Since the beginning of the Israeli military assault on the people of Gaza, the outrage of the Arab masses has reached new heights.
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Every time the Israeli state launches a new round of extreme violence against the Palestinian people—whose only crime is to resist the occupation of their land and their displacement by colonial settlers—the leaders of most Arab states do little more than meet in conferences, pass resolutions and express condemnations.
Arab states could, in fact, do a lot more. The reality, however, is that most of the Arab world currently amounts to client states beholden to the interests of their imperialist master, the United States. In fact, the key function of the state of Israel, and the main reason why it enjoys uncritical support from the U.S., is to ensure the perpetuation of the status quo: Arab states that betray the interests of their own people and surrender their national resources and markets to U.S. and other foreign corporations.
Continued Israeli atrocities and persistent Palestinian resistance put these Arab states in a bind. Pro-Washington regimes, such as those of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, have to contend with strong pro-Palestinian solidarity among their people. Numerous demonstrations have recently taken place in Arab countries opposing the Israeli massacre in Gaza.
While there is resentment among the Arab masses of the complicity of Arab states in general, there is particular anger directed against the state of Egypt. Several of the demonstrations held in various Arab countries in support of the people of Gaza have been held in front of the Egyptian embassies.
The reason is that Egypt’s borders Gaza. Israel blockaded the people of Gaza in hopes of breaking the spirit of resistance of the Palestinian people through hunger, death and misery—an attempt that has failed despite an extremely heavy human cost. The economic strangulation of Gaza would not have been possible without the Egypt’s cooperation. Had Egypt simply opened its border crossing at Rafah, the Israeli plan of starving Gaza would have been ineffective.
Hosni Mubarak’s regime is as far from being independent as it is from being democratic. Mubarak has been the “president” of Egypt since 1981, coming to power after the assassination of Anwar Sadat. Opposition forces are banned and elections are a sham. Phony elections are the only way Mubarak can hold onto power.
Egypt’s effective participation in Israel’s crimes is, of course, a function of its lack of independence. At the same time, the Hamas-led Palestinian resistance represents a threat to the stability of the repressive state in Egypt and other reactionary Arab states.
The fact that the Israeli and U.S. governments have undertaken the siege of Gaza is an indication of a calculated risk on their part. To the extent that the Israeli assault manages to weaken Hamas, it will be a gain for Mubarak’s regime. But to the extent that the Egyptian regime is increasingly exposed as a pawn of U.S.-Israeli interests, the already despised Mubarak regime will be weakened.
This explains Mubarak’s active role in attempting to work out a cease-fire agreement. Though he would like to see Hamas destroyed and Palestinian resistance defeated, he must maintain the appearance of sympathy with the people of Palestine to keep the discontent of the masses from boiling over.
Nearly 40 percent of Egypt’s population of 80 million lives on only $2 a day. Over the last few years, Egypt has seen an increase in various forms of protests against the regime. Nonetheless, the regime has continued to function as a U.S. client state, as evidenced by the $2 billion a year that it receives in aid from Washington.
The strong sentiment of the Egyptian people in support of Palestine is a well-known fact. Egypt’s compliance in the current massacre of Gaza is likely to sharpen the struggle of the people of Egypt against the corrupt Mubarak regime.
