Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

The solution to Gaza…return to Syria! | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page

Unfortunately, wars in our region have become like a race, so each war is to cover another one. In other words, these wars are nothing more than a move to escape forward. Therefore what is happening in Gaza is escaping forward, particularly in the hope of saving al-Assad or at least ensuring that the cost of toppling him will be greater for everybody. The greatest architect of such wars is Iran, from the unmanned Ayoub drone, not to mention all the attempts in the Sinai Peninsula. When the Golan front did not move quickly enough for al-Assad and Iran, they resorted to the Gaza front, because this can be inflamed far quicker, whilst it is also easier for Israel in this regard.

For Israel, Gaza is like a punching bag that can be used for training and muscle flexing, whilst success in Gaza would strike several “files” in one go. In Gaza, Tel Aviv is able to crush Hamas and embarrass Egypt and Mursi, who will be the biggest loser in this battle, no matter what he does. This is because if Mursi succeeds politically he will lose his popularity and vice versa, that is of course unless the Egyptian president is able to pull off a political miracle that reflects his cunning. However his choices are severely limited. As for Israel, striking Gaza sends a strong message to al-Assad and clips Iran’s wings, particularly in the event that there is an Israeli strike on Iran. Above all else, Israel striking Gaza strengthens Netanyahu’s chances at the forthcoming elections.

Very well, but what about Syria? Now, the best solution to get out of this war – or air strikes – in Gaza is to return to Syria, and strongly, for whoever is responsible for the launch of the home-made rockets in Gaza did this whilst being well aware that there is no equivalence. The whole purpose of this was to save al-Assad, whose days are numbered; indeed his ouster is just around the corner! This is also a war to distract the Arab parties, particularly as we have seen a series of outbidding today. Therefore the Arabs have been unable to ask the fundamental question, namely: who incited the Gaza front? And why now? This is an essential question, particularly as Hassan Nasrallah is calling on the Arabs to pressure the US to stop the aggression. So why isn’t Nasrallah asking the agents of Iran in Gaza to stop pushing the Gaza Strip into the unknown? Why did he, and Iran, not ask al-Assad to stop the violence against the people of Syria? This is a series of outbidding, and everybody is playing this game.

What I want to say here is: who knows what will happen? The magic may turn against the magician, for the armed Palestinian groups in Gaza, including Hamas, do not want to continue the fighting, because they are incapable of this, whilst Israel does not want to prolong this aggression because it believes it has already made achievements, and on several levels. As for Mursi’s Egypt, it does not want, nor can it bear, this crisis; nor does the international community want this either.

Therefore, the best way to escape from Gaza now is to quickly return to Syria, for the Gaza fire was the result of an al-Assad spark, and from here the magic may turn against the magician, particularly as everybody is convinced of the threat represented by the al-Assad regime and the need to topple it. The solution to Gaza is to return to Syria, and accelerate the ouster of the criminal regime of the tyrant of Damascus.