We hear conflicting news every day about the Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Doha that include senior US, Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari intelligence officials. The US is trying to give the illusion of a positive atmosphere surrounding the talks and is spreading rumors that there is progress and that an agreement is close.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian resistance groups say that there is no progress in the negotiations and that there is a large gap between their conditions to stop the fighting and what the Americans are asking for on behalf of the Zionists: “There is a barrier between the two parties that cannot be crossed,” they point out.
I believe them, because the US wants an achievement, even an imaginary one, that will boost the chances of Kamala Harris against Donald Trump in the US presidential election. Justice and peace are not uppermost in American minds.
Moreover, any success in the negotiations may make the response to Israel’s killing of Ismail Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr more complicated. Agree on a ceasefire, and the axis of resistance will claim that the mere threat of its response pushed the Zionists towards a deal. No ceasefire will mean, almost inevitably, that a response will be necessary to maintain credibility among the supporters of the resistance.
Therein lies the usual US deceit that aims to absorb popular anger at the political murders of Haniyeh and Shukr.
It is intended to sedate the axis of resistance with false promises in order to waste time in the interests of the Zionists. In doing so, it can prevent the escalation of conflict across the Middle East, which even the US believes is unacceptable. It has more important issues at hand in confronting Russia and China.
There is no doubt that the US will work to increase the role of Egypt and Qatar, moving from mediators to partners in pressuring the resistance groups to make concessions that weaken them, so that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can promote his “great victory”. Egypt possesses the “great sword” through its nominal control of the border crossings, while Qatar possesses the “great gold” that could tempt the resistance given the desperate living conditions in the Gaza Strip.
We must be aware that the optimistic American discourse on an agreement is not directed at the Arab governments but at the Arab people, as the positions of the normalization regimes are the same as America’s. However, the concern is that the ongoing tension and the clear bias towards the Zionist entity; the genocide of the Palestinian people; and the decisions of international courts increase popular support for the resistance, and the US realizes that the people will still be around when the current regimes are history. Promoting the claim that negotiations are close to finding a solution is one way to sedate the masses in coordination with the Zionist Arab regimes.
We know that the Zionist entity wants to achieve most if not all of Netanyahu’s ambitions in the Gaza Strip, and it wants unlimited US military, political, economic and media support. Such support is increasing, and the Zionist enemy is reassured by the clear policies of the normalized Arab regimes.
That’s why I believe that the statements of the resistance groups are closer to reality, and why they will keep their collective finger on the trigger during the talks. Any proposal that does not explicitly include a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the unfettered opening of the border crossings between Egypt and Palestine must be rejected.
Based on this US strategy, there is no doubt that Washington asked the head of the Palestinian “security coordination is sacred” Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to go to Türkiye to give a speech, as he is no less enthusiastic than the Zionist entity in his desire to get rid of Hamas. He wants to extend his authority through security coordination to the Gaza Strip. The US also wants this and is trying to convince Israel’s leaders that the PA will protect the occupation state from the resistance groups in the enclave, as it still does in the occupied West Bank.
The man who has been absent from Gaza for 17 years, when the situation was much better than it is now, has expressed a sudden strong desire to visit while it lies in ruins.
No one doubts that Abbas cares little about the pain and suffering of the Palestinian people.
He has, after all, remained largely silent as they were slaughtered for ten months. He simply wants to have Gaza under his authority in service of the Zionist entity. He also wants to control the Arab and international aid that will flow into Gaza to rebuild it, and thus stop the resistance groups from being in charge of its distribution and use. This is despite the fact that he only has the support of seven per cent of the Palestinian people, according to a number of Arab, Western and Palestinian opinion polls. The Palestinian Authority under his control ranks among the worst 35 countries in terms of corruption and the top 15 in terms of its security agencies.
The gap between the occupation state of Israel and the legitimate resistance groups is huge and is unlikely to be bridged. Finding middle ground between the goals and ambitions of the Zionist entity and the conditions of the Palestinian groups with their commitment to the principle of resistance was never going to be easy without an end to the occupation, and that is not on the table. In any case, since when has Israel ever respected any of the agreements that it has signed with the Palestinians? The cursed Oslo Accords provide the best evidence of this, even though the deal was firmly in favor of the occupation and went against the rights of the Palestinian people. Abbas was behind Oslo, of course. When will we ever learn?
-Dr Amira Abo el-Fetouh is a dentist and a political commentator. Her article appeared in MEMO.
