Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine), 18.08.2024
The destruction and death Israel left behind with each attack on the defenseless people of Gaza have left an honorable impact on civilians, especially children, in the densely populated small enclave since October 7.
The official death toll in Gaza has come close to 40,000 by now. However, information published by the medical journal “The Lancet” in June estimates that it could reach at least 186,000 –8 percent of Gaza’s population. In addition, more than 90,000 people have been wounded. Two-thirds of the casualties are women and children.
No number of shocking images of dead Palestinian children and all the reports about war crimes being committed by Israel have not moved the Western imperialist leaders to do something real to stop Israel. The opposite is the case, the Western imperialist government funding and arming genocidal Israel.
A cease-fire could have been agreed long ago, but Netanyahu wants to continue the war. Even the New York Times had to admit “that for weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has denied that he is trying to block a cease-fire deal in Gaza by hardening Israel’s negotiating position. Mr. Netanyahu has consistently placed all blame for the deadlocked negotiations on Hamas, even as senior members of the Israeli security establishment accused him of slowing the process himself.
However, in private, Mr. Netanyahu has added new conditions to Israel’s demands, additions that his own negotiators fear have created extra obstacles to a deal. According to unpublished documents reviewed by The New York Times that detail Israel’s negotiating positions, Israel relayed a list of new stipulations in late July to American, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators that added less flexible conditions to a set of principles it had made in late May”.[i]
On Tuesday, Ahmad Abdul Hadi, a Hamas official, said the group would not participate in a new round of negotiations set to take place in Doha or Cairo on Thursday. Biden blames Hamas, but the documents reviewed by The Times make clear that the Netanyahu government’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering has been extensive. They suggest that agreement may be elusive at the talks set to begin this week.
Among other conditions, the latest document, presented to mediators shortly before a summit in Rome on July 28, suggested that Israeli forces should remain in control of Gaza’s southern border. This detail was not included in Israel’s proposal in May. It also showed less flexibility about allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza once fighting is halted.
Netanyahu’s Israeli critics blame the prime minister for the deadlock because his new conditions risk derailing the talks at a time when a deal appears within reach. Some have argued that he is prioritizing the stability of his coalition government above the freedom of the hostages: His small majority in Parliament depends on several far-right lawmakers who have conditioned their support for his government on preventing a cease-fire.
In a statement, Netanyahu’s office denied that he had added new conditions and said that the prime minister had instead sought to clarify ambiguities in Israel’s May proposal, making it easier to implement. What a lie.
The Observer view on the Middle East crisis: is that Iran and Israel risk sparking all-out conflict:
“The death toll resulting from Israel’s offensive in Gaza last week reached 40,000, according to Palestinian officials. The number does not differentiate between combatants and civilians, but around two-thirds of those fully identified are women and children. Then there are those still under the rubble, who may total 10,000.
Israel says its forces have killed 14,000 Hamas operatives and accuses Hamas of using the civilian population of Gaza as a human shield. On Friday, the Israeli military issued evacuation orders to tens of thousands of people living in the “safe humanitarian zone” it had designated, saying rockets had been fired from the area. The identification of a polio case in Gaza underlines the depth of an entirely man-made humanitarian disaster. As British foreign secretary David Lammy and Stéphane Séjourné, his French counterpart, write in the Observer today, this weekend is surely a perilous moment.
Fighting between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah has intensified. Iranian threats of further escalation mean the risks of a full-scale regional war are rising,” they say, describing a “destructive cycle of violence”. Both ministers call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and call on Iran and Israel to avoid further escalation. Such calls have often been made and equally often been ignored.[ii]
“Israel’s assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month was part of an explicit Israeli effort to assassinate the group’s top echelons but served other purposes: to boost domestic morale, rally support for an unpopular prime minister, and regain the initiative in the war. But Israel now has limited control over what happens next. The decision over whether and how to retaliate is for Iran. Some in Tehran are tempted to meet violence with greater violence. Conservatives argue that Israel has to suffer consequences or will be emboldened.In April, Iran responded to an Israeli strike in Damascus that killed two of its generals with a carefully calibrated launch of hundreds of missiles and drones targeted at largely unpopulated areas or military bases. This time, retaliation that causes more damage would probably lead to an all-out conflict. Iranian decision-makers would have limited influence on subsequent events, with potentially appalling consequences for their own country and the region”.[iii]
The Saudi channel “A-Sharq” reported this morning (Sunday) on the details of the American proposal in the talks in Qatar. The report, based on a source in Hamas, reveals several key points in the proposal, but the information should be treated with limited liability
At the heart of the proposal is reducing the presence of IDF forces in the Philadelphia axis, but not a complete withdrawal. The proposal gives Israel the right of veto to oppose a hundred names of security prisoners whose release Hamas will demand, and includes the deportation of a large number of security prisoners abroad.
According to the Hamas source, “the proposal stipulates that a permanent ceasefire will be discussed between the parties during the second phase. If Hamas does not agree to the Israeli demands, then the army will return to fighting.” He added that the US offered to leave the negotiations on the restoration of the Gaza Strip and the removal of restrictions for the results of the discussions that will follow the implementation of the first phase of the deal.
The source in Hamas claimed that “the American proposal that was presented as a proposal to mediate the differences completely contradicts the draft that was agreed upon on July 2.” The Saudi channel indicated that the American mediator is expected to meet with the mediators from Qatar and Egypt in the coming days to continue discussing the proposal.
According to the report, Hamas rejected these proposals and is waiting for the final version before announcing its position.
Thus, Netanyahu is ready to kill not only more Palestinian children but the rest of the Israeli captives and risk a major regional war to stay in power. The white house supports him.
The only solution is the Zionist state destruction!
For Palestine, red and free from the river to the sea!
Endnotes:
[i] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/13/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-ceasniae-fire-talks.html
[ii] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/18/the-observer-view-on-the-middle-east-crisis-iran-and-israel-risk-sparking-all-out-conflict
[iii] ibid