By Janet Ekstract NEW YORK-On Wednesday, Ismail Haniyeh, political bureau chief of Hamas announced that his organization would view any deal “positively” as long as it is focused on ending all hostilities along with Israeli military leaving Gaza. As Haniyeh said in a statement: “Hamas and the resistance factions will deal seriously and positively with any agreement based on a full cessation of the aggression, complete withdrawal, and exchange of prisoners.” Israel is refusing to send a negotiating team to Doha until Hamas responds to the ceasefire proposal, currently mediators from the U.S., Qatar and Egypt are attempting to revive negotiations. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its latest ruling against Israel, ordered its government to immediately halt its offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza. Though the Biden administration insisted that Israel present a plan about how to eliminate Hamas from Rafah, Israel has never presented one. To make matters worse, each time Israel directs civilians in Rafah to a so-called ‘safe zone’ – the Israeli military attacks that area. Analysts have reiterated that Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu’s only goal is to remain in power and that he does just enough to appease the U.S. because he knows he has unlimited support from the Biden administration. Israeli protesters and the families of the hostages in Gaza have called out Netanyahu, accusing him of furthering his own political interests and not caring about the hostages. Despite mass protests, Netanyahu and his far-right governing coalition have largely ignored the pleas of the public and the hostage families.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly called for an end to the war in Gaza while South Africa brought Israel before the World Court (WC) aka the ICJ twice and now Turkiye is preparing its case against Israel to the ICJ. Last week’s Israeli strike on a camp for displaced people in Rafah in the ‘safe zone’ was condemned by Guterres on X: “I condemn Israel’s actions which killed scores of innocent civilians who were only seeking shelter from this deadly conflict.” He also said there is “no safe place in Gaza” and called for an end to “this horror.” Netanyahu’s excuse for attacks on civilian areas is that Hamas is hiding there and must be rooted out but detractors point out that the Israeli leader never keeps his word and has no plans for a ceasefire or a hostage deal. As experts and analysts alike have said, no one will ever eliminate Hamas but Netanyahu is marching to the tune of his extremist base who do not view Palestinians as equals and who have openly announced their objection to any two-state solution. The Biden administration’s attempts to spin a positive note about Israel’s intentions have fallen on deaf ears. Those who are well aware of Israel’s history of occupation, Netanyahu’s behavior and the crimes committed against Palestinians by extremist Jewish settlers leave no doubt that Netanyahu’s aims are anything but altruistic, according to experts on the region. The hostage families lost their patience a long time ago and every day that goes by without a ceasefire deal, puts their lives at greater and greater risk but surprisingly, that has not swayed Netanyahu. Even more astonishing is the fact that Netanyahu and his far-right never publicly mention the hostages who in their minds are simply collateral damage just as the innocent Palestinian civilians are.
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