Israeli violence

Netanyahu appears to have forgotten that despite a Jewish identity Israel constitutionally remains a secular democracy

A shortlived ceasefire between Israel and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine fell apart within 24 hours on Friday. The Israeli defence forces claim that they fired at positions in Gaza after the militant group allegedly fired five rockets into Israel. In the violence leading up to the ceasefire, at least 34 Palestinians were killed, while no Israeli fatalities were reported. The violence began on Tuesday after Israel killed an Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza. Militants have since allegedly fired more than 450 missiles into Israel, while a spate of Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza. Apart from the 34 dead, at least 111 people have been wounded by Israeli attacks.

Interestingly, the ceasefire hinged on Islamic Jihad halting rocket attacks while Israel would stop targeted assassinations against various militants and the use of live fire against weekly Gaza protests along the border. The Israelis also had to ease the 12-year-old blockade of Gaza that has devastated the local economy. The terms ‘enforceable’ on Israel seem no different from those pushed on a terrorist group — stop murdering civilians and destroying their livelihoods. Yet that was too much for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ‘curiously’ ordered the airstrikes while his political rival Benny Gantz is attempting to form a new government after elections resulted in a hung parliament.

The attack scuttled Gantz’s potential support from Israeli Palestinian parties, forcing him to consider a power-sharing deal with Netanyahu. Netanyahu, who is also facing serious financial corruption charges, had already been braying about this possibility by equating a minority government with Arab support with being a danger to the state. Netanyahu appears to have forgotten that despite its Jewish identity and decades of operating as an apartheid state, Israel constitutionally remains a secular democracy, and those Arabs are equal citizens of Israel. But playing oppressed groups as the cause of all ills has long been the go-to strategy for fascists. It is unsurprising that Netanyahu is willing to kill a few more Palestinians just to maintain power.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2019.

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