2023-11-12 07:01:00
The war brewing in the Middle East shows its teeth with more vigor. Israel has not slowed down its attacks against the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza, where 11,078 people have died, including more than 4,506 children. The UN has warned of Human Rights violations, meanwhile, the Netanyahu government has strengthened “the defense” against those who want the disappearance of the State of Israel and ensures that all measures are taken to prevent the death of civilians. who, they say, Hamas is holding hostage.
We spoke with internationalist Janiel Melamed Visbal, professor at the Universidad del Norte and expert in international security, a subject in which he has a doctorate.
You may be interested: Israel continues to hit hospitals in Gaza: the situation is increasingly critical.
What were times like for Israelis before 1948?
“The State of Israel was proclaimed in 1947, just as the British Mandate in Palestine was about to end. Before this date, acts of systematic violence also occurred. For example, the Hebron Massacre in 1929 or the Arab Revolt of 1936.
While the Zionist movement that preceded the current State of Israel was organized around its interest in achieving a Nation State, the Arab-Palestinian leadership was fractured in its priority objectives. Some sought to become part of Greater Syria (Syrian National Congress 1920) or part of Jordan (Jericho Conference 1948). This Palestinian political fracture remains even today with the Palestinian National Authority ruling the West Bank and Hamas de facto ruling the Gaza Strip.”
Israel’s response after the Hamas attack more than a month ago seems blown out of proportion, how can the Arab world react?
“What is the response proportion that is adjusted for children who have their throats cut, women who are raped, and babies who are kidnapped? To date, military operations have been carried out against military objectives. IHL establishes that these operations must be measured based on military necessity, that is, that they fulfill the objective of neutralizing a proven threat, the application of the principle of distinction, and the measures that can be carried out to reduce collateral damage to the maximum possible. of civilians.
Here we have a terrorist group that has used its own civilian population as a human shield. As Israeli military control is consolidated, it has been evident that millions of text messages, calls and notices have been sent for the civilian population to evacuate the area. What’s more, as Hamas’s military capabilities fade, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have allowed a safe passage zone into southern Gaza and thousands of Palestinians have managed to advance towards a safer area. Previously, Hamas had prevented them from doing so under threat and violence.
The Arab world is very varied. There are many countries in the Arab world that have made calls to mitigate the tragic effects of war. But there are also parts of that same Arab world that are aware of the difficulties of this war against Hamas, an organization that is also considered terrorist by some of them and that has previously raised problems of regional stability.
It is necessary to remember that Israel maintains open diplomatic relations with at least 6 of the 22 countries of the Arab League (Morocco, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates). “Do not forget that part of the objective of the terrorist attacks of October 7 was precisely to prevent the imminent normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”
We have seen the attacks on Palestinian hospitals and the death of children and entire families…
“The death of children and in general of innocent people is a painful tragedy from any point of view. Now, the proportionality of a military operation is measured in relation to the force used in accordance with the stated objective and the need to obtain a palpable military advantage against the enemy.
Let me give you an example: the Israel Defense Forces eliminated Hamas Commander Ahmed Tsiam, who held some 1,000 Gaza Strip residents hostage in the Rantisi hospital during the fighting. Ahmed Tsiam was eliminated while hiding in a school in Alborak, where several Hamas fighters who were under his command were also eliminated along with him.
Ahmed Tsiam is another example of the Hamas terrorist organization’s cynical exploitation of Gaza Strip residents and civilian facilities as human shields for the organization’s terrorist needs, whether to save their skin or expose as much as possible. number of people to collateral damage and then capitalize on them in the media war. Israel is fighting an organization that glorifies death, the murder of Jews, moderate Muslims and Christians and that also believes that death in the midst of Jihad will get them paradise.
When Hamas uses the basement of a residential building to hide missile launching platforms, the IDF sends text messages, pamphlets, calls to cell phones that are active in that attack zone and warns ahead of time that they are going to bomb so that the Civilians evacuate the area. With this they even sacrifice the element of surprise, since Hamas members can also flee.”
What is Hamas’s relationship with the rest of the Islamic world?
“There are 57 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the majority Sunni. The relationships there are also varied. Hamas currently has strong support from the Islamic Republic of Iran, a Shiite-majority country, followed by Qatar.”
How can anti-Semitism be seen in this war?
“One way is through attacks on Jewish institutions around the world. Another, through accusations that beyond constructive criticism seek to systematically demonize, delegitimize and apply double standards to the State of Israel. Here there are actions of disinformation, media war and moral lynching in the face of a problem with many levels of complexity in which not only Israel has responsibility.”
In the last hours Israel attacked Syria and the Saudi crown prince asked to create a Palestinian state, can the war grow?
Israel has carried out more than 700 strikes in Syria in the last decade. There are three red lines that activate these bombardments. A first red line is determined from the attack on Israeli territory or citizenship by Hezbollah militias, or Palestinian militias operating in Syria. The second is determined by the consolidation of the Iranian military presence in Syrian territory. The third can be evidenced to the extent that Israel is faced with movements of advanced weapons that can reach the hands of Hezbollah and that can constitute a differentiating element in the balance of military power between the parties.
And on the other hand, the Saudi heir does not say anything new. The problem is not the possible consensus regarding the proclamation of a Palestinian state, the problem lies in how to negotiate these possible borders, even more so when the Founding Charter of Hamas declares that Peace negotiations are a waste of time and that the only way It is Jihad that destroys the State of Israel.”
How do you judge the role of the UN in this new episode of conflict in Israel?
“The UN will try to play its role and call for a ceasefire, peace and international security. Fulfill your diplomatic role. Unfortunately, I do not believe that they will be able to resolve the underlying problem through these mechanisms in the short term. I would conclude that it is a very complex operational environment. “Similar at the time to what was experienced in Mosul, while fighting the Islamic State.”
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