Gaza’s “mini-war” that left everything as it is

In Israel, they speak of “mini-war”. A conflict that has not moved any of the fundamental pieces of the eternal Israeli-Arab confrontation. Again, that “dead heat” how good it is for all rulers in the middle east that nothing really changes. It doesn’t change the equation even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims otherwise. The only winners are the extremists on both sides and the big losers, the civilian victims of both cities.. In the middle, crushed by the debris of the bombs, are moderate Palestinians of Fatah who control the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and centrist Israelis who were about to form, for the first time in history, a government supported by a representative party of Israeli Arabs. Hamas military wing chief Mohammad Deif saved – at least for now – Netanyahu from being fired by the so-called government of the “change bloc” it was taking shape.

One of the darkest aspects of the clashes of the past two weeks is precisely the familiarity with the events. The terrible images of death and destruction that follow. The social and psychological consequences that one brand after another leaves, especially among the youngest. The Norwegian Refugee Council has indicated that 11 of the children killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza were participating in its psychosocial program to help them overcome the trauma of war. A total of 228 Palestinians have died in the Gaza Strip, including at least 63 children, while 12 people in Israel, including two children, were killed by rockets fired by Hamas. Both sides have contempt for the lives of civilians. But it is the Palestinian children, the vast majority, who have died, lost their parents or siblings, and their affected homes, schools and hospitals. One more time.

“All of our accomplishments will be revealed over time …Neither Hamas nor the Israeli People Know All We Have AccomplishedSaid a mysterious Netanyahu. Although he exposed some key successes of the operation: the destruction of 100 kilometers of tunnels of the extremist Islamic military political party, military infrastructure used for land and sea attacks, as well as the assassination of 20 senior officials of Hamas. “At this moment, I can say that we have undertaken bold and innovative acts, without embarking on unnecessary adventures,” added the Prime Minister.

On the Hamas side, the white flags do not appear either. A “main source” of Hamas interviewed by the Al-Akhbar newspaper, edited by the Lebanese Hezbolha, assured that “we are closely following the movements of the enemy in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. [en Jerusalén del Este, donde varias familias palestinas se enfrentan al desalojo de sus casas]… O we have prepared a new offensive in case the inhabitants of the area are evicted ”. An Israeli court verdict on the ownership of the houses handed over to the Palestinians in 1948 by the Jordanian Authority, which then controlled the area, is expected in the coming days.

Regarding the reconstruction of Gaza, Hamas has around $ 30 million a month that Qatar sends in humanitarian aid, a good part of which remains for the organization. The United States has also pledged, as part of the ceasefire agreements, to help repair infrastructure damaged by the bombing. There is also aid which, as we have seen with the launch of missiles from Syrian and Lebanese territory, comes to Hamas from organizations fighting the Syrian war. And there is always Iran’s military support provided by the missile system with which it harasses the Israeli population.

In any case, the greatest achievement of Islamic extremists is to have rooted a Trojan horse within Israeli society. The attacks that took place among Israeli citizens, Muslims and Jews as the bombing unfolded left a deep wound. For the first time, these attacks are recorded on a massive scale in integrated cities. They also ratified their strategies for “The worse the better” and to show Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the increasingly weak Palestinian Authority, to reaffirm that “There is no viable partner for a negotiation.”

The “mini-war” found the White House off guard. The United States, with its $ 3.8 billion a year aid to Israel, has enormous influence over the government in Jerusalem. Biden had other priorities early in his administration and didn’t expect to approach the Middle East until later. He hadn’t even appointed a new ambassador. He had to improvise. With the help of the Egyptian Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, he obtained the ceasefire after starring in a scene already widely seen: he let Israel finish its work of destroying the tunnels and missile launchers of the Hamas then pressured Netanyahu with a call he said he expected a “Significant de-escalation” fighting at the end of the day. The Israeli army took another 24 hours to accept the truce.

Biden and “Bibi” Netanyahu have known each other since the Israeli was the second secretary of the embassy in Washington and the American a young senator with a particular interest in international politics. But the relationship is complicated. This is evidenced by the dedication of a photo Biden sent to Netanyahu: “Bibi, I don’t agree with a fucking thing you say, but I love you.” At the end of 2019, in a question and answer session with voters, then-candidate Biden called the Israeli prime minister “counterproductive” and a leader of the “far right”. But he also accused the Palestinian leadership of “fomenting” the conflict and “provoking all the Jews.” And he suggested that some on the American left give the Palestinian Authority “A blank pass” when they criticize the Israeli leadership.

Netanyahu had a remarkably good relationship with former President Donald Trump, whom he thanked on several occasions for moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and for facilitating the normalization of relations between Israel and the Gulf neighbors, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Morocco and Sudan. Biden pursued a more traditional strategy of a “silent and intensive” diplomacy. The approach reflects the president’s working style and the bitter experience of the Obama administration, for which Netanyahu has shown so much contempt, ultimately leading the United States to refuse to oppose a landmark UN vote calling for the cessation of settlements in the occupied territories. But “Trump’s unconditional enthusiasm for Netanyahu and the gifts he gave him, weakened the Palestinians and emboldened the Israeli prime ministerAn analyst wrote in The Guardian.

Either way, Biden is going to have to make an effort to agree on international politics with his party. The Growing Influence of Progressive Democrats in Congress and the Energy of the Black Lives Matter Movement provide renewed support to the Palestinian cause. In addition, many members of the American Jewish community, especially the younger generations, increasingly criticize Netanyahu’s policies.

This latest escalation has demonstrated, once again, that violence will continue to come and go until the underlying issues are resolved. The constant advance of Jewish settlers and new settlements the facts on the ground are changing so that a viable Palestinian state seems less and less possible. Containment in Gaza and in the neighborhoods of Israeli citizens of Palestinian origin, only they foment the hunger and hatred which Hamas uses to hold its own population hostage in its politico-military adventures.

In Washington and in several European capitals, there is talk of a radical initiative to tackle the problem: put aside the long-agreed formula “Two equal states” and in a peaceful coexistence focus on some kind of “Federative organization” in which the two peoples have the autonomy necessary to coexist on the same territory. Obviously, a formula rejected out of hand by extremists on both sides, but which could be discussed at the highest level if the majority of moderates recover and regain power. Biden could accompany them on this path.

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