Behind Israel’s retreat from Gaza

Palestinian resistance to occupation by the U.S.-armed and -financed Zionist movement and its Israeli settler state continues today and every day throughout all of Palestine.

Despite unrelenting imperialist intri gue, the youth of Palestine and their families refuse to back down. They are tenacious as they defend their streets, homes, communities and nation.

This intrigue is evidenced by the frequent visits of U.S. Secretary of State Con doleezza Rice; the deployment of former World Bank President James Wolfensohn and his entourage to “rebuild” the Pales tinian economy; the appointment of former International Monetary Fund First Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer as governor of the Bank of Israel; the stationing of U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William E. Ward and his large entourage to allegedly help the Palestinian Authority train and unify its security forces; and so-called “mediators” led by the deputy chief of Egyptian intelligence, Major-General Mustafa al-Behairy.

The Israeli state uses the most sophisticated U.S.-supplied multi-million-dollar weapon systems, such as the McDon nell Douglas AH-64 armored helicopter and Global Positioning System (GPS) guided bombs.

The Palestinians use simple ground-to-ground rockets and mortars manufactured in low-tech machine shops.

Yet on Aug. 15 the Israelis are scheduled to close down all their agro-industrial fortress-like settlements and complete a retreat from the Gaza Strip region of Palestine. However, they will still control the borders between Gaza, Egypt and the rest of Palestine, as well as airspace and the Mediterranean Sea that borders Gaza.

The daily pounding by the Palestinian resistance and the scheduled retreat have exposed a number of fractures among the various Zionist tendencies. Religious fundamentalists and those who fear the possible electrifying impact of the withdrawal on the Middle East, and also fear the potential introduction into Gaza of weapon systems that would negate Israeli air superiority and the use of large formations of armored forces, are all opposed to leaving Gaza.

At this time the future implications of these divisions are unknown. Assas sinations and armed conflict are part of the history of the Zionist movement.

With all its contradictions, potential setbacks and unexpected ramifications, an Israeli retreat from Gaza cannot be considered anything less than a limited victory won by the Palestinian resistance and steadfastness, which began during the very first days of occupation in June 1967.

Kramer is a former Israeli soldier who became a militant anti-Zionist.