You can judge the impact of Trump’s latest plans to remove the Palestinians from Gaza and turn it into a prime real estate location by the raptures with which they were received by Israel’s far right. They have long wanted a ‘greater Israel’ with the Palestinians removed entirely. Netanyahu has also long held the belief that eventually the wars in which Israel has engaged since its inception would lead to driving out the Palestinians. ‘In the next war, if we do it right we’ll have a chance to get all the Arabs out. We can clear the West Bank, sort out Jerusalem’, the younger Netanyahu said at a dinner attended by right wing journalist Max Hastings.
No matter that Trump’s plans amount to ethnic cleansing, show a blatant disregard for human rights, international law and the national right to self-determination, there has been remarkably little hostile criticism let alone denunciation internationally. Just as at every stage the genocide in Gaza has been in turn justified, made excuses for, ignored or been the subject of mild rebuke, so there will be an attempt to normalise this blatant breach of the human rights of the Palestinians.
It is true for sure that Gaza’s infrastructure is in the most terrible state – not just its houses, hospitals and schools but its sewage and water systems. It will take years of rebuilding after deliberate damage inflicted on it day after day by the Israelis, with huge numbers of casualties. But that must be done by the Palestinians. What they need is reparations from those countries which supported Israel’s genocide, not forcible displacement to countries outside their borders where they will live as refugees.
Dresden and other German cities suffered massive destruction in the Second World War from British and US bombing. In London 3.5 million homes and 9 million square feet of office space were destroyed or damaged from 1939-45. A full 1.5 million people were homeless. No one suggested that the populations of these cities should be displaced to France or Poland, to live in tents and camps and maybe some could be allowed back in the future. It’s a grotesque and inhumane plan – and nothing less than trying to make a fait accompli out of the genocide.
But Trump, Netanyahu and their allies want to wipe the idea of Palestine off the map. They also in the process want to wipe out any talk of genocide – which is why one of Trump’s other proclamations this week was to place sanctions on the International Criminal Court. Ethnic cleansing is a war crime and should be treated as such. Netanyahu has already been indicted for war crimes but is received as an ally in Washington. We can expect little from the human rights lawyer at the top of the British government which has been complicit in the genocidal attacks on Gaza and who is obviously terrified of saying anything to displease Trump.
Even many of those who support Trump must be disturbed at his proposal to send US troops to Gaza if necessary. That worked so well in Iraq in 2003, and in Afghanistan in 2001. Imperialism’s interventions in the region have been disastrous failures and have helped to create the present levels of instability in the Middle East today.
The present ceasefire is unlikely to hold. Netanyahu is whipping up furore about the appearance of the released hostages. This is dutifully repeated by the world’s media while it ignores the condition of the Palestinian prisoners being released, or the fact that Israel deliberately deprived Gaza of food, water and power, which will have affected the hostages.
The Palestinians have shown astonishing bravery and resistance in the face of all this. They need the support of everyone and resistance to this ethnic cleansing. We can expect little from governments which near universally support Israel within the EU and Britain so we have to fight from below against one of big injustices of our time. Our allies are not just the people of Palestine but the mass of working people across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia’s government immediately attacked Trump’s plans because it knows the discontent they would foster across the Arab world. That might, as it did in 2011, threaten the rulers of Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states.
We will be marching next Saturday 15th February in London to the US embassy (coincidentally the anniversary of the biggest march in British history over the Iraq war). There are signs this will be a very big protest. This weekend there have been demonstrations and protests across the country. We know that international government and media complicity over the genocide just means that Netanyahu just feels emboldened to go further. Not for the first or last time, resistance will come from below.
Source: Counterfire