“Al-Qassam Is Not Terrorism”… Open the Rafah Crossing and End the Siege on Gaza

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

The ruling issued yesterday, Saturday, by the Egyptian Court of Urgent Matters designating the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades—the military wing of Hamas—as a “terrorist organization” is yet another link in the chain of the Egyptian regime’s ongoing assault on the Palestinian resistance and the people of Gaza.

A day after this disgraceful ruling, an Israeli delegation arrives in Cairo today, Sunday, to discuss supplying Egypt with natural gas. Meanwhile, economic normalization continues, along with security coordination for operations in Sinai with the Zionist enemy, accompanied by an escalation of arbitrary arrests, collective punishment of Sinai residents, the complete demolition of the Egyptian city of Rafah, and the forced displacement of its population.

Like rabid dogs, Sisi’s regime unleashed its so-called “strategic experts,” TV presenters affiliated with security agencies on both state and private channels, and yellow journalists in the newspapers, to launch attacks against the al-Qassam Brigades and the besieged Gaza Strip.

Incitement against the Palestinian people has been a longstanding practice of Egyptian media since the signing of the Camp David Accords under Sadat, continuing through the Mubarak era with constant attempts to demonize the resistance. We should not forget that Mubarak’s hostility toward the Palestinian resistance reached the point of allowing Tzipi Livni and Israeli leaders to announce their war on Gaza from Cairo itself in 2008.

However, incitement against the Palestinian people has reached unprecedented heights since the outbreak of the January 25 Revolution. Not a day passes without the regime and its media hurling accusations and evils at the Palestinians—blaming them for everything from killing protesters in Tahrir Square to espionage to involvement in terrorist operations against the army, police, and civilians in Sinai and elsewhere.

At no point has the regime ever presented a single piece of material evidence proving the involvement of the al-Qassam Brigades or any resistance faction in acts of violence on Egyptian soil. Instead, the stage has been left wide open for media lunatics like Ahmed Moussa, Tawfik Okasha, Amany El-Khayat, and others to throw baseless accusations in all directions, shamelessly supporting Israel in its war on Gaza. Matters have reached absurdity, with accusations directed at al-Qassam leaders for involvement in operations in Sinai months or even years after the Israeli occupation forces martyred them!

The Sisi regime, which initially marketed itself after the coup as a “new Nasser” standing up to America and Israel in the region, is nothing but a grand lie. The so-called “distance of the track” slogan it touted is not a track leading to Jerusalem but a track paved with oil deals and dragging the Egyptian army into regional agendas under Saudi and Emirati sponsorship and with the blessing of America and Israel.

We, the Revolutionary Socialists, condemn the court ruling and demand an end to the ongoing incitement campaign against the Palestinian resistance, broadcast day and night by the regime’s media outlets. Yes, we have political and ideological differences with Hamas. Still, we extend to them our unconditional critical support in their struggle against the Israeli occupation and in facing the Arab regimes that seek to choke and starve the Palestinian people in Gaza and the refugee camps in service of Israel and the United States.

We demand the immediate opening of the Rafah Crossing to allow the free movement of people and goods, the lifting of the siege and starvation policies enforced by the Egyptian regime on Gaza, and compensation for the residents of the Egyptian city of Rafah. We also call for the city’s reconstruction and an immediate halt to the absurd plans to expand the buffer zone.