Israel Update for January 2008

See The Light!

Hamas staged its most dazzling media coup when it quickly shut off all electric power supplies to the estimated 1.5 million Gaza Palestinians under its control, claiming this was due to the Israeli fuel blockade. The blackout began just minutes before Al Jazeera's main evening newscasts in Arabic and English were beamed to millions of homes in the region and around the globe. Indeed, the popular Arab network and others were live on the scene to report the dramatic power outage (Hamas political leaders were earlier filmed holding candles in the Gaza City parliament building, despite the fact that bright afternoon sunshine could be seen shining through nearby windows). Israeli officials countered-rather ineffectively most analysts maintained-by pointing out that only one internal Palestinian power plant uses the Israeli supplied fuel, while over half of the Gaza Strip's electricity comes from Israel's Ashkelon facility, which was not at all affected by the border crossing closures.

Sensing that they were on a propaganda roll, Hamas operatives then blew up the Israeli built Gaza border fence with Egypt in simultaneous explosions along the barrier. The brash move was hailed by most Palestinians, including many Fatah members. As up to half of all Gaza residents poured into Egyptian territory to take advantage of lower prices and more abundant goods (whose prices quickly rose), Israeli officials issued warnings to their citizens to evacuate popular Sinai resorts, assuming terrorists were among those flooding into Egypt-while additional armaments were undoubtedly smuggled back into the Gaza Strip. Analysts said the border breach increased the likelihood that Israeli leaders would order a full-scale military assault against Hamas in the coming months.

With quiet American prompting, a nervous Egyptian government, headed by the aging Hosni Mubarak, vainly tried to reseal the border several times, concerned that the mass exodus would only strengthen the militant Muslim Brotherhood movement that parented Hamas in 1988. Israeli analysts warned that if the emboldened and increasingly popular Sunni Egyptian movement was ever able to seize power in Cairo, it would produce a regional earthquake that would make the 1979 Shiite Islamic revolution in Iran seem minor in comparison.

Given the sad reality that January's renewed talk of peace was accompanied by increasing acts of violence and war, it will be a month most Israelis will be glad to forget. This is all the more reason to recall the psalmist's comforting revelation that "He who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps" (Psalm 121:4).