By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL- On Wednesday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that he still plans to conduct a ground invasion in Rafah, in southern Gaza despite his being told by the U.S that such a move “would be a mistake.” Though Netanyahu agreed to President Biden’s insistence that he send a top Israeli delegation to discuss the Rafah issue -Netanyahu has been dragging his feet when it comes to reaching any ceasefire deal or exchange of hostages. Analysts pointed out that Netanyahu’s right-wing war cabinet ministers have made it clear they do not want any ceasefire deal and the Israeli prime minister fears being unseated if he agrees to one. While it appears that a majority of Israelis want Netanyahu out of office, there’s another group who are staunchly pro-Israel who have no desire to see a two-state solution, much less a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, in a press conference hosted by Qatar’s foreign ministry on Tuesday, Qatari officials expressed determination that both sides desired to come to an agreement on a ceasefire and hostage deal but were cautiously optimistic since as Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Mohammad al-Ansari said, nothing was for certain and that negotiations were ongoing. Israel’s intelligence chief David Barnea had been in Doha for the talks as well as Egyptian and American officials. Al-Ansari had remarked that any ground invasion of Rafah would hurt a ceasefire and hostage deal besides worsening an already horrific humanitarian disaster where the U.N. reports that “famine is imminent” in Gaza.
In terms of a future two-state solution which is what the U.S, the EU and the international community have reiterated is the only solution to bring peace to the region and guarantee security for both the Palestinians and Israelis – Netanyahu has flat-out rejected such a solution. A number of top political analysts and experts on the Middle East have highlighted the fact that Netanyahu’s aim is to annihilate the Palestinians and resettle Jews throughout Gaza – virtually ignoring international law. Despite this, the new Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa has presented a broad plan for a revitalized Palestinian Authority and an independent trust fund to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction in a mission statement seen by the Associated Press on Tuesday. A further obstacle is Israel’s insistence on urging the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to reject South Africa’s request for more emergency orders in a genocide case brought against it.
