The war in Gaza leads to another immoral war

The war in Gaza leads to another immoral war

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is no stranger to the controversy, but he has never been called "weak and left", nor accused of "pulling the entire government to the left." ".
The source of this fury was Naftali Bennett, leader of the extremely religious and nationalist Jewish nationalist party who also happens to be minister of education. He accused Lieberman of being too soft on Gaza, and especially with Hamas. According to Bennett. those who launch kites and balloons laden with explosives in Israel should be shot, even if they are children. For someone like Lieberman, who built his entire political career on right-wing populism, lives in a colony in the occupied West Bank and has nurtured a thuggish image, Bennett's description must have been surprising.
In opposition, Lieberman promised to liquidate the entire Hamas leadership within 48 hours of taking office. He may not have changed his mind, but in his ministerial role, he must accept that, apart from demagoguery, Israel and Hamas are about to make a new series of events. bloodshed that neither one nor the other party wishes nor can win.
As Minister of Defense, he has the advantage of consulting the leaders of the armed forces and security forces, who categorically discourage any new deadly adventure in the Gaza Strip. So far, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his prime minister have coordinated their efforts to prevent the warmongering elements from lobbying, both within the government and outside the government, to launch a large-scale assault on Hamas in Gaza, including a campaign on the ground. However, the political pressure to do so is increasing.
What makes the situation explosive, both literally and figuratively, is that Israeli and Hamas leaders are under pressure from their own voters to take action to break the current stalemate. They have the choice: they can either decide to change the situation by concluding a long-term ceasefire, which would include easing the blockade of Gaza and thereby improving the living conditions there, in exchange stopping all aspects of militant activity against Israel. They can also continue to be clear, engaging in vitriolic language, persistent in low-intensity violence as the inhuman blockade continues, until at some point, as in the past, it degenerates into total war. More than four years have passed since last, and the bloodshed and destruction of 2014 give us a good indication of what to expect if new uncontrolled violence broke out again.

The parades and breaches in the Gaza / Israel fence, as well as the launching of incendiary devices that have already caused considerable damage to Israeli farmland, provoke a reaction from the Israeli government, usually with excessive force

Yossi Mekelberg

As is customary in this conflict, the need for an agreement does not guarantee that such an agreement will be reached. There is no mutual trust and both parties feel the need to test each other, which creates conditions that do not favor the mediation for which Egypt has deployed so much effort. More importantly, a stable and long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas requires the participation of the Palestinian Authority and its President Mahmoud Abbas. However, he is reluctant to support such an agreement, which he says confers a great victory on his arch-nemesis, Hamas.
Moreover, this challenges his long-standing view that peace negotiations, not armed struggle, are the means to reach agreements with Israelis for the benefit of the Palestinians. From his point of view, all gains from Israel by Hamas, after years of armed confrontation, strengthen the capacity of those in the West Bank to follow the same path and undermine it.
But this is only one aspect of his opposition to such an agreement. The other has more to do with Washington than Gaza. Abbas rightly suspects that this is part of the Trump Government's great plan for the Palestinians – an economic revival with no political solution at the core of which is Palestinian self-determination. Abbas sees his long, ambitious and tireless work for an independent Palestinian state to be lost.
Yet, an agreement is increasingly seen as a way to save lives by Hamas, as well as by the people of Gaza, so the organization is campaigning for an agreement to intensify militancy. The marches and breaches in the Gaza / Israel barrier, as well as the launching of incendiary devices that have already caused enormous damage to Israeli farmland, provoke a reaction from the Israeli government, usually with excessive force, as was the case last week with seven Palestinians, two aged 12 and 14 were killed by Israeli snipers. On the one hand, it could simply encourage both parties to return to the negotiating table, but that would be more likely to lead to another war.
The increased hostile rhetoric among Israeli politicians can also be attributed to the general expectation that there will be elections soon. This is also happening at a time when UNWRA is forced to operate under severe budget constraints, thanks to the reduction in Trump administration funds. The anger over the appalling living conditions in Gaza is already being falsely directed towards the organization that ensures the well-being of nearly two-thirds of the population. Without a negotiated agreement between Israel and Hamas that would alleviate the disastrous conditions in which the people of Gaza live, the humanitarian catastrophe and violence will not be long. This would only benefit the most extreme elements in Gaza and beyond, endanger the well-being of the people of Gaza and lead to more conflict. It's both immoral and self-destructive.

• Yossi Mekelberg is Professor of International Relations at Regent's University in London, where he directs the International Relations and Social Sciences Program. He is also an associate member of the MENA program at Chatham House. He regularly contributes to the international print and electronic media. Twitter: @YMekelberg

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