The world is silently watching the unprecedented Israeli brutal attacks on Gaza and live broadcasted genocide of Palestinians, premeditated targeting of civilians, and massive indiscriminate destruction of infrastructure in Gaza. Despite the large-scale killings, the international community has shown an odd lack of action.
The propaganda promoted by Israel, presenting the Israeli forces as an invincible force, reinforced Israel’s relentless oppression and encouraged their barbaric attacks. This resulted in genocide against innocent Palestinian civilians. The overly-confident Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted to restore his personal political interest and public image, so he ordered a genocide of Palestinians and the leveling of Gaza. For those who don’t know him, Netanyahu manipulated his closest allies for his own political interests; he harvested many corruption accusations; he knows he is leaving soon and that his army leaders will be held accountable, not only for his failure but also for his war crimes. This personal interest-led decision is Netanyahu’s desperate attempt to exceed his local Israeli opponents. His Gaza target bank was any location with the biggest crowd, to aim for a massive causality score. Unsurprisingly, the major part of Palestinian causalities were women, children, and seniors (65 % including more than 2,700 children). These people were not only numbers, they were humans with a story, memories, feelings, and dreams, that vanished with every Israeli order to bomb a building or a road.
That being said, Netanyahu deliberately intends to do something unprecedented, which no previous Israeli Prime Minister or official was able to do, in order to maintain a gleam of hope for his political career. He ordered the destruction of vast areas of the already smothered and caged Gaza Strip, killing as many Palestinians as possible. He also declared the possibility of a land invasion of Gaza. In this context, Thomas Friedman went on to say that the idea of a complete land invasion is very risky, as Israel’s most brutal leader (Ariel Sharon) decided to leave Gaza in 2005 and not the other way around. But the possibility of a limited ground invasion remains, to create a buffer zone. This is one of Netanyahu’s options as a survival card, which may succeed in keeping him as the Prime Minister.
Markedly, Israel is trying to extract from the Palestinians any statement or position of responsibility in the ongoing horrific events, so that to grant a legal apparatus of exoneration to all Israeli leaders. Acquitting them from crimes that they committed in front of the whole world. Such a position would not only absolve the criminal of his crimes, but would also serve as a refutation of the official Palestinian narrative. The Palestinian officials have warned against inevitable consequences if Israel continues its daily killing, invasions, demolition of homes, uprooting of trees, confiscation of land, settlement construction and expansion, daily humiliation of Palestinians, the continuation of the illegal and unjust siege of the Gaza Strip, and the diminish of the political horizon for a just solution to the cause of the Palestinian people. Nonetheless, despite Palestinian continuous warning before the international community, it seems that Tel Aviv’s leaders pursue a cost-free occupation.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government have enjoyed the U.S. administration protection and felt the impunity to lead military operations against defenseless Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West bank for decades. Israel was given the green light by the U.S. to prosecute Palestinians with disregard to International law and International legitimacy. In case of external objection to Israeli aggression, the U.S. would be there to defend the Israeli position.
Humanitarian norms before international laws gave peoples under occupation the right to resist, and not just defend themselves. Giving the occupier the right to self-defense,is nothing but a new justification for the ongoing aggression on Palestinians, allowing the Israeli apartheid state to continue with its crimes. Giving the green light to commit war crimes against Palestinian people who only seek freedom and dignity.
To sum up, the main cause for this mayhem is the Israeli occupation, which must end, resolving all final status issues, with reasonable assurances within a well-defined timeframe. This is the only feasible path towards a just and comprehensive peace, and freedom of the Palestinian people in their own independent State on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its eternal capital.
Fadi El HUSSEINI
