Major Escalation In Gaza Conflict

I have been watching the Hamas situation escalating in Gaza over the past few months.  The Walk to Freedom (??) was nothing more than a suicide attack - more designed for suicide than attack.  The Hamas got the poor Gazans to die quite aimlessly. Nothing was achieved.

Then the Hamas began flying flaming kites and explosive balloons (including exploding condoms) over the border fence with Israel. Again these pin pricks have not achieved anything.

Finally Hamas have gone back to bigger fireworks - their home made rockets. They have been shooting their rockets into Israel - at a steadily increasing pace over the past weeks. On Tuesday there was a serious escalation with the firing of 45 rockets over the border into Israel. 

Predictably the Israelis have retaliated with an iron fist, conducting 25 military strikes into Gaza. The people of Gaza are suffering. 

Here is some news:

Israel and Hamas traded strikes through night of June 19-20. Counting 45 rockets fired from Gaza, and 25 military strikes from Israel.

Footage released on June 20 by Israel who said their strikes were a response to rocket fire from Hamas.

Palestinian media reported Hamas forces launched at least 10 rockets and a “number of rocket-propelled grenades” after Israeli aircraft targeted a Hamas base.

Israel said several of the rockets landed near a kindergarten in southern Israel, and that the Iron Dome defense system intercepted seven attempted strikes.

Hamas-affiliated Shebab News Agency reported at least four people were injured by Israel's Gaza strikes. 

They said two Hamas officers were injured in Rafah, and two other people were injured in Khan Younis and Jabalia.

One June 20, the Israelis said shots were fired near a group of Palestinians “who were launching arson balloons from the southern Gaza Strip into Israeli territory.” 

Here is a YouTube video. But this video is by some evangelicals. So ignore the spirits and glory part, towards the end.

Link : https://youtu.be/J7qvL6S3Og4

My comments :  Egypt has locked down its side of the Gaza border. This has been going on for years now.  Then the fight between Fatah in the West Bank (Mahmoud Abbas) and Hamas has seen no flow of money into the Gaza, including money to pay for electricity supplied by Israel.  

Here is some news from June last year :

June 2017

Gaza's electricity reduced to two hours a day

Hamas run Gaza since 2007 - seized strip in near civil war from Fatah 

dispute over general elections won by Islamist movement

reconciliation between Hamas, Fatah have failed

Gazans "hostage to longstanding internal Palestinian dispute."

Hamas last fought Israel in 2014 

Islamist group to spark another round of conflict

PA in West Bank told Israel it would no longer foot bill for electricity to Gaza

PA continued to pay Israel for electricity to Gaza until this month

PA pay (US$12.65 million) monthly bill.

sole power station in Gaza ran out of fuel, stopped working April '17

increase suffering, tensions in Palestinian enclave

collapse of vital services in impoverished, overcrowded territory 

blackouts lead to total collapse of basic services, health, water, sanitation 

Gaza Strip home to two million people

Hamas said Israel, Abbas responsible for "catastrophic consequences" 

This is the long standing dispute  between Hamas and Fatah.  There have been no elections in the West Bank or Gaza since 2007 - eleven years ago.  

Actually both Fatah and Hamas do not have "democratic" legitimacy anymore.  

In the whole Arab world, their problems have always been linked to the legitimacy of their rulers.  Hereditary kings,  dictators and autocrats always cannot sleep soundly at night because they do not have the legitimacy to rule.

Every morning when the Arab rulers wake up from sleep, the first thing on their mind is how to convince their people not to shoot them or chop off their heads.  This is a big problem for the Arab heads of State. They just do not have legitimacy to rule.

The same now with especially Hamas and Fatah.

Hence populist issues like 'fighting for Islam', 'jihad for Palestine' are highly "sought after"  by the rulers, kings, dictators and autocrats to be used as rallying points to whip up support for their "illegitimacy".   Meaning to make their people forget about their illegitimacy.

Hamas is no different.  Granted the grievances of the Palestinians are genuine. But telling unarmed people to march into a heavily secured, mined and machine gun guarded border fence is simply evil. They do not care for the lives of the Gazans at all. 

Hamas just wants to survive - no matter how many Gazan lives need to be sacrificed.

And why do they want to survive so much? Can you guess? Its money.

Sponsorship.  Arab potentates (who all lack legitimacy) will give oil money "to the cause of Islam, to the cause of jihad, to the cause of Palestine".  Cash is King populism. To show their own people that their rulers / leaders "care". For what? 

So Hamas gets money.  And their leaders can live in fairly comfortable luxury for another year.  It is a circle / cycle.   You feed me I feed you.

In between let the people suffer and die.

Does this sound familiar? 

Have you heard of something called UMNO? 

Ketuanan Melayu? 

Brader Trouble Maker ?

They are all the same. Lebih kurang.  

Its a tried and tested method.

You need lots of unthinking people.

And just one or two clever beggars to mislead the unthinking.

So folks, here is a prediction I will make.

We will be hearing about race, language and religion again.

It works most of the time.