In the beginning, the common belief
among regional and international powers was that the military escalation in
Gaza, on the backdrop of Israeli violations in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and
Jerusalem in general, was that this is a usual clash between Palestinian
resistance factions in Gaza and the Israeli occupation forces that would fade
within hours.
اضافة اعلان
But as days went by, the world’s
decision-making circles realized that they were dealing with a snowballing
crisis growing into an all-out war in Palestine and that none could stop it.
Palestinian resistance’s rocket
attacks were different and more impactful than usual this time. In addition, the
violent Israeli reaction gave the impression that the parties to the conflict
are moving beyond what is happening now into a more serious mode; a matter that
necessitates an urgent diplomatic effort to contain the situation.
Apparently, US President Joe Biden’s
administration was caught off guard by the escalation, at a time when the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict file was not on the agenda for the time being,
pending a closure of the Iranian file through negotiations.
Such confusion has characterized
Washington’s behavior and action. While the administration started with an
encouraging tone for Palestinians, supporting the two-state solution and Palestinians’
legitimate rights to a state where they live in dignity and freedom, the US has
found itself recently obliged to adopt the traditional approach of supporting
Israel. This was manifested in Biden’s remarks endorsing Israel’s “right to
defend itself”, amid a row over the issue between left-leaning Democrats in
Congress and leading figures at Capitol Hill that adhere to
US’ historic
approach to Israel.
Western countries and other
influential players have had their diplomatic moves, but they were
simultaneously looking to Washington and relying on its influence to make a
difference.
In reality, this was the first
serious test of the Democratic administration’s ability to change the course of
the conflict through a vision different from that of the previous
administration, which was completely biased to the occupation government, with
its aggressive behavior and denial of the Palestinian rights.
It has been a week since the Israeli
aggression on Gaza started, traded for rocket barrages that have reached
Israeli towns. Diplomatic efforts have managed to defer the eviction of
families in
Sheikh Jarrah. In the face of settler provocations in Jerusalem,
the escalation in Gaza, and the broad Palestinian grassroots protests in the
West Bank and across Palestinian communities in Israel, international efforts
will be undermined unless Washington begins pressuring the Israelis to accept a
cessation of hostilities on reasonable terms.
A continuation of the current crisis
without tangible progress also threatens a deterioration of the situation on
other fronts. Observers are watching the northern borders of Palestine, which
are witnessing some uncontrollable developments that might trigger a dangerous
showdown between Israel and Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon and Syria.
Thus we are on the brink of an
all-out war that will spare no country in the region, especially given that
sentiments are high and public anger is mounting — so much so that Jordanian
and Lebanese youth crossed the border to carry out attacks on the Israeli
occupation forces.
Can the situation be contained
before it spirals out of control? This is the test of
US diplomacy that
surfaced all of a sudden.
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