US, Qatar & Egypt peace efforts fail
-: R Muthu Kumar :-
Israel has rejected a ceasefire and launched an operation in Rafah, raising fears that the war in Gaza could drag on. Israel had stepped up its bombardment of Rafah recently killing dozens of people after ordering about 100,000 residents in its eastern areas to evacuate.
Israeli troops also stormed the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which serves as a major gateway for humanitarian aid. The US has said that Hamas has “offered amendments” to an Israeli deal for a ceasefire in Gaza as the Jewish state continues its military offensive in Rafah.
Leaders from all corners of the world are expressing intense opposition to Israel’s offensive in Rafah. The EU’s top diplomat, the UN Secretary General and leaders from Brazil to China have called for an immediate ceasefire and the protection of internally displaced Palestinians sheltering in Rafah.The assault in the southern Gaza town, which had been a part of Israel’s plans for months to retake the last Hamas stronghold in the war-torn enclave hours after the Palestinian militant group accepted an Egypt-Qatar brokered agreement aimed at ending the seven-month war.
Hamas said it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar that would see the release of Israeli captives in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as well as an eventual end to the war.
In a shocking, revelation senior Biden administration official said the US halted a weapons shipment to Israel last week in opposition to the planned atatck in Rafah.
The US weapons shipment to Israel, which have been delayed for at least two weeks, consisted of 1,800 2,000-lb bombs and 1,700 500-lb bombs, as well as Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions that convert dumb bombs into precision-guided ones, and Small Diameter Bombs, Reuters news agency reported.
The Israeli military had issued evacuation orders to some 1 lakh residents of eastern Rafah after it struck the city on Monday in retaliation for a Hamas rocket attack on the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that capturing the Rafah crossing was an “important step” toward dismantling Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.
Biden administration says Israel has a ‘legitimate goal’ in seizing the Rafah crossing but calls for reopening the border.
Netanyahu’s political career also hinges on continuing the war in Gaza , experts watching the developments feel that a permanent ceasefire could lead to the collapse of his far-right coalition, prompting early elections and his removal from power.
The international crisis, spanning three continents Asia, Europe and America , triggered by Israel’s invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ attacks, has finally brought the protracted Israel-Iran conflict out of the shadows.
As Israel approaches a full-scale war with Iran, its nuclear weapons and strategy are generally presumed irrelevant to deterring that state’s non-nuclear threats. Nonetheless, critical security calculations here could be unprecedented, and Israeli decision-makers already understand that keeping Iran non-nuclear should remain an overriding goal.
In an another interesting development Israeli officials sound increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants for the country’s leaders more than six months into the Israel-Hamas war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has written in general terms about ICC action against Israeli troops and officials, and Israel’s foreign ministry has said it is also tracking reports of pending action.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said late on Sunday that it had informed missions abroad of “rumours ” that the court could order the arrest of senior Israeli political and military officials.
Since the Israeli bombing and other military operations in Gaza began following the Hamas attacks on October 7, a global movement has emerged, particularly from the Global South, in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Tens of millions of people have marched through the streets of cities across the world, protesting against Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip.
In the US, the ruling class and closely linked media have typically portrayed such expressions of solidarity, if acknowledged at all, as simply a matter of vague ideological kinship or abstract anti-US or anti-Israel sentiment, often taking recourse to misleading accusations of anti-Semitism to explain it all away.
But by doing so, they ignore its historical roots and the ongoing truth to which this movement testifies: There is a deep psychic and visceral connection that binds countless people from diverse backgrounds to the gruesome oppression of Palestinians and to the enabling indifference to it shown by so many North American and European observers.
The sufferings of Palestinians stems from the legacy of ongoing US and European imperialism overseas and racism within.
Last month ended with unprecedented missile and drone attacks between Iran and Israel which was the first time Iran and Israel had attacked each other directly. Now the global media headlines are to the fighting and suffering in Gaza.
Israel’s own presumptions about the inevitability of war and arming itself to defend with nuclear deterrance in mind which can all rub salt on wounded Arab and Iranians to the extend of testing their strategic military elements.
The first half of 2024 is turning hot with wars burning in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine and peacemaking in crisis. Worldwide, diplomatic efforts to end fighting are failing. More leaders are pursuing their ends militarily.
Under the looming war clouds our biggest challenge climate change, pollution are taking back seat! and rising geopolitical tensions will gather mass to become single most important risk confronting the global economy.
