Almost six months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza,
the tide has turned: It has lost the PR campaign completely, its ‘self-defense’
operation to uproot Hamas has resulted in the worst humanitarian disaster in
decades, and it now faces serious charges of committing genocide as well as war
crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Benyamin Netanyahu’s
capricious and miscalculated misadventure in Gaza has dragged his army more
profoundly into a quagmire. There is no honor in what Israel has done in the
past five months: the mass killings of women and children, the bombing of
hospitals, the targeting of journalists, doctors, medics, and academics, and
the displacement of over two million people. Now, Gazans face starvation and
famine.
اضافة اعلان
In the process, Netanyahu’s dirty war has dragged
Israel’s closest allies into the mud as well. The Gaza debacle has triggered a
global awakening of the hypocrisy and complicity of Western governments in the
longest colonial occupation in modern times. Now, the Biden administration is
trying to salvage a hopeless situation and achieve two impossible goals: save
Israel’s face in any way it can and fix a dire humanitarian crisis that is
getting worse by the hour.
Almost six months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the tide has turned: It has lost the PR campaign completely, its ‘self-defense’ operation to uproot Hamas has resulted in the worst humanitarian disaster in decades.
On Sunday, US Vice President Kamala Harris uttered what
had been a taboo statement by the Biden administration for months. She called
for ‘an immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza. In the most forceful rebuke of Israel’s
conduct in Gaza by a US official yet, she admitted that too many innocent
Palestinians have been killed in what had become ‘a humanitarian catastrophe.’
She called on Israel to facilitate the flow of aid and take measures to protect
civilians.
The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back was
last Thursday’s massacre when Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire at
thousands of Gazans trying to reach UN aid trucks to receive sacks of flour.
Over 100 people were killed, and at least 700 hundred were wounded. UN and aid
observers visiting the nearby hospital where most of the injured were taken
confirmed that most of the casualties suffered from bullet wounds.
The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back was last Thursday’s massacre when Israeli occupation soldiers opened fire at thousands of Gazans trying to reach UN aid trucks to receive sacks of flour. Over 100 people were killed, and at least 700 hundred were wounded.
It was not that this was an isolated incident where
Israeli soldiers, tanks, fighter jets, or naval ships had fired at civilians in
Gaza. It wasn’t. But the number of those killed and injured was staggering. In
addition, Israel had provided contradictory and unconvincing accounts about
what happened.
But global denunciations of the bloody incident did
little to change Israel’s attitude. Two days later, Israeli fighter jets struck
a Kuwaiti aid truck with civilians close by, killing at least 11 people. Israel
continued to blow up entire residential blocks and did nothing to facilitate
the flow of aid, especially to northern Gaza, where, according to the UN, about
700,000 people face famine. By Monday, the number of Palestinian babies who
died from starvation rose to 16. The harrowing image of a starving child, Yazan
Al-Kafarna, a 10-year-old with cerebral palsy, who died at Al-Najjar Hospital
in Rafah after suffering from malnutrition, was posted all over social media
platforms.
In a symbolic and desperate move to address the
situation, the US, along with the Jordanian Royal Air Force, dropped over
35,000 meals on northern Gaza on Friday in what President Biden said would be
one of many airdrops to come. The irony of the US dropping food on tens of
thousands of hungry civilians caught in a war zone and denied access to aid by
the US’s ally, Israel, was not missed by many commentators. This is the same US
that had supplied Israel with 2000-pound bombs to drop on the most crowded enclave
on the planet.
The US is now pushing for a six-week ceasefire to take
place before the beginning of the Holy month of Ramadan. The deal would see the
release of Israeli captives at Hamas in exchange for letting some of the
thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails go free. But the US hopes that a
ceasefire, even if only for a few weeks, would give it time to do several
things. First, it would work with Egypt and Qatar to facilitate the release of
remaining captives, thus putting pressure on Netanyahu to end his Gaza misadventure
that has harmed Israel and turned world public opinion against it in an
unprecedented manner.
Washington believes Gantz would realize the damage that Netanyahu has inflicted on Israel’s ties with its Western partners and would seek a way to restore them.
Second, it would give it time to influence internal
Israeli politics to neutralize Netanyahu by encouraging calls for a snap
election that would remove him. Harris was expected to meet with Israeli war
Cabinet member Benny Gantz, who traveled to Washington against Netanyahu’s
warnings. Gantz, described as a right-of-center soldier turned politician, is
leading Netanyahu in the polls and would certainly defeat him if elections were
held today. Washington believes Gantz would realize the damage that Netanyahu
has inflicted on Israel’s ties with its Western partners and would seek a way
to restore them.
And third, the White House hopes that a ceasefire would
alleviate pressure from progressive Democratic voters, including Arab- and
Muslim-Americans after over 100,000 Democratic voters voted uncommitted in last
week’s Michigan primary as a protest against Biden’s Gaza position.
Fourth, the Biden administration hopes that a ceasefire
deal would appease US Arab allies, who have expressed frustration over Biden’s
Gaza policy and built-up public pressure among their citizens.
However, a ceasefire, vital as it is, is not enough to
end the war on Gaza. Over two million Palestinians in Gaza and about three
million in the West Bank are in dire need of international protection. A
ceasefire in Gaza can collapse at any moment over many excuses and from both
sides. The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza will take years to contain, and
that must happen robustly and sustainably. Any interruption to the truce will
compound an already complicated situation that has not been seen before in any
part of the world.
However, a ceasefire, vital as it is, is not enough to end the war on Gaza. Over two million Palestinians in Gaza and about three million in the West Bank are in dire need of international protection.
While Israel and its allies will argue that no
international peacekeeping force is needed in the West Bank, it will be
difficult to oppose such an idea in Gaza. The US and the rest of the world have
rejected any notion of Israel re-occupying the strip. The Palestinian Authority
(PA) is too weak and unpopular to take over the administration of a devastated
Gaza. Only an international peacekeeping force can maintain the peace,
facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid, and help in the evacuation of thousands
of injured and terminally ill to foreign hospitals. A sustainable truce is
needed to rebuild much-needed facilities like hospitals and schools.
UN and NATO peacekeeping forces have a checkered track
record. They were successful in specific conflicts and did poorly in others.
But we have to look at the glass half full and realize that there can no longer
be a return to the day before October 7 for both sides.
For that to happen, the US must lead despite its dismal
record in pushing for the two-state solution, which will take forever to
materialize. While the Palestinians, and Israelis, wait for a just and lasting
solution, the people of Gaza do not have the luxury of waiting. They need
immediate help now, and they need protection today. Tens of thousands of
orphaned children need immediate care, and every day, some newborn babies will
lack the most basic medical care.
Gaza will need a massive and probably unprecedented aid
bridge when a ceasefire occurs. And once such an aid bridge is launched, it
cannot stop. A tentative truce is not the answer, but a permanent presence of
peacekeeping force is. The world, having abandoned the Palestinians for so
long, owes this much to the children of Gaza.
Osama Al Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
Disclaimer:
Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Jordan News' point of view.
Read more Opinion and Analysis
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
