Gaza and the West Bank: is Israel going too far?
An Israeli planning committee has approved a project which would expand Jewish settlements in a particularly sensitive area of the West Bank, effectively splitting the Palestinian territory in two. At the same time the Israeli army is advancing on Gaza City, where famine now prevails according internationally recognised criteria, as the IPC Famine Review Committee has announced. The media assess Israel's actions and the attitudes of other countries.
Hamas could end this war quickly
Naftemporiki criticises both Netanyahu and Hamas:
“Despite ongoing mass protests by the Israeli population against the continuation of the war, international outrage and the danger of international isolation, [Netanyahu] is continuing his aggressive policy undeterred. He even ignores the appeals of the hostages' relatives, who fear that their loved ones' days are numbered and are pushing for an agreement. Of course, the hostages held by Hamas should have been released unconditionally long ago. In the almost two years of war following the massacre of 7 October 2023, Hamas could have released the Israeli hostages if it had wanted to, thereby depriving Netanyahu of any argument for continuing the war.”
Criticism without virtue signalling needed
"Netanyahu is now a problem in himself," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said about her Israeli counterpart. She's right about that, Berlingske notes:
“Criticising Netanyahu isn't the same as criticising the State of Israel or the Israeli people. ... It's worth noting that the Danish PM's criticism of Netanyahu wasn't followed up on with recognition of Palestine as a state, as many European countries have done or are about to do. That's also very commendable: such recognition is merely symbolic, and in the current situation this symbolism only benefits Hamas. Denmark should not participate in this kind of naive and misguided virtue signalling.”
Sweden burdening itself with guilt
Aftonbladet strongly condemns the Swedish government for its support for Netanyahu:
“In the past Sweden has often been seen as a moral superpower. ... We stood up for the UN and international law even when the major powers wanted something else. Until now. Now Sweden is openly in favour of the rights of the strongest. Throughout the almost two-year war in Gaza, our government has always sided with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the conflict. In Europe, we stand out as extremists. And in the eyes of the global South, as an extension of President Donald Trump's policies. It will take decades for future governments to wash away this guilt and shame.”
Engineered starvation
The report confirming that part of Gaza is suffering from famine prompts Irish Examiner to harshly condemn Israel's strategy:
“It marks the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region. ... What the world is witnessing in real time is not warfare. This is engineered starvation, deliberate displacement, and a merciless assault on a trapped and terrorised population. Israel's inhuman strategy weaponises hunger and fear and punishes the innocent including mothers, children and the elderly. This is a moral collapse of epic proportions. This famine is man-made. It flows from political choices.”
Fragile security
El Mundo doesn't see the settlement plans as viable:
“The words of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich highlighted the Israeli government's blatant disregard for international law. Yesterday he boasted about plans for the construction of 3,400 Jewish homes to put an end to the 'fraud' of the two-state solution - a peace plan backed by the United Nations foreseeing a Palestinian state consisting of three zones: the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. ... Israel has the right to protect its security, but that security will be fragile if the Palestinians are deprived of any hope of sovereignty and if the goal is to push something through at the expense of the country's democratic values.”
Settlements not necessarily permanent
The taz is not convinced that the Jewish settlements mean the definitive end of the two-state solution:
“Israel has given up settlements twice already in the context of 'land for peace'. The first time was in 1982 in the Sinai, where among other places the small town of Yamit was violently cleared and razed to the ground. The second was in Gaza in 2005 under Ariel Sharon, when around 10,000 settlers were also forced to leave their homes against their will - some after more than 30 years of living there. ... It's not the settlements that are preventing a two-state solution but above all a lack of political will. This will is completely absent, and not only on the Israeli side.”
Shameful rhetoric masking evil deeds
The Israeli prime minister is blinded with rage, Le Monde stresses:
“Benjamin Netanyahu is furious at France's announcement that it will recognise Palestine, a long-standing intention whose belated implementation takes on special significance in the context of Israel's bloody ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip and stepped-up settlement policy in the occupied territories of the West Bank. The fact that other countries such as Canada, the UK and Australia are following suit only adds to the Israeli prime minister's anger. ... By resorting to the ultimate argument of antisemitism against all those who challenge his policies, Netanyahu is adding a shameful rhetoric to a disastrous downward slide for Israel.”
Negotiations at gunpoint
La Repubblica analyses Netanyahu's tactics in Gaza:
“With the full support of the US, Benjamin Netanyahu seems convinced that he can achieve the hostages' release, Hamas' surrender and the conquest of the entire Gaza Strip by using war as a means of negotiation. At least that is what the contradictory statements made by the Israeli authorities, government and army since the beginning of August, when the major invasion of the Gaza Strip was announced, suggest. ... Yesterday the prime minister said he had instructed his people to begin immediate negotiations for the 'release of all hostages and an end to the war on terms acceptable to Israel'.”
At the expense of the people on both sides
For Der Standard the Israeli government is pursuing a pure patronage policy:
“The offensive [in Gaza] represents a new burden also for the Israeli reservists. Up to 130,000 must risk their lives in a war that critics have long considered politically motivated. All that is left for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners is a shameful victory: at the expense of the Palestinians as well their own people, they are implementing a policy of cronyism through which everyone else will lose.”