If ever there was any doubt at all, there is doubt no longer. Benjamin Netanyahu wants war.
He is perilously close to getting his wish.
On September 27, 2024, an Israeli bombing killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The relentless bombings in Lebanon have continued and on October 1st, Israeli ground troops invaded southern Lebanon. Attacks on Gaza also continue and Israel has even bombed Houthi targets in Yemen.
As I explained in my September 27th blog, over the last number of months, it has been Iran and Hezbollah which have done everything possible to prevent Netanyahu from achieving his goal – a Middle East inferno.
For most of its history, Israel is alleged to have regularly used targeted assassinations against its opponents. In the past year alone, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iranian officials killed have included Nasrallah, and senior Hezbollah leaders Ibrahim Qubaisi, Ibrahim Aqil, Fuad Shukr, Muhammed Nasser, and Taleb Abdallah; Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif, Ismail Haniyeh, and Saleh al-Arouri; and Iranian Revolutionary Guard senior commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi.
Middle Eastern reactions have been mixed, mostly mirroring the long-standing clashes between Shi’ite-led countries such as Iran and its proxies and Sunni-led states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain which have condemned the incursions against Lebanon while remaining mostly silent about Nasrallah’s death.
What cannot be justified by anyone is the wanton killing of innocent residents in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. They are the true victims of Israel’s destructive aggression.
It has been reported that since 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 1,640 in Lebanon (800+ since September 23, 2024), with over 8,400 injured. Only 27 Israeli citizens and 24 security forces have perished. Around 1 million Lebanese and 96,000 Israelis have been displaced.
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 attack, over 41,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, while 1,706 Israelis have been reported to have died. Attacks also continue on the West Bank, with a reported 673 killed and nearly 5,400 injured this year as of August 8, 2024.
It’s hard not to be skeptical about the seriousness of all the international bodies calling for a ceasefire with so few results – particularly given that many of the same countries continue to arm Israel. Andrew Mitrovica, writing for Al Jazeera, has referred to it as “a cynical charade.” To quote him further, “You cannot negotiate a ceasefire, let alone peace, with a man who prefers to wage war.”
Netanyahu dreams of war. Every fibre in his body is addicted to war. He longs for war day and night. Without war, he will almost certainly no longer be able to cling to power. And he knows that in an all-out war, Washington’s support will continue, thereby insuring that Israel is the victor.
One can only hope that Kamala Harris wins the American presidential election on November 5th and that once in office, she does what no other American president has been prepared to do — cease all military aid to Israel until it agrees to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state free from Israeli occupation.
This Palestinian state must agree to accept of the state of Israel. It must forever renounce taking up arms and agree to regular inspections by international monitors. Such a state would greatly increase, not decrease, Israeli security. It would finally bring to an end too many decades of war and suffering.
Daily atmospheric CO2 [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]
Latest daily total (October 3, 2024): 421.88ppm
One year ago (October 2, 2023): 418.37ppm
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