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Arab News
4 hours ago
- General
- Arab News
Israel has lost the Gaza war
In its relatively short history as a state, Israel has achieved numerous resounding military victories. It has regularly fought Arab armies and defeated most, often entering battle as the underdog. But when it turned its guns against the people it crushed under the yoke of one of the most ruthless occupations in history, then its victories appeared hollow. But its leaders do not feel remorse. Quite the opposite: they thrive on hubris and vanity. So, in the grand scheme of things, when Israel waged war on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, the odds were stacked in its favor to deliver a resounding defeat to the militant group. But this was no ordinary warfare, not in the classic military sense. From the very start, this was an orchestrated pogrom against millions of Gazans. This is a war run by extremist politicians whose aim remains to obliterate or ethnically cleanse every man, woman and child in the Strip. From the onset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has used Old Testament references full of hate, incitements and retribution to justify what has become the genocide of the 21st century. Ironically, Israel could have run over and occupied the entire Gaza Strip weeks — maybe months — after degrading Hamas' command and control structure and paralyzing its brigades. It could carry out surgical attacks to take out top Hamas military leaders, with little impact on the civilian population. In many ways, that is precisely what it did in Lebanon, decapitating Hezbollah's upper echelons using stunning and precise attacks in less than two months. Instead, and at the behest of its beleaguered leader, Netanyahu, it opted to prolong the war, killing tens of thousands of civilians and injuring hundreds of thousands without achieving a single military objective. It could have subdued the enclave, having one of the world's strongest armies, and yet it wallowed in Palestinian blood, taking pleasure in killing women and children especially. It could have subdued the enclave, having one of the world's strongest armies, and yet it wallowed in Palestinian blood Osama Al-Sharif If it had achieved a quick victory, as it was capable of doing, it would have maintained the Western sympathy and backing generated in the wake of Oct. 7. However, to keep power and avoid accountability, Netanyahu chose to engage in an entirely unwarranted bloodbath. So, after more than 18 months, Israel finds itself bogged down in Gaza with no clear political or military vision. Instead of securing that elusive victory, it is now gazing straight into the jaws of ultimate defeat. There is no way for Israel to reverse course and rid itself of the shame of committing the most shocking atrocities since the Second World War. To begin with, this is no longer just about eliminating Hamas. As the death count for Gaza civilians passes the 54,000 mark, with thousands still missing under the rubble, the world has moved beyond the Oct. 7 Israeli national calamity narrative. It is now gripped by the daily deluge of harrowing Palestinian statistics: those who are killed and injured by Israeli fire, death by starvation, by disease and by lack of medical care. It was inevitable that the world would finally take notice of Gaza's killing fields. The list of war crimes Israeli soldiers and politicians have committed — and are still committing — is simply too long, too abominable to ignore. With the international press barred by Israel from entering the enclave — the only conflict zone not to be covered by an independent media in more than two centuries — Netanyahu thought that his army could go on butchering Palestinians covertly. He was dead wrong. And when Palestinian journalists braved the carnage and brought the heart-breaking reality of Gaza's misery to the living rooms and mobile phones of hundreds of millions around the world, Israel targeted them with vigor, killing a record 180-plus of them, many with their entire families. Israel has broken so many records, in fact: killing doctors, medics, aid workers, university professors, women, babies and children, all with impunity. Israel knows exactly what it is doing. The only explanation is a belief that it has impunity, a blank check to kill Palestinians, because it genuinely believes it is always the victim and the world owes it. Israel has unintentionally delivered a huge boost to the Palestinian cause, resurrecting it on the global stage Osama Al-Sharif But Israel has already lost the Gaza war, even if it continues to kill and starve the hapless 2 million Palestinians there for another month or year or more. Aside from Netanyahu's interest in pursuing the war, there is no path to victory. The price the Palestinians are having to pay is enormous, but looking at the world today, one can see how a seismic shift is taking place. Israel has unintentionally delivered a huge boost to the Palestinian cause, resurrecting it on the global stage as the most noble and moral mission any decent individual can embrace. The war has transformed the Palestinian struggle for liberation and self-determination into a universal crusade, galvanizing worldwide protests and calls for justice in a way that has isolated Israel on the international stage. Western governments, including key Israeli allies, have moved from supporting Tel Aviv to criticizing its crimes and calling out its violations of humanitarian law. For the first time, some European leaders are warning of concrete actions against Israel if it does not cease the hostilities and allow aid into Gaza. Israel is reacting to such scathing attacks with the usual barrage of counterattacks, accusations of antisemitism and raw arrogance. That is only adding to its woes on the international stage. By attempting to manipulate and threaten Western leaders, Israel is further isolating itself. Even former Israeli premiers are now admitting that its army is committing war crimes in Gaza. No one knows how this genocide will end or what will happen to Gaza and its people. For sure, the suffering of the Palestinians will continue in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel's far-right leaders are so detached from reality that they are pushing for more killings in Gaza, while simultaneously pushing for the annexation of the West Bank. Once again, it is arrogance and smugness that are pushing Israel to the brink. In the past, Israel has lost wars too. But it was able to recover. Can it ever recover from the inevitable defeat in Gaza? Israeli society has never been as divided as it is now. The government has been taken over by religious and nationalist zealots who have turned Israel into an international pariah, while promoting a fortress mentality. Israel's war on Gaza has turned into a moral and military failure, one that will haunt it for decades. Those who stand by it — and they are getting fewer by the day — will also be judged as having stood on the wrong side of history. Even when the war ends, Israel will have to account for its crimes in Gaza before international courts. Its leaders, generals and soldiers will be pursued all over the world, just as those of any other defeated nation have had to do since the end of the Second World War. The rise of Israel was one of the most enigmatic stories of the 20th century from a Western point of view. Palestinians have been on the losing side for decades. Now, however, that romantic fable is crumbling as Israel becomes eyeless in Gaza.
Arab News
20 hours ago
- General
- Arab News
Now is the time to recognize Palestine
Israel's blocking of an Arab delegation, preventing it from entering the West Bank at the weekend, is yet another reminder of the ugly, immoral nature of its ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE planned to take part in a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday. But the Israeli government stepped in late on Friday and announced that it would not allow the delegation to cross from Jordan to the West Bank. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said this move showed the Tel Aviv government's 'extremism and rejection of peace.' Of course, there is no shortage of reminders of the ugliness of the occupation, especially given the unfolding genocide in Gaza. Since Israel unilaterally broke the ceasefire in the Strip in March, hospitals have again been in its sights. After Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia was evacuated on Israeli orders last Thursday, there were no functioning health facilities in the north of Gaza. And let us not forget that, last month, Israeli troops fired 'warning shots' in the vicinity of a European diplomatic delegation visiting the West Bank. More and more, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition of right-wing lunatics are increasing Israel's isolation and making it impossible for even its closest allies in the West to tolerate its actions. It is telling that a former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, last week said that Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza. 'The government of Israel is currently waging a war without purpose, without goals or clear planning and with no chances of success,' he wrote in an opinion piece for Haaretz. Better late than never, and, no, implementing it will not be easy, but this is a start. Faisal J. Abbas Last week, we even saw Germany begin to criticize Israel, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemning its 'violations' of international law. 'To harm the civilian population to such an extent, as has increasingly been the case in recent days, can no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas terrorism,' he said. Merz's intervention followed a very powerful speech from British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who told Parliament that the rhetoric coming from the likes of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich 'is extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous.' Indeed, when National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Smotrich speak of Israeli forces 'cleansing' Gaza, 'destroying what's left' and Palestinians 'being relocated to third countries,' then 'extremist' is the least they can be called. Personally, I believe they are war criminals. It is also very telling that Israel's ambassador to the UK was able to phenomenally identify exactly how many Hamas 'terrorists' have been killed during the war on Gaza that ignited following the horrific events of Oct. 7. But she could not recall, or even acknowledge, the number of children killed (the answer is more than 15,000, according to UNICEF) — despite being asked the same question 17 times during an interview with Piers Morgan. A reminder here that Morgan was unfairly accused, at the beginning of the war, of being biased toward Israel despite him giving both sides an equal platform. His latest interview with the Israeli ambassador was a masterclass in how to conduct professional interviews and ask serious questions. However, the battle for Palestinian justice will not be won by column inches or on podcasts. The two-state solution summit is coming up on June 17-20, jointly hosted by Saudi Arabia and France at the UN headquarters in New York, and nations worldwide will find themselves facing the ultimate moral test. Needless to say, now is the time to recognize Palestine and support a two-state solution. To skeptics, I say two things: better late than never, and, no, implementing it will not be easy, but this is a start. • Faisal J. Abbas is the Editor-in-Chief of Arab News. X: @FaisalJAbbas
The National
a day ago
- General
- The National
'No Other Land' directors fume as Israeli military blocks media trip to view settler violence
'The next time your politicians call this country the only democracy in the Middle East, film this so that they can see how democratic it really is. Film the reality and truth of what they're doing to us,' Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra told dozens of international journalists at the entrance to his village in the occupied West Bank, which had unexpectedly turned into a heavily manned Israeli military checkpoint. 'The only democracy in the Middle East is preventing international media from filming villages after settlers attacked them.' Exactly three months ago to the day, Adra, along with No Other Land co-directors Yuval Abraham and Hamdan Ballal, was on stage at the 97th Academy Awards to receive the award for Best Documentary. It was the first time a Palestinian film had won an Oscar. On Monday, those behind this remarkable achievement were reduced to arguing without success with masked Israeli forces to let their group through to the villages that have captured the world's attention. No Other Land documented the struggles of the residents of Masafer Yatta, a cluster of hamlets and villages, to stop the Israeli military from demolishing their communities. In the 1980s, the army designated it as a military training area, ordering residents to leave, a fate that has befallen many Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, particularly agricultural communities. Despite this, about 1,000 people have stayed in the area, including Adra and his family. The community has faced regular attacks from Israeli settlers. The violence intensified after the October 7, 2023 Hamas -led attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. With international attention focused on the war, Israeli ministers in the far-right government, many themselves prominent settlers themselves, urged the seizure of Palestinian land. 'I think the film made a huge difference in the opinions of people all over the world … but sadly it did not make a difference for the people who have power. Israel is an ally of your countries. Here it is blocking journalists from these allied countries from visiting and seeing these crimes being committed,' said Abraham, an Israeli Jew, who made the trip from Jerusalem to help Adra's tour. On Sunday evening, the Israeli army declared the village of Khirbet Khallet Al Dabaa, where the tour was set to take place, a closed military zone, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. The day before, Israeli forces arrested two foreign activists working to support the communities in Masafer Yatta. Attacks on these communities rose to critical levels in the months after No Other Land was released, a situation that the filmmakers tried to show the world's media on Monday. Ballal was brutally attacked by a mob of Israeli settlers in March. 'There is destruction of water wells, pipes and solar panels. Settlers have come into the village and set up in the area under military protection. They have attacked children and pregnant women,' Adra said. Addressing the Israeli troops, whose numbers soon swelled to include more soldiers, as well as civilian and border police, he said: 'I have so many videos of settlers here to attack us and shoot us and you do nothing. Right now when journalists are here to see this and interview people you come to prevent them.' A softly spoken soldier, face covered with a balaclava, only reiterated that his forces were there to 'keep the public order'. 'Last week had a lot of disturbance to the order,' he added. 'In this crossroads, no journalists, no guests, to keep the order in the area. Right here you are a public disturbance.' These mild exchanges were the extent of the confrontations on Monday. Even the arrival of a senior Palestinian Authority official to observe the situation caused little commotion. But hours after the media left, the reports of violence and intimidation against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank resumed, including the military reportedly shooting a minor and settlers using drones to intimidate Palestinian shepherds and their sheep near Bethlehem.
Khaleej Times
a day ago
- General
- Khaleej Times
GCC condemns Iranian settlements on occupied UAE islands
The GCC Ministerial Council has condemned the Iranian government's continued construction of residential facilities to settle Iranians on three UAE islands. In a statement issued today, the Council affirmed its firm positions and previous decisions regarding the condemnation of Iran's continued occupation of the three islands (Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa) belonging to UAE. "Any decisions, practices, or actions taken by Iran on the three islands are null and void and do not change anything of the historical and legal facts that unanimously support the right of sovereignty of the United Arab Emirates over its three islands," the statement said.
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Tulkarem residents clear homes set for demolition
NewsFeed Tulkarem residents clear homes set for demolition Residents of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank retrieve their belongings from their homes before they're demolished by the Israeli military. Tens of thousands have already been forced out. This comes as Israel approves 22 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, the largest expansion in decades.
