Who Will Stand Up Against Genocide?

In the midst of this growing chaos, with a stalemate in negotiations brokered by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, a Biden administration official stated on September 4 that a deal is “90% agreed.”  A defiant Netanyahu responded to this on “Fox and Friends” by saying this report is “exactly inaccurate”, the statement is a “false narrative”, and placed the blame on Hamas for the failure to reach a deal — “they just want us out so they can retake Gaza,” he declared.

In a nationwide address, he said he will “not give in to pressure,” and reiterated his latest “red line”, that Israel will not remove its forces from the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow strip of land on the border of Gaza and Egypt, to insure that Hamas fighters cannot be resupplied from the Egyptian side.  The mother of one hostage told the crowd in Tel Aviv that the six hostages died “on the altar of the Philadelphi [corridor] spin.”

OPPOSITION DEEPENS

As the demonstrations reveal the depth of opposition to Netanyahu, the rhetoric against him has sharpened.  Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition in the Knesset, called Netanyahu a “Prime Minister without a soul”.  Netanyahu is responsible for the deaths of the hostages, he said, accusing “the death cabinet [of deciding] not to save them.”  Of Netanyahu’s united front with extremists Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, he charged that they prioritize preserving their coalition “over the lives of our children.”

The demonstrators echo this theme.  One protester told the {Times of Israel}, “We will not give this security cabinet a moment of quiet until all the hostages are released.”  Shaul Levi, the grandfather of a hostage, rejected Netanyahu’s insistence that the Gaza assault will continue until Hamas is destroyed.  This will not happen, Levy said.  “What is really happening is that he’s destroying us.”

THE SETTLER EXTREMIST RESPONSE

In the face of this opposition, the extremists allied with Netanyahu have chosen to escalate the war on the Palestinian population.  The IDF began an assault on the West Bank and East Jerusalem, targeting what they called Hamas operatives and terrorists there.  Despite a ruling by the International Court of Justice in July, which identified the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank as “unlawful,” the IDF launched a siege of the Jenin refugee camp, where over 20,000 Palestinians live.  Since last October, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including 150 children, many of them by settler extremists — this, on top of the 40,000+ murdered in Gaza.

The extremists in the cabinet continue to insist on an aggressive attack, with the intent being to drive out any Palestinians who refuse to passively submit to the occupation.  The Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, defended Netanyahu’s opposition to seeking a deal, saying, “Anyone who cold-bloodedly murders six hostages is not seeking a deal.”  Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has explicitly stated he intends to complete the ethnic cleansing of Israel by driving out all Palestinians, said he is “working to stop negotiations with Hamas.”

WHO WILL STOP THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA? 

Despite this overdue expression of outrage by Israel citizens at Netanyahu’s refusal to negotiate a ceasefire and hostage-release deal, it should be noted that few among those marching are protesting the mass murder of Palestinians, the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, and the expansion of settlements intended to make the occupation permanent.

In the eyes of most of the world, Netanyahu is a war criminal, and the IDF assault on Gaza is a war crime.  The purpose of the mass killing and destruction of homes, hospitals, infrastructure and denial of humanitarian aid is to eliminate Israel’s “Palestinian problem” by eliminating the Palestinians!

There is one country which could stop this.  The United States, which under the Biden administration has been complicit in genocide, through providing flows of weapons and money to Netanyahu in unprecedented levels, could shut off aid until Israel agrees to not only a ceasfire and a hostage deal, but an end to occupation and accepts the creation of a viable Palestinian state, as mandated by multiple resolutions by the United Nations.  The Oasis Plan of the LaRouche Organization would be the ideal starting point for this, as its extensive desalination plan would provide fresh water and power which would benefit a Palestinian state, Israel and its Arab neighbors.  This idea of mutual benefit as an incentive for peace was an implicit part of the Oslo Deal signed by Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, but was sabotaged by the World Bank and opponents of a deal among the Greater Israel fanatics, who are now part of Netanyahu’s hard-line supporters

Yet, in spite of growing opposition among Americans, especially younger citizens, to the slaughter in Gaza, this has not become an issue in the 2024 Presidential campaign.  Kamala Harris follows the lead of Secretary of State Blinken, in crying crocodile tears for the suffering of Palestinian children, but sticks to the Biden policy of refusing to withhold weapons and funds to Israel.  More than 750,000 Democrats cast ballots for “Uncommitted” delegates in the party’s primaries, to express their anger at the Biden administration’s unconditional support for Israel, but they were denied an opportunity to present their case at the Democratic National Convention coronation of Harris.  The Biden administration routinely vetoes all resolutions brought before the U.N. Security Council condemning Israel for its policy.  Harris has not spoken out against this.  Her silence speaks volumes.