The war in Gaza is not over. There have been no sanctions and no ceasefire. Israeli forces attack people awaiting the arrival of desperately needed trucks carrying humanitarian relief, killing at least eight Palestinians including security guards. Up to 21,000 children are unaccounted for since Israel launched its war on Gaza on October 7, according to Save the Children.
The continued failure of the Biden Administration to secure a full and lasting ceasefire in Gaza may go down as the most terrible and deadly diplomatic catastrophe of our time. The US has long abetted Israel’s policy of splintering Palestine from itself, weakening the dream of self-determination and making a two-state solution all but impossible. With Biden’s own party inviting Prime Minister Netanyahu to address the US Congress on “the Israeli government’s vision of defending democracy” – It may be too much to expect a change in behaviour any time soon.(Al Jazeera)
The continuation of the war in Gaza is becoming so terrible and callous, it appears there will be no victors and barely any survivors. Netanyahu doesn’t care about the hostages taken on the 7th of October his only goal is to use the war he is waging in the Gaza strip to solidify his grip on power. To that end he has isolated himself from the ordinary people. Netanyahu’s major concern is to isolate Gaza and bring it back under occupation by his military and administration. In the long run this could have dire consequences. As it could create even worse militant groups.
Political commentator Ori Goldberg says there’s been a “tangible” change over the past few days in how the Israeli public sees Netanyahu, suggested that he no longer seems like “the omnipotent representative of all of Israel”. “He now seems like a politician in distress, fighting for his own personal and potentially sectorial interests,” Goldberg said. “The very fact he gave this interview is a sign of weakness. He has not spoken to Israeli media, as unbelievable as that sounds, since October 7. When Netanyahu is on a roll, he doesn’t speak; when he feels embattled and besieged, he makes a point to speak.” Goldberg noted that public pressure on Netanyahu continues to escalate.(Al Jazeera)
Netanyahu is an arrogant absolutist and authoritarian who cares only about his own personal interests and tightening his own grip on power. Now as he escalates the war in Gaza and represses freedoms in the West Bank power is slipping through his fingers as he tightens that grip. As Prime Minister he has failed to extract the surviving hostages from the grip of the Palestinian Militant group Hamas. Instead, he has become isolated with in his own clique of power. The ministers in the coalition are making fools of themselves, while the Israeli public are losing patience. Netanyahu began this war not to release the hostages (he could have negotiated with Hamas for their release. He began this war to teach the group a lesson.
The end result is a pointless genocide that has divided world opinion and placed Netanyahu in a bad light. Meanwhile across the world, even politicians are breaking ranks to speak out against Israel’s war and support the idea of a Palestinian State. In Australia, Labor Senator Fatima Payman voted in in favour of recognizing Palestinian Statehood and at the same time risked being expelled from her party.
The Labor Senator Fatima Payman has crossed the floor, voting in support of a Greens motion on recognizing Palestinian statehood in a move that imperils her party membership. While Coalition backbenchers are allowed to cross the floor, the Labour party requires all of its parliamentarians to support collective decisions or face the possibility of expulsion. Some Labor members to have crossed the floor have been expelled from the party and others have been suspended. An Albanese government spokesperson said there was “no mandated sanction in these circumstances” but did not confirm if there would be any consequences. After crossing the floor, Payman, a first-term senator for Western Australia, described it as the “most difficult decision” she had to make. She told reporters what would happen next was the party’s “prerogative” but she would like to continue serving as a Labor senator.(The Guardian)
It should be clear that the pain and hopelessness felt in Gaza has sent shockwaves around the world. It has provoked politicians like Payman to go against the directives of the party they serve, due to a genuine build up of frustrations. The motion for recognizing Palestinian statehood in Australia being put forward by the Greens party possibly won’t go through. However, it could serve as a path to have a wider conversation about the possibility of ending ties with Israel, and resuming them in exchange for a two-state solution. This took form when there were calls to boycott Apartheid South Africa. This eventually led to international sanctions being imposed on the country which led to the end of white minority rule 1994. It will take more brave people like Payman across the world to call for an actual ceasefire and an end to the weapons exports to the Zionist regime.
It is all a matter of time before Netanyahu is removed from power.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
