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The bloody destruction of Gaza is now 4 1/2 months old. Israeli politicians still call it a war because to call it anything else would be to admit that this is not a war. The deliberate, systematic destruction of a people by a bigger power, with the support of the United States. Yet, those in a position to tell Israel it is committing genocide, refuse to do so.
There seems to be little if any resistance to Israeli attacks. No massive flurries of rockets into Israeli cities and towns, no pitched gun battles with troops and no attempts at suicide bombings or other such activities by militant groups. I thought by now Hezbollah might have staged a mass rocket attack or sent large numbers of fighters into combat zones; that other groups like Islamic Jihad or Aqsa Martyrs Brigade might have come to help HAMAS, but nothing of the sort seems to have happened.
You cannot really call this a war. A war suggests to me active armed combat between multiple factions and I would be expecting some kind of retaliation to be happening against Israel.
The systemic destruction of Gaza is slow and 100% deliberate. At the start of the destruction of Gaza, Israel told people to leave the northern part and go south towards Rafah and the Egyptian border. The Egyptian authorities closed the border to stop themselves being overwhelmed by refugees. Hundreds of thousands left necessitating a huge aid operation to provide for so many displaced refugees. Yet barely more than 1-2% of the required aid per day arrived. Some of the convoys that have come through have been attacked with impunity by settlers.
In the northern part of Gaza, the power has failed. The water has failed. The sewerage has failed. There is nowhere open to buy fuel, water, food or to take shelter. This is very deliberate – after 18 weeks of war, Israel cannot claim to not know what living conditions in northern Gaza are like (or even if they can be described as living conditions).
All the while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stubbornly resists any effort to make Israel stop the assault. Just as I was typing this, it was breaking news that he said Israel would reject any “dictates” regarding Gaza; that recognition of a Palestinian state would be a huge win for unprecedented terrorism”.
The New York Times posted this Before/After comparison in mid-December. It is fair to say that the conditions will have worsened immeasurably in the nine weeks since. United Nations Relief and Works Agency reports on the humanitarian situation depict a bleak image and the B.B.C. report here shows how the humanitarian crisis has spread through Gaza with the progression of Israeli offensive activity.
I see no future for Palestine. The grim truth is that unless Netanyahu complies with international pressure the destruction of Gaza will continue until there is either nothing left to destroy, or Netanyahu is satisfied with the outcome. He does not care for Palestine or anyone who is not Israeli. He has said as much and to expect him to change his tune is totally unrealistically.
In New Zealand, I see politicians beginning to show unease about the situation in Palestine. However it is far too little, and in many respects, far too late. Whilst I welcome the commentary from Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters about the need to stop the assault on Rafah, it is nowhere near strong enough. Whilst I welcome Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s appeal to stop the assault and respect human rights, it is – like Mr Peters – too late and not strong enough.
Of the politicians around the world in the western hemisphere, none except those belonging to minority parties or the Green movement, have been brave enough to stand up in the elected houses of representative that they hold seats in and call out Israel or Mr Netanyahu. None of them have been brave enough to call out their own Government’s. Silence is complicity, one might argue.
United States President Joe Biden is the one person in the world who can potentially stop Mr Netanyahu. However, he is unable to reconcile himself with the unavoidable fact that a Israeli politician who he claims to admire, is committing genocide. Unless and until this happens, Mr Joesph Robinette Biden, 46th President of the United States is complicit in genocide.
Leftist Kiwi Writes 