Published 08/26/2024 10:35 | Edited 08/26/2024 11:10
The far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is banking on Donald Trump winning the US presidential election scheduled for November 5. This is indicated by the defeat of negotiators who were working on a much-needed ceasefire agreement between the Islamist group Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian death toll reached the horrific mark of 40,000 in August after ten months of massacre.
The Hamas delegation in Cairo (Egypt) for the second round of negotiations rejected the intransigent Israeli proposal to control the so-called Philadelphia corridor, a 100-meter strip along the 14-kilometer border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, and left the Egyptian capital on Sunday (25). The corridor is the only entry and exit from the enclave to the outside world, since the Israeli occupation controls all other borders.
By insisting on control of the Philadelphia corridor, which would result in the ceasefire agreement not moving forward, the Netanyahu government is banking on a victory for Donald Trump, “which would guarantee him a blank check to continue and finish the destruction of Gaza,” as Jamil Chade wrote in his column for the UOL this Sunday. His strategy, therefore, is to drag out the negotiations until November, in the hope that, by then, he will have the White House unconditionally on his side.
Trump has been vocal in his criticism of the White House’s ceasefire proposals. The Republican has been vocal in arguing that advocating a ceasefire gives Hamas time to regroup. This logic has been refuted, for example, by the families of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. Trump has criticized those pushing for a deal, calling them “pro-Hamas thugs” and “jihadists.”
Netanyahu and his henchmen’s gamble has been reflected in rising tensions in several regions of the Middle East. Hundreds of Hezbollah rockets and Israeli fighter jets have been launching attacks on the northern border with southern Lebanon. The escalation comes weeks after the Israeli army carried out an attack on the Shiite group’s commander, Fuad Shukr, who was killed in July.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers have been carrying out terrorist acts against Palestinians. On August 15, for example, nearly 100 settlers armed with knives and guns, according to witnesses, attacked the Palestinian town of Jit. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the attack killed a 23-year-old Palestinian.
Settlers known as the “Hilltop Youth” have been waging a campaign of murder, arson and intimidation against Palestinians in the area with the aim of driving them off their land and promoting the complete annexation of the West Bank.
Source: vermelho.org.br
