AND I LOOKED, AND BEHOLD A PALE HORSE....

  

I GUESS WE SHOULD TALK about Gaza because it hasn’t gone away. Neither have its almost two-million Palestinian residents, who live in squalor amid the ruin of their homeland. Since October of last year, a ‘ceasefire’ has been in place between Israel and the Hamas resistance forces. Brokered through President Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” with Egyptian and Qatari mediation, and the United Nations Security Council’s backing, the number of attacks by the IDF tapered off considerably. But they didn’t stop. Near-daily violations of the ceasefire have occurred as Israeli air and ground forces shamelessly bomb and raid Gazan tent encampments ostensivley striking "military targets". Since the ceasefire, over 1,260 Palestinians have been killed and 4,150 injured in the attacks. The terms of the ceasefire calls for Hamas to disarm, beginning with their heavy weapons, in conjunction with an IDF withdrawal from Palestinian territory. As usual, Israel moved the goal posts, demanding Hamas fully disarm before any of its troops are removed.

 

THE SHINE on the deal faded soon enough as Israel continues to squeeze Palestinians into barely one-third of their original homeland, first by setting up a ‘security perimeter’, the infamous "Yellow Line" around Gaza beyond which Palestinians could not cross, and along which dozens of Gazans have been murdered by IDF gunfire because they were "too close" to the perimeter. This was followed by the “orange line” which further tightened the noose, taking almost 70% of the enclave. In recent weeks, Israeli Defence Minister, Israeli Katz, has stated the IDF will remain* and that Israeli settlements are planned for northern Gaza where, worryingly, there is less scrutiny and more difficulty bringing in humanitarian aid. SINCE the February 28 assault on Iran by Israel-U.S., Gaza has slipped from the headlines. But a recent UN report states:

 

“Continued Israeli military operations, new displacement and deteriorating access further limited humanitarian assistance and heightened protection concerns across Gaza, according to the latest updates from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.” (July 21)

 

WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) services have been drastically disabled because of Israel’s deliberate targeting of such support facilities with the inevitable increase in vermin [That be rats. Ed] and communicable diseases.

 

“WASH services in the Gaza Strip face a catastrophic collapse, with roughly 1.8 million people requiring urgent humanitarian assistance. Over 70% of families cannot access the emergency minimum of 6 liters of water per person daily, driving severe public health crises.” (UNICEF)

 

WITH INADEQUATE HUMANITARIAN AID reaching the captive population of Gaza due to deliberate bureaucratic obstacles put in the way of establishing robust and sustainable aid delivery networks, Gaza continues to be strangled, this time, by red tape, and hunger, disease and despair are used to achieve the aims of a racist, apartheid state bent on emptying Palestine of Palestinians. 

Don’t forget the West Bank and East Jerusalem have seen escalating settler violence against Palestinian farmers and villagers. One incident this week, where a Palestinian family was barricaded in their home while dozens of settlers cut off their electricity and water, was so egregious and criminal that the IDF had to intercede, using force to arrest several of the rioters. Normally, the Israeli military are ‘Johnny-come-latelys’ to such situations, rarely making arrests of Jewish settlers. So, we can expect more violence as Israel continues to annex Palestinian lands with its ultimate goal being the exodus of millions of Palestinians currently from the West Bank, along with those in Gaza and East Jerusalem. 

 

The bleak choice between dying slowly or ‘voluntarily migrating' [Where? Ed.] seems to be the only options available for Gaza’s nearly two-million souls.

 

THE WORLD continues to watch Gaza, albeit distracted by war in Ukraine, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other hot spots that occupy much of the news media’s bandwidth. The world watches and for the most part shrugs its shoulders as our brave new century’s Levantine genocide continues to attrit the enclave's population, and appears ready to pick up the pace. Stay tuned.  

  

CHEERS, JAKE. _____________________________________

* as well as in Lebanon and Syria.