The true nature of this war
Reader comment on item: Israel's War on Hamas: A Dozen Thoughts

Submitted by Heraclius (Germany), Jan 1, 2009 at 10:59

Dr. Pipes,

It is noteworthy how the nature of this new conflict is still unlcear for many. Followers of local news in the Middle East will notice that the war of Israel against Hamas is not like any of the previous Arab-Israeli conflicts. In fact one cannot classify this new war as part of the Arab-Israeli conflict despite the fact that one side of the war is Arab.

The reality is that this is part of the Sunni-Shiite conflict in which Israel is on the side of the Sunnis and is in accord with the main Sunni governments of the region: Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Palestinian Authority and even Saudi Arabia. Hamas is a proxy of the Shiites, represented by their state Iran and by their non-state actor Hezbollah.

Further, the Shiites have declared war on Egypt. The first signs of this declaration were obvious when Hezbollah and its proxies have decided to manifest in front of the Egyptian embassy of Beirut between 15 and 20 December. This declaration of war became obvious in the latest speeches of Hasan Nasrallah and in the replies of Egyptian officials stating that Nasrallah has declared war on Egypt.

For the first time in history., Arabs and Israelis have united against a common lethal ennemy: the Shiite state of Iran and the rest of the Shiites, which represent a real threat on all Sunnis and on the Israelis too.

Heraclius

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