Jonathan Cook: Is Israel at a Stategic End?

At least 1,000 Palestinians marched across no-man's land to one of the most heavily protected borders in the world. Waving Palestinian flags, the marchers braved a minefield, tore down a series of fences, allowing more than 100 to run into Israeli-controlled territory. As they embraced Druze villagers on the other side, voices could be heard saying: "This is what liberation looks like." Unlike previous years, this "Nakba" day was not simply a commemoration of the catastrophe that befell the Palestinians in 1948, when their homeland was forcibly invaded by the Jewish state. It reminded Palestinians that, despite their long-enforced dispersion, they still have the potential to forge a common struggle against Israel! As Israel violently cracked down on Sunday's protests on many fronts - in the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, and on the borders with Syria and Lebanon, it looked less like a military superpower, and more like a little boy with his finger in the dam. The Palestinian "Arab Spring" is arriving, and Israel has no diplomatic or political strategy to deal with it. Instead, on Sunday, Israel used the only weapon in its current arsenal - brute force - against unarmed demonstrators!