When will Israel fall?

Will this millennium be characterized by the demise of the former British Empire’s only surviving colonial legacy: the Jewish State of Israel?

Political pundits appear to recoil at the very thought of such a possibility and never ever engage in any serious discourse on it. It is more likely that these pundits, many of whom pose as consultants and advisors with briefs to formulate policies, would be completely reticent to the point of viewing such an idea as utterly blasphemous.

This million dollar question, nevertheless, features very prominently in the political, religious and social discussions of the world wide Islamic Movement, as well as in the ordinary day-to day tete-a tete of Muslims.

The question is not about whether Israel will fall; instead it is about when will Israel fall? There are no ifs and buts about this.

And the paradox is that while Western politicians, statesman and commentators are constantly on the look out for Arafat-type clones to supply and equip the slave’s master with legitimacy, Muslims find the very notion of Israel in Islam’s heartland extremely reprehensible.

Their revulsion is not only reserved for the zionist occupiers of Palestine, but also for the willing tools of Israel made up of fellow Muslim individuals as well as pro-West monarchies and dictatorships dressed up as ‘Islamic States’.

At a recent rally of thousands of volunteers in Iran, pledging their support for the Intifada and jihad to liberate Palestine, the leader of the Islamic Republic, Sayyid Ali Khameni reiterated his country’s opposition to Israel, which he described as a “false notion”, made up of “a group of migrant and wandering tramps, opportunists and profit seekers from different parts of the world.”

Confirming Iran’s position of non negotiability of al Quds [Palestine] and more importantly, non recognition of Israel, a position which has been a consistent corner-stone of Iran since the Islamic Revolution led by Imam Khomeini more than two decades ago, the current leader declared that no power on earth can “extinguish the aspirations of the Palestinians é or indeed those of the Muslims of the world as a whole- to achieve freedom of Palestine.”

He also poured cold water over the so-called 2-state theory position and instead reaffirmed the fundamentals of justice as advocated by the overwhelming majority of Palestinans as the only basis for freedom. Addressing the concerns of those who regard the Middle East problem as a critical international issue, Khameni said that there is only one cure:

“The only possible resolution is to destroy the root and cause of the crisis. What is this root? The zionist state, an artificial and baseless state that has been imposed on the region.”

As Ramadan dawned upon Palestine, the Intifada entered its third consecutive month, with no signs of fatigue. In fact, with Fatah closing ranks with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, not only has the Intifada gained momentum, it has thrown Israel into complete disarray. The sheer power of the struggle waged on the ground has been a nightmare for Ehud Barak’s fragmented coalition, forcing him to resign. The shambles in which the see- saw seat of Zionist power, the Knesset finds itself, is indicative of the grave crisis that Israel is facing.

The political gamble whereby Israel transformed it’s hitherto arch-foe, Yasser Arafat from ‘terrorist’ to ‘partner’, notwithstanding the fact that the power granted to him was no more than that of a ‘night watchman’, has failed dismally. Indeed, none of the perks allied to the ‘partnership’, such as casinos, were of any consequences. The bitter lesson spelt out by the Intifada is that the Palestinians want out of bondage.

Nothing less than a free, independent Palestine- not of the Bantustan type which is being offered to them under the guise of ‘two nations, two states’-will serve the interests of justice.

It goes without saying therefore, that Israel is an oppressive impediment, which until it falls, will continue to use brutal force to perpetuate it’s illegitimate reign. The Intifada, just as the Soweto uprising of 1976 proved to be apartheid’s death knell, holds the promise of finally removing Europe’s Zionist intrusion in Palestine.

Israel has no choice but to fall!

(Mr. Iqbal Jasarat is Chairman of the Media Review Network, which is an advocacy group based in Pretoria, South Africa.)