in January elections. Israelis
aren't smart enough to spurn him.
Baskin said Jabari believed Israeli/Palestinian
hostility benefitted neither side. Several times he
prevented Hamas attacks on Israel. When
rockets were launched, open spaces were targeted to
avoid Israeli casualties.
Baskin showed Defense Minister Barak a copy of the
draft truce agreement. Instead of choosing conflict
resolution, he "decided not to decide."
Jabari "was in line to die, not an angel and not a
righteous man of peace, but his assassination also
killed the possibility of achieving a truce and also
the Egyptian mediators' ability to function." In
other words, peace was possible. Israel willfully
sabotaged it. They did it other times to perpetuate
conflict. Palestinians are blamed for Israeli
belligerence and violence.
Baskin added: "I
am mainly sad. This is sad for me. I am seeing people
getting killed and that is what is making me sad. I
tell myself that with every person who is killed we
are engendering the next generation of haters and
terrorists."
Israel killed Jabari to further violent conflict.
Haaretz contributor Aluf Benn said "Israel killed its
subcontractor in Gaza."
Jabari was in charge of maintaining Gaza security.
Israel relied on him to maintain order. At the same
time, he was called "an arch-terrorist," "the terror
chief in charge," and "our bin Laden."
Israel pulls the same stunts as Washington. Enemies
are invented to stoke fear. Benn
said in return for maintaining order, Israel funded
Hamas "through the flow of shekels in armored trucks
to banks in Gaza, and continued to supply
infrastructure and medical services to the inhabitants
of the Gaza Strip."
Amounts given were woefully inadequate. It's
surprising anything was provided under conditions of
siege. Jabari was also key in securing Shalit's
release. In captivity, he ensured his welfare and
safety.
Perhaps his subcontractor services weren't good
enough. He could control Hamas but not other
resistance groups. He was warned to restrain them.
Israel's message was clear. "You failed, you're
dead."
According to Barak, "In the Middle East, there is no
second chance for the weak." Killing Jabari will be
remembered as another pre-election gambit to win
votes.
Professor Yagil Levy calls it "fanning the conflict as
an intra-state control strategy." External conflict
enlists domestic support for greater safety and
security. Israel chose this route many times before.
Cast Lead was most recent on the eve of 2009
elections. It
helped elect Ehud Olmert. Netanyahu hopes he'll be
advantaged the same way. On January 22 he'll know. At
the same time, Israel needs a new Gaza subcontractor.
It
also has other regional challenges. Post-election, it
remains to be seen if Israel loses more than it gains
by killing Jabari. Palestinians and supporters intend
to see things turn out that way.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book is
titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized
Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html Visit his
blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to
cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on
the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive
Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour |
Add Comments