Gaza: what can stop the violence?
The expansion of the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip is prompting growing criticism of the Israeli military's operations. A number of people have also been killed or wounded in skirmishes at aid distribution points run by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Revenge campaign instead of recovery
Author Avirama Golan, who lives between Tel Aviv and Athens, writes in Kathimerini:
“The citizens of my country are being carried away by this violent rhetoric, yet they appear powerless, frightened and disoriented. Their state has broken its most fundamental promise: to protect them. And instead of beginning the immense task of physical and psychological recovery from the greatest catastrophe in its history, it has embarked on a revenge campaign with no end in sight. Those few Israelis who refuse to give in, who stage protest rallies every week against abandoning the hostages and demanding an end to the killing are treated with incredible violence by the police.”
Occupying power obliged to provide basic supplies
Le Monde criticises:
“After banning international media from accessing the area and bypassing external players such as UN agencies - which are irreplaceable in such situations - the Israeli authorities have confirmed their determination to resettle every last inch of the Gaza Strip, without being observed while doing so. This is their real priority, not the delivery of adequate aid to more than two million people who are struggling to survive amid bombings in a territory cut off from the rest of the world. Yet providing such aid is their duty as an occupying power.”
Keep long-term ties with Israel in mind
Corriere del Ticino warns against overreacting:
“Some people are explicitly calling for cultural and academic ties with Israel to be boycotted, scientific and intelligence cooperation to be suspended, goods from Israel to be reported, in other words, for Israel to essentially be isolated. These are extremist, radical and dangerous solutions that would also burden future relations once this war is over and the Netanyahu government has been replaced. Such a policy means fuelling growing antisemitism and, in a certain sense, terrorists' hostility towards Israel. ... Europe and Switzerland have an obligation to develop a non-confrontational vision.”
Two-state solution the only hope
Political scientist Ali Shihabi analyses the situation in a guest article for the Financial Times:
“Expansion in the occupied West Bank and now Gaza has entrenched a cycle of violence and radicalisation. The displacement of Palestinians, the erosion of the Palestinian Authority and the militarisation of Israeli society have condemned Israelis to a future shaped by fear, paranoia and perpetual conflict. ... Until Israel takes concrete steps towards a two-state solution - steps that give Palestinians hope - it will remain trapped in a futile, self-inflicted cycle of violence.”
Deadlock
Centrulpolitic.ro laments the rigid negotiating positions on both sides:
“Hamas is demanding a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and guarantees of sustained humanitarian aid. Israel insists on Hamas's total surrender, the unconditional release of all hostages and the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip under Israeli supervision. These irreconcilable conditions permanently jeopardise any diplomatic progress. Egypt and Qatar, traditional mediators in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, have expressed their frustration at the intransigence of both sides. And even the US envoy has failed to come up with proposals that are acceptable to both sides.”
Israel's founding ideals forgotten
Columnist Lluís Bassets deplores the indifference of many Israelis in El País:
“According to a survey commissioned by the University of Pennsylvania, 82 percent of 1,005 Jewish Israeli citizens agree with the expulsion of the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. ... The cruel war is progressing because the psychological war has already been won by those who deny not only the suffering of others, but also their right to exist. ... If Gaza ceases to exist as a Palestinian territory inhabited by Palestinians, Israel will also cease to exist as a secular idea of a Zionist and democratic state. Israel will no longer be a benchmark for anyone, neither for democrats nor for Jews around the world.”
The people must hold Netanyahu accountable
Pro-government newspaper Milliyet writes:
“Israel is now going through its most difficult period since it was founded in 1948. ... At a time when even Germany, which has always supported Israel unconditionally out of remorse and historical shame, can no longer remain silent, and when banners reading 'Stop the genocide in Gaza' are unfurled at the Champions League final, there is only one step Israel can take: it must rid itself of Prime Minister Netanyahu and hold him solely accountable.”
Children are never to blame
Politiken is incensed by Denmark's refusal to offer medical aid to injured children from the Gaza Strip:
“When the WHO calls for the evacuation of the suffering children from Gaza, it's because these children urgently need specialised medical care. ... Turning away children whose lives are in danger out of fear and hatred of Hamas is tantamount to blaming them for the war. Nothing could be more unjust.”