“Gideon Levy”: “Israel” pays for its arrogance!
When I read an article by the Israeli writer “Gideon Levy” in “Haaretz,” a well-known Hebrew newspaper, on October 8, 2023, I recalled this ayah: “And the witness from her family testified” (Surah Yusuf: 26). He mentions the reasons that led the Palestinians to this war. Here is the article:
Since 1948, “Israel” has been punishing Gaza, but yesterday, “Israel” witnessed images it has never expected due to its arrogance.
“Israel” arrogance is behind everything that has happened. We believed that we could do anything, that we would never pay a price, or be punished for it. We continue without disturbance. We arrest, kill, mistreat, rob, protect settlers committing massacres, visit Joseph’s Tomb, Othniel’s Tomb, and Joshua’s altar, all in the Palestinian territories, and of course we visit the “Temple Mount” [Al-Aqsa Mosque], with more than 5,000 Jews visiting it on Sukkot. We shoot innocent people, gouge out their eyes and smash their faces, deport them, confiscate their lands, rob them, kidnap them from their beds, and carry out ethnic cleansing. We also continue the unreasonable siege, expecting everything to be fine.
We build a huge barrier around Gaza; its underground structure costs 3 billion shekels and we will be safe.
We rely on the geniuses of Unit 8200 and the Shin Bet agents who know everything and will warn us at the right time. We move half the army from the Gaza enclave to the Huwara’s just to secure the settlers’ Sukkot celebrations, and everything will be fine, whether in Huwara or Erez. Then it turns out that a primitive, ancient bulldozer can break through even the most complex and expensive obstacles in the world with relative ease, when there is a great incentive to do so. Look, you can cross this arrogant obstacle with bicycles and motorcycles! Despite all the billions spent on it and all the renowned experts and contractors who made a lot of money from building it.
We thought we could continue our dictatorial control over Gaza, throwing it crumbs here and there, in the form of a few thousand work permits in “Israel”– but this was just a drop in the ocean, and is always conditional on good behavior- and in return, we kept Gaza as a prison for them.
We make peace with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and our hearts forget the Palestinians, so that they can be wiped out, as desired by more than a few “Israelis.”
We keep detaining thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including many without trials, most of whom are political prisoners, and we refuse to discuss their release even after decades in prison.
We tell them that it's only through force that their prisoners can gain their freedom. We thought we could arrogantly continue to reject any attempt at a political solution, simply because it was not convenient for us to engage in it, and everything would definitely continue like this forever. Once again, this proved not to be the case.
Hundreds of Palestinian militants penetrated the fence and invaded “Israel” in a way no “Israeli” had ever imagined. A few hundred Palestinian fighters proved that it's impossible to imprison two million people forever without paying a heavy price.
As the old Palestinian bulldozer tore down, the most advanced wall among all walls and fences, it also crushed the “Israeli” arrogance and indifference. This shattered the idea that attacking Gaza with suicide drones every now and then, and selling these drones to half the world, is enough to maintain security.
Yesterday, “Israel” saw images it had never seen before: Palestinian military vehicles patrolling Israeli cities, and Gaza cyclists entering its gates. This must shatter Israel’s arrogance.
Palestinians in Gaza have decided they are willing to pay anything for a glimpse of freedom. Is there any hope for that? No. Will “Israel” learn its lesson? No.
Yesterday, they were already talking about wiping out entire neighborhoods in Gaza and occupying it, punishing Gaza as “it has never been punished before.” But “Israel” has been punishing Gaza since 1948, without stopping for a moment, 75 years of persecution, and the worst awaits it now.
Threats to “flatten Gaza” prove only one thing: that we have learned nothing. Arrogance is here to stay, even after “Israel” has once again paid a heavy price.
“Benjamin Netanyahu” bears a huge responsibility for what happened, and must pay the price, but it did not start with him, and it will not end when he leaves. Now we must cry bitterly for the “Israeli” victims, but we must also cry for Gaza whose the majority of its residents are refugees created by Israel. Gaza, which has never known a single day of freedom.
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Read the article in Arabic
