The US' new pressures on the Resistance is violation of international law and the right to counter occupation, said an American researcher and author.
'The criterion is completely arbitrary. Hamas, which works to help the oppressed people of Palestine, and whose resistance is in conformity with international law, is designated a ‘terrorist’ group',' Robert Fantina, the author of 'Empire, Racism and Genocide: A History of US Foreign Policy' told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Fantina said, 'The US isn’t interested in combating terrorism; it supports terrorists around the globe,' adding the terrorist group People’s Mohahedin of Iran (MKO), 'based outside of Iran, but involving some Iranians, seeks the violent overthrow of the peaceful Iranian government, and yet the US, deems it worthy of its support.'
Quoting the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, in 1967, “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world: my own Government. I cannot be silent,” he added that the US is the world’s biggest terrorist.
Fantina said, 'The hypocrisy of the US in its designation of individuals and groups as ‘terrorist’ is astounding. No nation can match the US in its global terrorism, or in its number of innocent victims.'
Commenting on adding the head of Hamas' Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh to the US list of Specially Designated Terrorists and US President Donald Trump's Recognition of the Holy Quds (Jerusalem) as the Capital of the Zionist regime, Fantina said, 'The U.S. government, under the incompetent and confused leadership of Donald Trump, wants to give Israel whatever it desires, which is all of Palestine.'
'For years, the US has designated Hamas a ‘terrorist’ organization; designating Ismael Haniyeh a ‘Specially Designated Terrorist’ at this time in a further step by Trump to de-legitimatize Palestinian national aspirations. He ignores the occupation of Palestine by Israel, and the fact that Hamas works for the good of the Palestinian people. Hamas strongly opposes the Israeli occupation, and Trump further ignores the fact that opposition to foreign occupation is a right granted under international law. He has no regard for international law, as evidenced by his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a decision that is opposed by almost the entire global community and the United Nations.'
Regarding the US new sanctions on six individuals and seven entities that are part of Hezbollah resistance movement’s financial network, he said, 'This is not so much a new strategy, as an expansion of existing strategy. The US, due mainly to the power and influence of pro-Israel lobbies in the US, and their stranglehold on Congress, wants to assure that Israel has complete hegemony in the Middle East. Previous US administrations have worked to destabilize Lebanon, but Hezbollah remains a powerful force.'
'Additionally, these new sanctions are against entities that have strong ties to Iran, a powerful Middle East nation that the US fears. It alone presents a threat to Israeli hegemony in the Middle East, and so by sanctioning Hezbollah, the US hopes to also negatively impact Iran.'
Answering the question if the US measures could have any impact on Hamas and Hezbollah, Fantina said, 'Certainly, there may be some negative impacts on both organizations, but mainly on Hamas … Hamas does have the backing of Iran, which is fortunate, but it remains to be seen if anyone can protect Ismail Haniyeh from US and Israeli assassins.'
He added, 'As with much of US foreign policy, designating Hamas and Hezbollah does nothing to enhance US security, and actually does the opposite. As people around the world, particularly in the Middle East, see the US supporting cruel tyrants, such as Benjamin Netanyahu, over the legitimate needs and desires of the people, hostility towards the US increases,' putting it at greater risk of retaliation.
'Of course, this, too, serves a purpose for the US: any ‘terrorist’ attack on US soil enables [US] government spokespeople to proclaim that the threat of terrorism is ever-growing, and therefore the US needs to bomb more mostly-Muslim countries, and needs to increase its already extremely bloated military spending, thus pleasing the arms manufacturers which, like Israel, donate generously to US officials who do their bidding.'
'For the average US citizen, the ‘99%’, there is no advantage to these sanctions … the wealthy oligarchs who run the country, they are able to see their profits soar, and stand apart from the abject suffering that they cause.'
Commenting on how the US government determines the terrorism list, he said, 'The criterion is completely arbitrary. Hamas, which works to help the oppressed people of Palestine, and whose resistance is in conformity with international law, is designated a ‘terrorist’ group. The IDF [Israeli regime's army], which kills innocent, unarmed men, women and children almost daily in the West Bank, raiding homes in the middle of the night and dragging out any and all males, regardless of age, and which periodically bombs the Gaza Strip, is not considered a ‘terrorist’ organization.'
The US author added, 'Hezbollah, which serves the people of Lebanon and supports the Palestinian struggle against their colonial oppressors, is designated a ‘terrorist’ group, while the US military, which has slaughtered at least 20,000,000 people, most of them ‘non-combatants’ since World War II, is proclaimed to be a force for peace.'
He added, 'The US is only interested in power and profits, and any individual or organization that gets in the way of those unholy goals is labeled a ‘terrorist’.'
Robert Fantina has written several books on the US foreign policy and militarism, including ‘Desertion & the American Soldier’ and ‘Empire, Racism and Genocide: A History of U.S. Foreign Policy’.
