Trump and Netanyahu want Palestinians to capitulate. They never will
It is obvious what Israel - with the full acquiescence, and perhaps even incitement, of the Trump administration - is trying to do.
In addition to preventing the collapse of the governing coalition led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the resumption of the war on Gaza aims to force the Palestinian people to finally capitulate.
That will never happen, for one reason: unlike the Israeli situation, the main issue for Palestinians is not who governs Gaza or who represents them. It is the idea of Palestine as their homeland - one that has been usurped and occupied by Israel.
Palestinians know that Palestine is their ancestral land, and they have no option but to resist the occupation and continue their struggle for freedom and liberation.
They know, too, that their plight is not unique. Algeria, Vietnam, South Africa, Afghanistan and many others around the world have waged similar struggles.
It is unclear what the Israelis hope to achieve now, having already failed to bring the people of Gaza to their knees after 15 months of genocidal war.
Initially, Israel hoped its collective punishment tactics would turn the people of Gaza against Hamas. When this didn’t work, it threatened mass expulsion. Then, it imposed starvation, and forced civilians to flee from one corner of Gaza to another.
Not a hospital, school, or UN compound was spared. The latest and most sophisticated killing technology, acquired from the US and Europe, enabled the Israelis to kill around 50,000 people - but still, they failed to achieve any of their declared war objectives.
Ceasefire destroyed
Throughout the war, Hamas has maintained that the fighting could be brought to an end through a prisoner-swap deal. A ceasefire agreement was finally reached, and its first phase was enacted, despite a few obstacles.
But when it was time to enter the second phase, Netanyahu started stalling, and then reneged completely on the deal his government had signed with Hamas.
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The declared justification for the resumption of the onslaught on Gaza is not that Hamas contravened the ceasefire deal, but rather that it insisted upon its strict implementation, refusing to engage in Israel’s attempts to rewrite the terms.
The Trump administration, which ironically authorised its envoy to negotiate directly with Hamas officials in Doha, has adopted Netanyahu’s position in full. It is obvious from the official statements coming out of Tel Aviv and Washington that the vision is one; their positions are identical, with no shred of political correctness remaining in the discourse.
The Netanyahu and Trump administrations, and all those who support their racist agenda, are trying to slam the door on peaceful coexistence
Hundreds of Palestinians, including several high-ranking Hamas officials, were massacred in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and many more may lose their lives in the coming hours and days. But to what end? What do the Israelis and Americans hope to achieve?
They might already know, based on experience, that the renewed massacres will not force Hamas to acquiesce, nor turn the Palestinians of Gaza against the movement, which is proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK and other countries. Rather, the US and Israel might realise that the renewed onslaught is necessary to save both Netanyahu’s political career and the Zionist religious camp that today rules Israel.
If that is the case, the ball is now really in the court of the Israeli public. The question should not be what options Hamas or the Palestinians have; they have only one option, which is to continue resisting until Palestine is free. It is the Israelis who must consider their own options.
Political ambitions
Leaving Netanyahu and his fanatical allies aside, the Israeli public needs to realise that for many Palestinians, Hamas represents an idea that will never die, even if all Hamas leaders are assassinated, all Gaza homes turned to rubble, and all West Bank refugee camps destroyed.
They must recognise, too, that Netanyahu and his US allies, the Christian Zionist rulers in Washington, will pursue their personal political ambitions at the expense of their own publics.
The same question should be put to Jews around the world in whose names the Zionists, both Israeli and American, are perpetrating the most heinous crimes against humanity since the Holocaust.
There was a time when the region known today as the Middle East was a melting pot of cultures and religions; where Muslims, Christians and Jews coexisted peacefully, and built together one great civilisation.
Zionism, which falsely claims to represent the Jewish people, is today the greatest threat facing humanity. It is anti-Muslim, anti-Christian and anti-Jewish. It is racist, supremacist and colonialist - and it is now at its peak.
All people who believe in justice and freedom have a responsibility today to stand up in the face of Zionism, and to join hands to prevent it from perpetuating a conflict among peoples who have the potential to work together once more for the good of humanity.
The Netanyahu and Trump administrations, and all those who support their racist agenda, are trying to slam the door on peaceful coexistence. They need to be stopped.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
posted by Satish Sharma at
13:53
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