ISL, the RCIT Section in Israel/Occupied Palestine, 12.11.2021
It is clear even to the Israeli government that it has failed to prove that the six Palestinian NGOs are a front for the national liberation organization the PFLP, and it tries desperately to convince its imperialist friends to accept this lie. Its latest cheating act is to rely on a plea bargain of a woman by the name of Juani Rishmawi who admitted to defrauding donors on behalf of the PFLP for a reduced sentence. She worked for the Health Work Committee, a different human rights organization that is not connected to any of the six NGOs. For her admission the state asked the military court to give her a reduced sentence of 13 months in prison and a NIS 50,000 ($16,000) fine.
According to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem: “Palestinians overwhelmingly plead guilty in military courts due to extremely high conviction rates and lengthy trials in which suspects are anyway kept in jail throughout, which means military prosecutors rarely have to present significant evidence at trial.” [i]
Even if Juani Rishmawi was telling the truth about her activity in a different and not related NGO, her admission is irrelevant to the case of the six NGOs. Trying to rely on her admission only exposes the level of stupidity of the Zionist government and its methods of proving things by lies and irrelevant material that even children can understand that the king is naked.
If in the last few weeks, it was Gantz the minister of war and the mass murderer of the Palestinians in Gaza in 2014 who was lying, today it is Yair Lapid the Zionist Foreign Minister who tries to convince us he is a real centrist gentleman has joined Gantz. “Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, whose office has dealt with much of the criticism toward Israel for the move, called on the international community to “work with Israel to prevent terrorist organizations from operating under a civilian guise and to prevent aid money from reaching terrorist organizations.” [ii]
Meanwhile, in a preparation for a possible war in the Middle East and the countries of sub Sahara, “Israel is taking part in a multilateral maritime security drill in the Red Sea along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and US Naval Forces Central Command’s (NAVCENT) in the Red Sea. The five-day drill includes at-sea training aboard amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland focused on a visit, board, search and seizure tactics. “The training will enhance interoperability between participating forces’ maritime interdiction teams,” read a statement by NAVCENT” [iii].
“While the Israeli Air Force had previously taken part in international drills with the UAE, this drill marks the first time that Israel publicly trains with the UAE and Bahrain. It comes as a result of the transfer of the responsibility for Israel from the US Europe Command (EUCOM) to the US Central Command (CENTCOM). It is believed that the move will not only simplify the cooperation with American troops in the region but can also create the potential for a regional coalition with Arab countries that have normalized ties with Israel against shared threats posed by Iran”. [iv]
While for US imperialism this drill is aimed at applying pressure on Iran to sign a new accord on its nuclear energy, for Israel this drill is seen as a possible future war together with the USA and other Arab states against Iran.
The Zionist Commander of the Marom Division Col. Aviran Lerer who participates in the drill has said: “The drill was to strengthen ties with Israel’s main ally and the Marines who “are a significant force in the US military with whom we have a lot of shared interests. The United States always fights as a coalition and it could be that it will be part of a future coalition.” [v]
Two weeks ago, the US Air Force flew a B-1B strategic bomber over the Persian Gulf accompanied by allied planes like Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. Last month the Zionist Navy participated in a combined maritime security patrol with NAVCENT’s 5th Fleet in the Red Sea for the first time.
Iran is well aware of the possible coming war: “Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, warned on Thursday that if Israel starts a conflict, Iran will “destroy” it, according to Iranian media. “The Zionist regime officials know that they can be the initiators, but the end is with us,” said the commander. “The end of this work is the destruction of the Zionist regime, and if they give us an excuse… their destruction will certainly be advanced historically” [vi]
Saudi Arabia, an ally of Israel, is acting to accelerate the economic crisis in Lebanon hoping to see a civil war against Hezbollah. When the right Christian forces militia was shooting supporters of Hezbollah, the Saudi Arabia foreign ministry said in a statement that he hopes the situation stabilizes as soon as possible. “The Kingdom aspires for Lebanon to achieve security and peace by ending the possession and use of weapons outside the framework of the state, and for strengthening the Lebanese state for the benefit of all Lebanese,” the Saudi statement said. Yet within two weeks Saudi Arabia blockaded Lebanese goods to accelerate the instability: “Last week Riyadh extended a blockade on some goods from Lebanon to a blanket ban, in response to criticism by a Lebanese minister of Saudi Arabia’s role in the civil war in Yemen”. [vii]
Is it possible that Israel will suffer a military defeat by Iran?
The last time Israel easily won a major war was in 1967. In 1973 it suffered a partial defeat; it had to escape from Lebanon in 2000. It was unable to defeat Hezbollah in 2006. Iran is much more powerful than Hamas and Israel is unable to destroy Hamas.
How strong are the Iranian military forces?
“In terms of overall military strength, the Iranian armed forces rank 14th in the world out of 137 countries that are ranked in 2019 by Global Firepower and Business Insider. With some 523,000 active-duty forces and another 350,000 reserves, Iran has the largest standing military in the Middle East. The active forces are comprised of 350,000 in the regular army and at least 150,000 in the IRGC, which has the most powerful forces in the Iranian military…. Perhaps more importantly, the extraterritorial use of the Quds Force provides for the enlistment of various Shi’ite militias that number, according to The Guardian, up to 200,000 fighters. The militias operate in at least five countries in the region”. Iran has some 1,634 tanks, ranking 18th out of 137 countries surveyed. That number is buttressed by about 2,345 armored combat vehicles and 1,900 rocket launchers. The large tank forces are, however, mostly made up of older models and completely outdated tanks. Only the new model Karrar, which was supposed to be delivered to the Iranian military in 2018, can compare with some of the better tanks in the world. Although the Karrar looks much like the well-known Russian T-90, Iran has rejected suggestions there was any collaboration with Russia in its production. Tehran’s navy does possess six frigates, three corvettes, 34 submarines, and 88 patrol vessels. The submarine’s arsenal contains the Russian-made “kilo” class, which are called “black holes” because they are inaudible. While it lags behind Israel and Saudi Arabia when it comes to airplanes Iran also relies on the development of missiles to overcome the disadvantage of having less military equipment that is often of a lower quality than its regional foes and, certainly, the United States and other Western countries. Iran is, however, recognized as having the most developed short- and medium-range missile system in the region. Among other missiles, it has 300-kilometer range Shahab 1 missiles, moving Washington to install a Patriot anti aircraft system in some neighboring countries to counter possible missile threats from Iran.” [viii]
Israel’s air force and navy are stronger. However, Israel will not be able to suffer a large number of injuries and deaths.
It is not likely that the US will join Israel in a war against Iran and without the US, Israel and its allies are not likely to win a war against Iran. However, the only force that can stop this coming war is the Arab revolution.
Short of the Arab revolution happening, currently, in such a war the interest of the international working class is for a revolutionary defeat for Israel and its allies.
Down with the Zionist lies! Israel hands off the six NGOs!
Down with the Zionist apartheid state from the river to the sea!
For a revolutionary defeat for Israel and its allies!
For a Palestine red and free from the river to the sea!
Endnotes:
[i] https://www.timesofisrael.com/spanish-palestinian-woman-pleads-guilty-to-raising-pflp-funds-through-charity/
[ii] Ibid
[iii] https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israel-uae-bahrain-and-us-hold-joint-drill-in-red-sea-684697
[iv] Ibid
[v] Ibid
[vi] https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/irgc-commander-if-israel-starts-a-war-it-will-end-with-its-destruction-684679
[vii] https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-import-ban-deals-another-blow-reeling-lebanese-industry-2021-11-05/
[viii] https://www.rferl.org/a/persian-might-a-look-at-tehran-s-military-capability-amid-the-u-s–iranian-conflict/30368967.htm