Philip Rizk: Gaza: Arab Complicity, Israel's Duplicity

The complicity of select neighboring Arab governments in the latest US-applauded Israeli attacks is a further factor that merits reflection. In the week preceding the Israeli onslaught Israel's Foreign Minister traveled the region to garner support for the planned attack on Gaza. On December 26th, the day before the Israeli offensive, Egyptian newspapers carried front page images of Foreign minister Ahmed Abul Gheit clasping the hand of his Israeli counterpart, as if in agreement of what was to come. The complicity of neighboring Arab governments- and Fatah- has never been so obvious. London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Tuesday that Livni had shared plans regarding the Israeli offensive with Egypt's security chief Omar Soleiman prior to the attacks. For the past few days Egyptian state security has listened to the chants of protesters yelling, "all of us are Hamas" – given the Palestinian Islamic movement's roots within Egypt's own Muslim Brotherhood which opposes the Egyptian regime in power- tacit Egyptian support for a deadly blow in Gaza comes as no surprise....