Branko Marcetic, Jacobin - This isn’t a time for cheerleading. War is not a spectator sport, and besides the taking of innocent lives in Israel, the main effect of Hamas’s supposed “success” has been to trigger another round of Israeli force, which has already killed hundreds of Palestinians and looks set to kill many more, one that from all indications is going to be far more vicious and unrestrained than previous iterations — which is saying something.
The focus must be on securing a cease-fire, something that, as Israel’s closest partner and primary military benefactor, the US government, is in a prime position to do. Murdering thousands of ordinary Palestinians isn’t going to bring back the lives Hamas has taken — in fact, it will likely only put more of Israeli lives at risk by further inflaming the conflict.
This is where pressure and messaging from activists in the United States and the rest of Israel’s partner states should be aimed: at pushing the US government and other states friendly with Israel to restrain Netanyahu’s far-right government and recognize that the only thing that will prevent the loss of further Israeli and Palestinian lives is actually following through on an Israeli-Palestinian settlement, ending Israel’s annexation plans, and not treating Palestinian grievances as something the White House can simply push to the side and allow to fester. As the events of the past few days show, it plainly cannot.
No comments:
Post a Comment