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Al Jazeera
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
'Will Israel accept' Iran if it's not a nuclear threat?
Meron Rapoport says Netanyahu's Iran strikes distract from Gaza & asks if he would oppose Iran without a nuclear threat. Meron Rapoport, editor at Local Call, argues that Netanyahu's strikes on Iran serve mainly to distract from Israel's failing war in Gaza, and questions whether Netanyahu would still oppose the Iranian leadership if its nuclear threat were removed.
Middle East Eye
02-03-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Israelis no longer blush at calls for Palestinian extermination
At the end of October 2023, Local Call published the full text of a plan formulated by Gila Gamliel, then Israel's minister of intelligence, for the 'evacuation of the civilian population from Gaza to Sinai'. The plan received extensive coverage around the world and was viewed as proof that Israel's real goal in its war in Gaza - at that time still in the aerial bombing phase before the ground invasion - was not to 'eliminate Hamas' but to expel the Palestinians from Gaza. Coverage in Israel, however, was limited - perhaps because the Ministry of Intelligence had no authority (it has since been closed), perhaps because Gamliel had no real political weight and perhaps because the Israeli media prefers not to deal with the war crimes that Israel is planning. Sixteen months later, Gamliel's plan has effectively become the official plan of the Israeli government. The credit must first and foremost, of course, go to US President Donald Trump. But it is also undeniable that this process reflects the evolution of an idea long cherished by the Israeli public. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Indeed, even after Trump and his people began watering down his transfer plan in recent days, terming it not a 'forced evacuation' but rather 'only a recommendation', Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to extol 'President Trump's groundbreaking plan to allow freedom of exit for Gazans' and Defence Minister Israel Katz is setting up an administration for 'voluntary exit' from Gaza. These formulations are present almost word for word in Gamliel's plan. Therefore, it would be inadvisable to casually dismiss a call by deputy parliament speaker Nissim Vaturi stating that 'the children and women should be separated and the [male] adults in Gaza should be killed'. Vaturi may be a more marginal politician than Gamliel, but he signifies a development in the Jewish-Israeli discourse. There are no more threats of a second Nakba, which took over the right-wing discourse even before 7 October and subsequently entered the mainstream. There is not just a "Generals' Plan" of siege and starvation, which was actually implemented by expelling the residents of northern Gaza and demolishing their homes and was only halted because of the ceasefire. Rather, there is a blueprint for annihilation: for a final solution to the problem of Gaza and to the problem of the Palestinians in general. Vaturi's words are noteworthy because they come against the backdrop of a normalisation of the discourse of extermination. If Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu was made to squirm after saying at the outset of the war that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza was 'one way' to deal with Hamas, now such statements are voiced openly - without any attempt to disguise or whitewash them. The examples are many and varied. Attorney Kinneret Barashi, a prominent right-wing 'influencer' who always makes sure to mention that she used to vote for Meretz, posted on X that 'every trace of the murderous mutations in Gaza should be erased, from the delivery rooms to the last elderly person in Gaza. 100% must die in Gaza'. Actor Yiftach Klein, who describes himself as being from the 'Oslo generation', said in a PR interview with Walla, marking his participation in a new play at the Habima Theatre: 'I don't believe them [the Palestinians]. I don't believe in them and I don't want to see them again as long as I live, ever. Let them be gone beyond the mountains of darkness and may they die there.' Singer Ofer Levi said in an interview on Avi Shushan's podcast on the Maariv website that if he were a soldier in the army, 'there would be no more prisoners. I would kill them all and also burn them. Bring gasoline, give the order to go ahead and pour it out and then ignite it. Burn everything down to the last one of them, including everyone.' And that's really just the tip of the iceberg. Roaming briefly through social media yields many more examples - men and women, disillusioned, racist, all united in a chorus of annihilation. The trauma of 7 October regenerated Even without quantitative research, this discourse of extermination seems to have gained momentum after the 19 January ceasefire. Two explanations come to mind here. The first relates to the 'ceremonies' that Hamas holds around the release of the abductees. Almost every such ritual is seen by Israelis as proof - not only of Hamas' cruelty and the physical and psychological abuse it inflicts on the hostages but also of the idea that all Palestinians in Gaza are complicit in this cruelty and celebrate it. The crowd that surrounded in a very threatening manner the first three hostages released in Gaza, the chaos that spiralled out of control during the first release of hostages in Khan Younis, the statements of thanks that hostages were forced to deliver onstage in front of a cheering audience were all seen as expressing the collective desire of Gaza's residents to restart the massacre of 7 October. Israel blocks all aid entering Gaza following end of first phase of ceasefire Read More » Attempts to show that at most a few hundred Gazans participated in each of these ceremonies did not help, nor did the fact that most of the hostages appeared to be in slightly better condition than anticipated. The feeling of humiliation and threat only increased with each handover. The climax came with the ceremony surrounding the release of the bodies of Shiri Bibas, her two toddlers and Oded Lifshitz. The very fact that Hamas celebrated over the bodies of two small children, whose abduction alongside their mother became a symbol of the cruelty of 7 October, deeply distressed the Jewish public. These feelings only intensified when it became clear that the body ostensibly of Shiri Bibas that was transferred to Israel was not, in fact, Shiri Bibas and after the spokesperson for the Israeli army announced that the two toddlers had been 'manually suffocated' by Hamas members. Even the Bibas family's own attempts to dampen the outrage and their pleas not to use their tragedy for propaganda purposes and not to publish details of Shiri Bibas and her children's deaths before the autopsy report reached them were of no help. In these ceremonies, Hamas was clearly seeking to prove to itself to the Palestinian public and, of course, to Israel that it was still standing after Israel's most destructive and deadly attack against the Palestinian people (at least since 1948), to show that Israel and Netanyahu had failed in their declared mission to eliminate Hamas. But even if Hamas intended otherwise - and at least in their statements, Hamas described these ceremonies as honouring the hostages - the result was an intensification of the discourse of annihilation among the Jewish public, a renewal of the trauma of 7 October. Outrage and frustration But there is another explanation for the emergence of the discourse of extermination. Beyond the 'elimination of Hamas', depopulating the Gaza Strip or at least Gaza City and the towns to its north became a declared goal of many Israeli leaders on the right - Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir - and the commanders in the army. This was what was at the centre of the "Generals' Plan" that the army actually adopted. The goal of the Southern Command, published by Ynet in mid-December, 'is to prevent the return of Gazans to their homes in Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia'. After the ceasefire came into effect, however, the Israelis realised that not only had Hamas not been eliminated and was, in fact, showing self-confidence, but also that the ethnic cleansing had failed. True, Jabalia was completely destroyed, as were large parts of Gaza City and its environs. In order to get rid of the Palestinians, you have to kill them But the images of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returning to the northern strip were tangible proof that the Palestinians remained in Gaza and that they had no intention of going anywhere, certainly not voluntarily. It is difficult to speak in terms of 'victory' when Gaza has been completely destroyed and after 50,000-plus deaths and perhaps substantially more, but one can understand why most Palestinians - in Gaza itself and beyond - saw the return to the north as an Israeli failure. The discourse of extermination, according to this explanation, stems from Israeli frustration at the inability to bring about the complete depopulation of Gaza. If all that destruction and bombing did not convince the Palestinians to leave, the conclusion drawn by more than a few Israelis is that there is no choice but to kill everyone - from 'the delivery rooms to the last elderly person'. This is one of the reasons why the majority of the Israeli public has embraced Trump's plan to uproot the Palestinians in Gaza. But perhaps because the Israelis are better acquainted with the local reality than the real estate mogul sitting in the White House, they know that there is no real chance that the Palestinians will leave of their own free will. In order to get rid of the Palestinians, you have to kill them. Chaim Levinson wrote in Haaretz that the plan presented by Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer to US envoy Steve Witkoff on Netanyahu's behalf states that if negotiations with Hamas fail, the army will occupy the entire strip and 'destroy the buildings that are still standing in most parts of the strip - except for defined shelter areas in the south of the strip - and only in those areas will food be distributed'. Yoaz Hendel, a reserve battalion commander in the current war and a former minister, also talked in an article in Israel Hayom about 'secured compounds' that will be established in the strip with food and drink distributed only at those sites. 'Everything outside these compounds,' Hendel wrote, 'is a killing zone.' In other words, anyone who does not enter these concentration camps - it's hard to call them anything else - will be sentenced to death. Although ethnic cleansing has become a mode of action - the expulsion of 40,000 Palestinians from refugee camps in the northern West Bank and Katz's declaration that he will not allow them to return are further proof of this - it has been a failure thus far. Israel has destroyed Gaza, but the Palestinians have not left it, and the Palestinians who have lately been forced to leave their homes in Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm are not abandoning the West Bank either. The discourse of extermination is, first and foremost, the result of rage and frustration, not a plan of action. But the statements of Vaturi, Barashi, Klein and many others are preparing the psychological ground for moves that no one dared to mention out loud until 7 October - and that is dangerous, very dangerous.
Al Jazeera
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Hamas official says Netanyahu ‘intentionally sabotaging' Gaza ceasefire
A Hamas official has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of 'intentionally sabotaging' the Gaza ceasefire deal after Israel postponed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. In an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday, Basem Naim said Hamas would not engage in further ceasefire talks until Israel releases the 620 Palestinian prisoners who were meant to be freed on Saturday. 'Before going to the next step, we have to be sure that the past step, which was releasing 620 prisoners, are already released,' said Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau. 'Netanyahu is clearly sending strong messages that he is intentionally sabotaging the deal, he is preparing the atmosphere for returning back to the war.' Israel announced on Sunday that it had decided to delay the release of Palestinian prisoners who were set to be freed a day earlier in exchange for six Israeli captives held in Gaza. In a statement, Netanyahu's office said the move came in response to captive release ceremonies held by Hamas 'that humiliate our hostages' as well as 'the cynical exploitation of our hostages for propaganda purposes'. Israel and Hamas have conducted a series of captive-for-prisoner exchanges since a ceasefire deal came into effect in the Gaza Strip last month. While mediators have urged both sides to continue negotiations to reach the second phase of the agreement, observers have questioned whether Netanyahu is willing to advance to that next stage. Meron Rapoport, an editor at the Israeli news outlet Local Call, told Al Jazeera on Monday that Netanyahu intends to resume the Israeli war on Gaza but is likely to face strong opposition from the Israeli public. 'The expectation from the families of the hostages [who remain in Gaza] is that all the hostages should be released,' Rapoport said. Hamas is expected to release the bodies of four Israeli captives later this week as part of the ceasefire agreement. Asked about that, as well as the future of the deal itself, Naim told Al Jazeera that 'all options are on the table'. 'What are the guarantees that [Netanyahu] might take the other four bodies and again not release the agreed-upon number of Palestinians plus the 620 Palestinians?' the Hamas official asked. 'All options are on the table, not only what should happen on Thursday but even the other elements of the deal.'
Middle East Eye
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza due to lack of intelligence, says report
The indiscriminate nature of the Israeli army's 15-month assault on Gaza was in part due to its inability to "pinpoint Hamas commanders", a new investigation reveals. The report by the news outlets +972 Mag and Local Call indicates that Israel lacked intelligence on the whereabouts of members of Hamas, prompting bombing runs that targeted wide areas including Palestinian citizens. "When targeting senior commanders in the group, the Israeli military authorized the killing of 'triple-digit numbers' of Palestinian civilians as 'collateral damage'," the joint investigation added, noting that Israel maintained "close real-time coordination with US officials" regarding the expected death toll. In some cases, the army killed Palestinians using several 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs in a strategy called 'tiling' and failed to kill the intended target. According to the news outlets, strikes carried out often used US explosives, and were known to pose harm for Israeli captives held in Gaza, despite prior concerns expressed by military officers. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Based on conversations with 15 Israeli Military Intelligence and Shin Bet officers involved in these operations, the investigation reveals that the military also intentionally deployed "weaponised toxic byproducts of bombs to suffocate militants in their tunnels". According to the investigation, Israel has long known that such bombs release carbon monoxide, a lethal gas that can kill through asphyxiation as far away as hundreds of metres. 'The gas stays underground, and people suffocate,' Brigade General Guy Hazoot told +972 Mag and Local Call. 'The tunnel becomes a death trap' '[We realized] we could effectively target anyone underground using the Air Force's bunker-buster bombs, which, even if they don't destroy the tunnel, release gases that kill anyone inside. The tunnel then becomes a death trap.' Though a spokesperson has previously indicated to the news outlets that such tactics were never deployed by the Israeli army, the new investigation reveals that the air force "conducted physio-chemical research on the effect of the gas in enclosed spaces, and the military has deliberated over the method's ethical implications". In one such case of using chemical byproducts to target Ahmed Ghandour, the Hamas brigade commander in northern Gaza, three Israeli captives were killed as a result. The army had told loved ones that it was unaware that they were held nearby the Hamas commander. The attack was reportedly authorised despite "ambiguous" intelligence noting that the three captives could have been in the area, according to three sources with knowledge of the attack. Several sources indicated to the news outlets that this was not an isolated incident, but one of many air strikes that knowingly killed or endangered the captives. War on Gaza: UN report accuses Israel of war crimes by targeting Palestinian civilians Read More » "While attacks were aborted when there was specific, definitive intelligence indicating the presence of a hostage, the army routinely authorized strikes when the intelligence picture was murky and there was a 'general' likelihood that hostages were present in the vicinity of a target," the investigation stated. Another military source told the news sites that "pinpointing a target inside a tunnel is hard, so you attack a [wide] radius", adding that as a result of the indefinite location, the targeted area could be as huge as tens and even hundreds of meters. In June last year, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said that Israeli forces may have violated the laws of war in their campaign in the Gaza Strip. In a report that assessed six Israeli attacks that caused a high number of casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, the OHCHR said that Israeli forces "may have systematically violated the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack". "The requirement to select means and methods of warfare that avoid or at the very least minimise to every extent civilian harm appears to have been consistently violated in Israel's bombing campaign," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
