“Everything must be done to extend the truce, so that it turns into a real ceasefire”

2023-11-25 08:00:04

The horrible massacre perpetrated on October 7 by Hamas, a movement described as terrorist by the United States and the European Union, marks the beginning of a “total war” whose disastrous consequences can already be measured. Beyond the opacity of the situation, fueled by declarations that are difficult to verify on both sides, the amalgams intended to disqualify the adversary, outrageous or misleading remarks and the most often hateful outburst of social networks, it is clear that civilian populations are the main victims.

Since October 8, while nearly 240 Israeli hostages, but also of other nationalities, notably French, are in the hands of Hamas, the Gaza Strip has suffered massive indiscriminate and disproportionate bombings, causing deaths, mainly civilians, displacements. of the population, an unbearable humanitarian nightmare. Both sides accuse each other of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even of genocide. The risks of a conflagration in the West Bank and the extension of the war towards Lebanon, or even towards Iran, are more and more obvious.

Beyond this confrontation, Israelis and Palestinians alike feel this war as involving a major issue: their existence on this land which they consider, on one side or the other, to belong to them.

Priority requirement

Faced with this situation, what should we do? Sustaining the truce is an immediate and accessible objective. It responds to the priority requirement, demanded by a large part of Israeli opinion, despite the reluctance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The four-day truce effectively negotiated through Qatar is a very positive development. Everything must be done to extend it so that it leads to the complete release of the hostages and turns into a real ceasefire.

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This has not, until now, been reiterated in sufficiently strong and explicit terms, despite calls from the Secretary General of the United Nations, which must be supported. Indeed, international law condemns any measure of punitive sanctions of a collective nature on civilian populations, including the total blockade immediately decided by the Israeli government on the supply of essential goods. Likewise, air attacks on civilian targets such as places of worship, hospitals and schools should be condemned. Israel denies this, claiming that these places hide military installations. The fact that buildings of the United Nations, NGOs, and even third countries such as France, were affected somewhat invalidates this argument. It will be up to the International Criminal Court to ultimately shed light on this point.

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