In its November 16, 2012 editorial, the Qatari daily Al-Raya praised the firing of missiles from Gaza on Tel Aviv, saying that it had proven the Palestinian resistance's ability to surprise the enemy and to move the fighting deep into its territory. The paper further claimed that after the Arab Spring, the positions of the Arab countries on the war will not be as they once were, and called on the Arab peoples to urge their governments to take a firm stance against Israel.[1]
The following are excerpts from the editorial:
"The intensive Qatari efforts to halt the reemerging Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip stem from Qatar's firm positions on Arab [causes] and on the Palestinian cause in particular. The phone conversation between Qatari Emir [Hamad bin Khalifa Aal Thani] and Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi was part of uniting efforts to lift the oppression and aggression from Gaza and to put a stop to Israel's [actions]. Israel must internalize the new message – that [now,] after the Arab Spring, the Arab positions will not be as they were in the past.
"The ongoing Israeli aggression against Gaza and the growing number of Palestinian martyrs and wounded indicate that the Israeli occupation, which [several] years failed ago to impose its formulas and strategy on the Palestinian people of Gaza, is once again trying to force the besieged Palestinian people to capitulate to its will and to prevent them from defending themselves against its air strikes, ongoing invasions, and killing of Palestinian civilians.
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"By firing rockets from Gaza on Tel Aviv for the first time, the Palestinian resistance has proven its ability to surprise the Israeli enemy and strike at the very heart [of its territory]. [It has also proven] that Palestinian blood is not cheap and that the government of occupation and settlements will pay the price for every drop of Palestinian blood spilled in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
"The Palestinian people, once again facing the Zionist war machine that is incapable of distinguishing combatants from civilians, [including] children, women and the elderly, deserves to [see] a new and firm position on the part of the Arab regimes, especially [now], after the Arab Spring – [a position] which will deter the Israeli occupation from attacking the Palestinian people in Gaza and which will make Netanyahu's government reconsider and think a thousand times before attacking the Palestinians.
"The Arab public, though preoccupied with the Arab Spring, must work to convey unambiguously to the Arab governments that it will not allow the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to be harmed and regarded as separate [from the rest of the Arab world], and that Israel must know that it will pay a steep price if it continues its aggression against the Palestinian people.
"The Egyptian activity – which was manifested in a solidarity visit to Gaza by a delegation of ministers headed by Prime Minister [Hashem Qandil] – should lead to Arab pressure on the international community, [aimed at] forcing Israel to stop its aggression against Gaza and to lift the siege from the Palestinian people. The clear and unambiguous message that should reach the occupation government is that the Arab world will never agree to let 'Israel' invade Gaza or continue its air strikes against it.
"The Palestinian people in Gaza, that withstood the 'Israeli' war waged against it in late 2008 and successfully thwarted [Israel's] intentions to eliminate the Palestinian resistance, is clearly capable of opposing Israel's aggression this time as well, and to prevent it from achieving its goals. As it proved in the past, it is capable of moving the struggle deep into [the territory] of the Zionist occupation and to deal it [painful] blows.
"The Gazans are once again confronting the Israeli war machine, which is targeting their very existence and their [Palestinian] cause. They deserve true solidarity from their nation and from the Arab peoples. This solidarity will clarify to the Israeli occupation and its supporters that the Palestinian people are not alone in the fray and that this nation, which has risen from [the ashes of] its failures, is full of life and will not permit the Palestinians to be treated as separate [from the rest of the nation] and attacked."
[1] Al-Raya (Qatar), November 16, 2012.
