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For a dozen days, the eyes of the world were focused on Israel’s aggression on Iran and its consequences. The ramifications could have been 100 times worse, with the region plunged into a catastrophic war.
Yet, in those two weeks, Israel’s genocide in Gaza was not on hold, with more than 860 Palestinians in that time. The regime of occupation and apartheid in the West Bank also intensified. Palestinians can only dream of a ceasefire.
Unlike the rest of the world, the Israeli leadership has shown itself willing and capable of prosecuting multiple fronts at the same time. Yes, European leaders did make references to Gaza throughout the Iran war, but they made no new policy shifts. Netanyahu successfully distracted them, releasing the pressure that was building on Israel and obtaining bizarre commitments to the country’s right to self-defense even though it was undeniably the aggressor.
Palestinians also have a right to self-defense, in theory, but it is akin to blasphemy to invoke it — ditto for Syrians, Lebanese and Iranians. In more than 30 years, I have yet to hear this expressed a single time by a European or American leader. Selective morality is barely camouflaged.
Palestinians in Gaza await their doom. A lethal lottery of life haunts their existence. The death rattle may come courtesy of bombs, disease or starvation. Families have told me how they crave instantaneous collective death, not the macabre and tortuous process of emaciation, the transition from human to spectral presence.
The horrors in Gaza have become normalized. When Israel first bombed a hospital, a degree of shock wafted around the globe. Since then, every single one of Gaza’s 35 hospitals has endured an Israeli attack. When one Israeli hospital was struck by an Iranian missile, Israelis stood appalled.
European leaders did make references to Gaza throughout the Iran war, but they made no new policy shifts
Chris Doyle
The starvation of Palestinians in Gaza continues unabated. The fuel blockade is in force, meaning water wells cannot be pumped. Potable water is akin to liquid gold. A fresh way to die is imminent — death by thirst.
The Gaza hunger games has food distribution points nestled in the heart of militarized zones. This means walking miles to join the starving hordes who dare to dodge the bullets and shells to scrap for lifesaving food boxes. Thus far, at least 549 Palestinians have been killed at these four locations since May 26, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures. Sixty lives alone were terminated by a of tank shells.
Anti-Palestinian groups ranted that Israeli forces had not committed these atrocities. This latest lie fell apart when even Israeli officials conceded the point. Israeli forces have also they were ordered to open fire at unarmed Palestinians in food queues, even if they posed no threat.
Who knows how many of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants remain alive? The official death toll hovers at about 56,000, but academic show the figure could be far higher. Two surveys indicate the official figures may be as much as 40 percent too low. One survey estimated that excess mortality — those who have died due to the indirect consequences of Israel’s genocide — may have been 8,500 in January. The survivors have been hemmed in to just 17 percent of the Gaza Strip.
Rumors encircle Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as ever. Does he want to prepare the way for elections? Will he bring military operations in Gaza to a halt? This does not guarantee the release of the hostages. Given that he has just the last remaining UN food distribution program in the north, the militarized food distribution system will not be abandoned. Can the hostages’ families dent the bloodied will of the coalition’s leaders? Their cause is backed by as many as three-quarters of Israelis, who a ceasefire in exchange for the return of hostages.
Trump issued the most dramatic ultimatum in recent history, ordering Israeli planes back from their mission to bomb Iran
Chris Doyle
The ceasefire with Iran must be buttressed with an end to the genocide in Gaza. Halting the genocide in Gaza requires a reheating of the cauldron of pressure on Israel that saw two Cabinet ministers sanctioned last month by the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway. It means retreading the weary debates of what other measures are required.
Above all, it requires determined steps from the US and European powers that compel Israel to stop. President Donald Trump last week issued the most dramatic ultimatum in recent history, ordering Israeli planes back from their mission to bomb Iran. “All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran,” he on social media.
It is time for just such a decisive blow to the Netanyahu solar plexus from Trump by demanding that Israel permanently halt its attacks on Gaza and the West Bank and allow all humanitarian agencies full unhindered access to Gaza, while Hamas releases the remaining hostages. Trump should also insist on an end to the Israeli occupation and the creation of a viable Palestinian state — but that is wishful thinking. Trump could back this up by encouraging, in private if needs be, European states to be even tougher on Israel. Do this and the president could be heading to Oslo in October to pick up a much-cherished peace prize.
- Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London. X: @Doylech