Having closely followed the Israeli Palestinian conflict over the last 50 years I agree with most of what Mustafa Berghouti had to say during an all too brief interview on Face the Nation.
CBS Reporter Imtiaz Tyab: On the Israeli occupied West Bank violence there is only getting worse. We were at one protest where we witnessed Israeli snipers shoot at least three Palestinians. Now earlier we spoke with Mustafa Berghouti who is the president of Palestinian National Initiative, and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council since 2006.
Mustafa Berghouti: I’m shattered, I’m angry, um mainly because I don’t understand why this all should happen, but what breaks my heart so much is the suffering of civilians whether Palestinian or Israeli, and what I don’t understand why the president of the United States comes here, and instead of telling Israel enough is enough you wanted to respond, you responded, you already killed 4,000 Palestinians. Stop. Instead of that he is encouraging them to have an invasion, a ground invasion.
Imtiaz Tyab: So you think President Biden’s visit was a catastrophic mistake?
Mustafa Berghouti: Catastrophic from three aspects. First it was a huge political and diplomatic failure, as I told you nobody wanted to meet with him except Israelis. Second it is a strategic mistake because he is dragging the United States into a very dangerous area where war crimes are committed. And third because he is consolidating the absence of peace process.
Imtiaz Tyab: Do you see a scenario where this ends?
Mustafa Berghouti: Yes, one scenario. There is no other scenario. Immediate change of the behavior Western leaders who are now participating in encouraging Netanyahu to commit these war crimes. And the United States which is the only country that has the real leverage over Israel, and they should tell Israel to stop. Stop, enough, lets have cease fire, lets have an exchange of prisoners, so that all Israeli prisoners would come back home safe. And lets initiate a peace process to solve the roots of the problem, which is occupation and the system of Apartheid.
Imtiaz Tyab: Now efforts to create a Palestinian state have been at a standstill for years now largely because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s successive governments have been firmly opposed to it, and while the Biden Administration continues to back calls for a peace process that would lead to a two state solution, it has done very little practically and diplomatically to advance that goal. And after Hamas’ brutal attack, and a looming Israeli ground war in Gaza, it’s a goal that seems further away than ever.
Israelis have voted for hard line governments headed by Benjamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon 10 times since Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by hard liner Yigal Amir in 1995 for perusing a peace process.
From Amnesty International on the IDF attacks on the population of Gaza:
As Israeli forces continue to intensify their cataclysmic assault on the occupied Gaza Strip, Amnesty International has documented unlawful Israeli attacks, including indiscriminate attacks, which caused mass civilian casualties and must be investigated as war crimes.
The organization spoke to survivors and eyewitnesses, analysed satellite imagery, and verified photos and videos to investigate air bombardments carried out by Israeli forces between 7 and 12 October, which caused horrific destruction, and in some cases wiped out entire families. Here the organization presents an in-depth analysis of its findings in five of these unlawful attacks. In each of these cases, Israeli attacks violated international humanitarian law, including by failing to take feasible precautions to spare civilians, or by carrying out indiscriminate attacks that failed to distinguish between civilians and military objectives, or by carrying out attacks that may have been directed against civilian objects.
“In their stated intent to use all means to destroy Hamas, Israeli forces have shown a shocking disregard for civilian lives. They have pulverized street after street of residential buildings killing civilians on a mass scale and destroying essential infrastructure, while new restrictions mean Gaza is fast running out of water, medicine, fuel and electricity. Testimonies from eyewitness and survivors highlighted, again and again, how Israeli attacks decimated Palestinian families, causing such destruction that surviving relatives have little but rubble to remember their loved ones by,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
“The five cases presented barely scratch the surface of the horror that Amnesty has documented and illustrate the devastating impact that Israel’s aerial bombardments are having on people in Gaza. For 16 years, Israel’s illegal blockade has made Gaza the world’s biggest open-air prison – the international community must act now to prevent it becoming a giant graveyard. We are calling on Israeli forces to immediately end unlawful attacks in Gaza and ensure that they take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and damage to civilian objects. Israel’s allies must immediately impose a comprehensive arms embargo given that serious violations under international law are being committed.”
Jimmy Carter was America’s only President to exert real pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to make peace.
As of today President Biden’s efforts to relieve the ballooning humanitarian crisis in Gaza have largely been frustrated. I suspect Israeli foot dragging is largely to blame.
Yoel Guzansky, a reporter on CNN says some Israeli leaders are urging Netanyahu to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon because of the US Navy’s strong presence in the Eastern Mediterraan. If Bibi does attack Hezbollah in Lebanon he could be trying to lure Biden and the US into a conflict with Iran.
