By Hassan Hanizadeh
 
Tehran, 2008 Apr 18, MNA

The Zionist regime's recent assault on the Gaza Strip, which led to the martyrdom of 20 civilians, was part of the Zionist plot to relocate the people of Gaza to the Egyptian region of Rafah.

The Israeli plan, drawn up with the consent of the United States, is meant to establish an ethnically-cleansed Jewish entity in all the territories occupied in 1948 and parts of the territories occupied in 1967.

During U.S. President George W. Bush's recent visit to occupied Palestine, he expressed his support for this plan.

In this scenario, Israel intends to displace the people of Gaza through withering military attacks from the air and land and force them to move to Rafah and the area around Mount Sinai.

It is said that Israel has already prepared facilities to set up thousands of refugee camps in the region of Rafah and Sinai in coordination with international humanitarian organizations. 

The next goal of the Zionist plan is to force the Palestinians living in the territories occupied in 1948 to move to Gaza.

Some 1.2 million Palestinians currently live in the territories occupied in 1948 but they are treated like second-class citizens by the Israeli establishment.

Another objective of the Zionist plot is to ensure the security of the Israeli suburbs near Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of the territories occupied in 1948.

This plot may seem like fantasy at first glance, but in light of the silence of the international community and the comprises of regional Arab states, it could indeed foretell future developments.

If Israel succeeds in implementing this plan, the Palestinian nation will face a far more severe crisis than the occupation of 1948.

So why has the Zionist regime intensified its siege and bombardment of densely populated Gaza, which is the birthplace of Palestinian resistance movements? 

The U.S. presidential election campaign has already begun and the candidates are seeking the support of the Zionist lobby. Israeli officials believe this provides an excellent opportunity to implement the plan before the new president is elected. 

The recent statements of the Republican and Democratic party candidates about the security of the Zionist regime show that the Zionist lobby's support is the most important card in the U.S. presidential election.

The U.S. media's heavy censorship of the tragedies occurring in Palestine is also part of the conspiracy of Israel, the U.S., certain other Western countries, and the Zionist lobby to send the Gazans into permanent exile.  

Israeli officials would not even meet with former U.S. president Jimmy Carter during his most recent trip to the territories occupied in 1948 and refused to allow Carter to travel to Gaza to learn about the situation of the people. 

However, Carter's trip to Palestine was only meant to facilitate the implementation of a rehashing of the Camp David Accords.

Israel had other goals in mind besides the suppression of Hamas when it carried out the recent atrocities against the defenseless people of Gaza.

If the UN Security Council and the Arab League remain silent about these catastrophes, an uncontrollable and unpredictable conflagration could break out across the entire Middle East.