https://arab.news/44wu3
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has become a symbol of America’s defective diplomacy where Israel’s horrific year-long war on Gaza is concerned. This week, he was in the region on his 11th mission since the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, ostensibly in a bid to stop the ongoing carnage in Gaza.
However, as on his previous missions, Blinken left Israel empty-handed after meeting top officials. This time, his failure is resonating around the world: Not only did he fail to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza following last week’s killing of Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar in Rafah, but he also failed to force Israel to halt its siege and random bombardment of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians are stranded with nowhere to go, and to allow humanitarian aid to enter the devastated region.
Jabalia has become the epicenter of Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinians. Following what has been dubbed the “Generals’ Plan,” the Israeli military has unleashed an unprecedented, even by the beleaguered Gaza’s standards, barrage of indiscriminate bombing from land and air. The plan aims at ethnically cleansing northern Gaza by any means possible: bombardment, terror, starvation and the deliberate targeting of “safe” areas such as hospitals and schools. Next to no food, water or fuel has been allowed to pass for more than two weeks, despite desperate appeals from the UN and other humanitarian agencies working there.
Tents, where civilians had sought temporary refuge, were struck last week, creating an inferno that produced harrowing images of people being burned alive. Hospitals have been forcibly evacuated and later demolished or set ablaze. The apocalyptic scenes from Jabalia have surpassed anything that was inflicted on Gaza in the past year — and that says a lot.
The apocalyptic scenes from Jabalia have surpassed anything that was inflicted on Gaza in the past year — and that says a lot
Osama Al-Sharif
Israel has ignored all humanitarian appeals from world leaders, UN agencies and other organizations. Netanyahu has shown no interest in a let-off. Instead, he is doubling down on displacing anybody who somehow survives the ongoing pogrom.
Blinken is good at paying lip service to the suffering of the Palestinians. The State Department’s spokespersons continue to dodge questions about Israeli war crimes by repeating the same stale statement that Israel has the right to defend itself. When pressed for answers on a specific massacre, the diplomatic response is that the US will engage the Israelis for details.
The Biden administration has failed the Palestinian people despite acknowledging that the US president is frustrated with Netanyahu. Still, America continues to supply Israel with the weapons that are being deployed against unarmed and hapless civilians. The 42,000-plus fatalities in Gaza so far will almost certainly be seen as a conservative figure if and when the war ends. There are thousands of Palestinians unaccounted for and who remain buried under the rubble.
In Jabalia, the streets are littered with bodies that the medics are not even allowed to recover. The only working hospital has run out of medicines and even shrouds to cover the dead. Dogs have been reported to be eating the corpses.
It is mystifying that the US is unable to convince Netanyahu to deliver urgent supplies to Jabalia and the rest of northern Gaza. In a feeble attempt to show resolve, the State Department and the Pentagon sent a letter to Israel giving it 30 days to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid in northern Gaza. So far, Netanyahu has met that letter with disdain.
The fact that Israel is committing war crimes in Jabalia is indisputable. Yet Blinken, who warned Israel about breaking US laws, appears hesitant to turn such warnings into actual deeds.
The fact is that the US and other Western countries continue to supply Israel with arms despite accumulating evidence that war crimes are being committed in Gaza, which has rendered international law, the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law obsolete. The double standards being applied are shameless.
But while the debate ensues on the complicity of these countries in Israel’s genocidal war, the world is now realizing that the war in Gaza has little to do with destroying Hamas. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected ceasefire deals that were approved by his negotiating team. He is now pushing on with a plan to partition Gaza and occupy the north permanently after chasing the survivors to the south, thus creating a new reality on the ground.
Netanyahu is now pushing on with a plan to partition Gaza and occupy the north permanently after chasing the survivors to the south
Osama Al-Sharif
According to reports, those who will be pushed to the south will be herded into detention centers that Israel will administer.
Blinken has repeated that the US opposes Israel’s occupation of Gaza, yet he is allowing Netanyahu to execute his plan, which can only lead to a permanent occupation of the Strip. Far-right ministers in his government are openly talking about building Jewish settlements there.
Jabalia today is a classic example of Israel’s use of mass killing, starvation and terror to force Palestinians to flee their homes for good. The US knows this is Israel’s intent and is doing nothing to stop it.
So, what message does Blinken have for the region’s leaders and why should they believe him? On his watch, Israel is carrying out back-to-back massacres with impunity, using US weaponry and enjoying full American diplomatic and political cover. The reality for the people of the region is that the US is no less guilty of genocide than Israel.
The Jabalia bloodbath will go down in history as one of the most horrific and bold crimes against humanity in living memory. For Palestinians, it will be added to the hundreds of massacres committed by Israel since 1948. But this will be seen as one incredible atrocity where the US stood by and did absolutely nothing to stop it.
- Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. X: @plato010