Israel's new military offensive
EDITORIAL: The 'Never Again' phrase associated with the Holocaust for long symbolised a universal commitment to prevent the kinds of systematic targeting and extermination to which the Nazis subjected European Jews and some other communities. Ironically, it is the Jewish state now doing the same onto the Palestinian people in Gaza as well as the occupied West Bank.
During the last 19 months of Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza at least 53,573 Palestinians – too many of them children – have been killed and 121,688 others wounded whilst the enclave's entire 2.2 million population remains trapped without access to food, water, fuel, and healthcare facilities (almost all hospitals have been bombed out).
Israel has now expanded its military assault on Gaza with increased bombardment by air and more troops on the ground. Prime Minister Netanyahu has openly said his aim is to take control of the entire enclave – through extermination and/or expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland.
The escalation with its unspeakable death and destruction has prompted widespread calls for restraint and accountability. Even Israel's traditional European allies find it difficult to stand by it. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in parliament on Tuesday that he was 'horrified by the escalation from Israel' and called for a ceasefire.
He also reiterated his government's opposition to settlements in the occupied West Bank and demand for a 'massively scaled up humanitarian assistance into Gaza' backed by suspension of free trade talks with Israel as well as further sanctions against Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary David Lammy slammed 'extremism' in some sections of Israel's government adding, 'we cannot stand by in the face of this new deterioration. It is incompatible with the principles that underpin our bilateral relationship'.
Nice words these, but the Foreign Secretary stopped short of saying anything about the sale of military equipment, including components of combat aircraft Israel uses to drop 2000 lb bombs on the Gaza people, making London complicit in the ongoing genocide.
Together with Britain, leaders of France and Canada have also 'strongly opposed' the expansion of Israel's military offensive in the besieged enclave, threatening to take 'concrete actions' if it does not ease its onslaught and lift restriction on aid supplies. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke of a growing call from some other countries to review a longstanding association agreement with Israel.
These are important developments. Moving forward, it remains to be seen how far the Europeans are willing to go to stop ethnic cleansing of Gaza and grave human rights abuses in the West Bank that the colonial settler state wants to take over to create 'Greater Israel.'
In any event, the US is fully on board with Israel, even trying to make arrangements for Gaza Palestinians' involuntary resettlement elsewhere in the region – a stark reminder that 'Never Again' no longer represents a commitment to stand against genocide and human rights abuses wherever they occur.
Of all the people, nonetheless, it was a former deputy chief of staff of Israel's military, Yair Golan, who recently told a radio interviewer: 'a sane country does not engage in combat against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not pursue goals of population expulsions.'
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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