The Incorporation of Occupation

As Israel is finishing off its atrocities in Gaza and working actively, internationally and locally, on cleaning the blood that stains its hands, the international community is also actively working on clearing its conscience - or rebuilding Gaza if you want. It’s almost a perfect economical model for Palestinian government officials and “people in charge”: a never ending cycle of Israeli aggression and destruction which generates a continuous flow of generous (Fact: since 2000, the EU alone has donated over 3.9 Billion Dollah to Palestine) financial and humanitarian aid paid for by yours truly, Mr. World. So, the real dilemma that the people in charge of “stuff” in Palestine are facing right now is how to tactically position themselves to become the sole recipient of the bling bling.

2 major corporations are competing for this lucrative RFP, Khamas and The Palestinian Authority (PA). The PA, on the one hand, enjoys an international reputation of being “moderate”, a “partner in peace”, “rational”. This automatically makes the PA a more qualified candidate for this bid. However the PA also enjoys a reputation of being corrupt and un-ethical. I personally don’t have a proof of that, but judging on the lavish life style that PA officials here in Ottawa enjoy, from driving fancy cars and living in houses that have swimming pools cooks and chauffeurs to recently buying a million-dollar estate near the Rideau canal to be used for an embassy representing a country that can’t be located on most world maps, unless they can prove to me that they discovered an oil well somewhere near Ramallah maybe, I think that what we have here is beyooooond corruption.

All sarcasm aside though, I don’t think that the PA is really capable of rebuilding Gaza and delivering the much needed financial support to the people in the strip. Ever since the cat fights have started between the 2 sisters, the PA has had diminishing control over Gaza while Khamas has been strengthening its grip on the strip and gaining more and more support from its people. And this makes Khamas, from a logistical stand point at least, more flexible, nimble and capable when it comes to rebuilding.

Of course the major concern that’s discussed when the Khamas proposal is put on the table, is whether Khamas will use this opportunity to equip itself again, with cutting edge state of the art tunnels, and rebuild its “red army” (even though Khamas really prefers the color green) and continue with its mission to conquer the “Free” world. And you know what? This is a legitimate concern not only for the international community (i.e. western powers) but also for the Palestinian people. The people of Gaza are the ones that took the major hit in this latest Israeli aggression and they should receive the bulk of the aid to rebuild roads, health, education, water, power, and sanitation infrastructure. The people of Gaza have supported Khamas throughout its resistance, they have stood by it because they know very well that the real problem is not with Khamas, that whether Khamas threw rockets at illegal settlements or not Israel was going to commit atrocities and ethnic cleansing. The Palestinians in Gaza are, and have always been, the real heroes, and 7amas has got to acknowledge this fact if they want to maintain the status of the “protectoooore”.