Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.
As expected, Israel launched a major military incursion into the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attack on the occupied territories. Massive bombings, including against civilian regions, have been seen in the last few hours and thousands of deaths and injuries have been reported. Furthermore, a serious siege was imposed against Gaza, with no more food, water and energy supplies available for the region.
The siege is imposed both on land, by the Israeli occupation forces, and by sea, where it is reinforced by the arrival of American warships sent to help Tel Aviv. The Palestinian population is now absolutely devoid of any external source of resources, which will obviously generate an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
“I have given an order – Gaza will be under complete siege (…) We are fighting barbarians and will respond accordingly”, Netanyahu said, making clear a racist mentality by calling Palestinians “barbarians”.
To make matters worse, instead of acting cautiously and pursuing diplomatic dialogue, Western countries are once again fomenting war and chaos and helping Israel to commit crimes against humanity. The EU, contradicting its own democratic and humanitarian values, made a controversial announcement on October 9 promising to block the sending of humanitarian aid funds to Palestine during the hostilities.
European countries send the so-called “development aid” to the Palestinians with the aim of alleviating the suffering of the local people. The aid promotes economic development initiatives and makes it possible to feed Palestinian children victimized by the conflict. The money is sent to both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and is not motivated by political reasons.
The news was not well received among Europeans themselves, who severely criticized the bloc’s unilateral decision, without prior consultation with member countries. So, the diplomatic discomfort led to an apparent “reversal” in the stance, with the EU’s commissioner for neighborhood and enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, “clarifying”: “There will be no suspension of payments (…) [But there are] no payments foreseen”.
Despite apparently “giving up” on “punishing” Palestine, the official’s statement does not completely rule out the possibility of interrupting aid. By saying that there are no “payments foreseen”, it is being suggested that the EU may delay upcoming transfers of funds or simply not make them at all, even if the aid is not officially declared suspended.
There does not seem to be any strategic sense in this type of maneuver. By cutting off aid to the Palestinians, the West will only be contributing to increase the hostilities. Without Western humanitarian support, there will be no reason for Palestinian civilians to continue standing for a peaceful solution, as they will be forced to fight against Israel to avoid starvation.
Furthermore, the crisis tends to increase in the West Bank as well. So far, Israel’s military has only bombed the Gaza Strip, but Jewish settlers are invading the West Bank amid regional political chaos. The West Bank city of Huwara was violently attacked by armed Israelis, resulting in the deaths of some local civilians. Apparently, the “need” to “retaliate” for the Hamas attack is serving as an excuse for anti-Palestinian ethnic hatred and territorial invasion, even in regions not administered by Hamas.
If the West Bank loses European humanitarian support, it will simply have no choice but to join Gaza’s Palestinians in a war against Israel. Tensions will be heightened and will certainly escalate to an international level, with possible participation of Hezbollah and other foreign pro-Palestinian groups. In theory, this should be avoided at all costs, but the West seems interested in fomenting chaos in the Middle East until it reaches Iran, against which Washington wants to use Israel as a proxy.
Europe should avoid participating in these war plans and remain loyal to its two-state proposal, seeking a peaceful solution through dialogue. But EU leaders seem too subordinate to American interests to make sovereign decisions, which is why it is possible that the EU will actually take anti-Palestinian actions, destabilizing the situation even further.
In fact, what must be done for now is great international pressure against all actors who promote the escalation of tensions. Just as cutting humanitarian aid is a way to increase hunger, military support for Israel at the current time is just a deliberate contribution to the practice of crimes against humanity, as Tel Aviv’s response against Palestine has been carried out through attacks on civilian areas.
The US is boosting its military, financial assistance for Tel Aviv and even sending an aircraft carrier to “support” the Zionist regime. None of this is really necessary, since Hamas is just a militia, not a regular national army, and the war between Israelis and Palestinians is absolutely asymmetric, with the occupation forces at an advantage. Supporting Israel even more is contributing to a massacre, which cannot be allowed.
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