EDITORIAL: As if to make a point, Israel has chosen this point in the Gaza genocide to approve its biggest land seizure in the occupied West Bank in more than three decades. This alone shows how serious it really is about harmonious cohabitation with the Palestinians, the real native people of the holy land.
It also shows, yet again, why doable ideas like the two-state solution never really got off the ground. Now, with the spotlight on the Gaza Strip because of Israel’s genocidal hunt for Hamas, it was only a matter of time before some controversy dragged the West Bank back into the headlines as well. And Netanyahu’s government has delivered just that to remove any doubts his hardline backers in the fragile coalition might have about his future plans about the so-called Eretz Israel (land of Israel) dream.
But something like this was bound to happen, given that the present Israeli cabinet comprises the most radical, far-right extremists ever to rule over the country. And this problem goes back to the pre-Gaza genocide days, when Netanyahu’s desperation to stay in power pushed him into the embrace of a radically conservative, ultranationalist coalition.
Now Bibi is caught in the trap where he must feed these radicals what they want so they in turn can give their settler constituents what they’ve been promised. And if this cycle breaks at any point, the shaky coalition will break, Netanyahu will lose power and his corruption trial will resume; most likely landing him in jail.
Interestingly, these are also times of unprecedented turmoil inside Israel. Society has been badly split ever since Netanyahu agreed to clip the supreme court’s powers – again, to please his coalition – leading to regular public agitation across the country.
The war rallied public opinion in the government’s favour for a while, but the leadership’s inability to meet either of the two main war objectives, especially getting the hostages released, has once again united the country in a revolt against the prime minister. Now, news reports suggest that the government is beginning to get some pushback from the military as well, especially as the clock ticks to another war with Hezbollah.
It’s clear that the Netanyahu government has decided to go on an all-out offensive. It wants the war to continue blindly, even as casualties mount and no major aims and objectives are met, and it’s also resumed its illegal settlements expansion spree with a vengeance.
But this is no longer as effective a strategy as it was when overwhelming international opinion was firmly in Israel’s favour. Now the world is waking up to the Zionist state’s atrocities and will speak out more strongly against this blatant theft of another people’s land.
Yet the only reason the world is still forced to endure this travesty, even after 40,000 innocent people have been brutally killed before its eyes, is America’s continued support for Israel and all its actions. Until this changes, Israel will feel at liberty to continue shedding blood in the holy land to drag its illegal occupation for as long as possible.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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