This is what Merav Mihaeli, president of the Avoda labor party, writes after the latest Israeli attack on Gaza, and before the death of another Palestinian baby: "The citizens of Israel deserve to live in safety. No sovereign country would agree to the blockade of its citizens by a terrorist organization... I support our security forces".
Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet reacted, Itamar Ben Gvir is still sleeping, Yoav Galant is still not issuing threats, and the president of the Israeli left is already aligning himself with the right, welcoming the actions of the army and supporting a war that has not yet begun. This time, she outstripped even Shimon Peres himself.
It is unforgivable: after 4 days of partial blockade of the south of the country, the leader of the left without blinking an eye declares that no country would agree to such a siege. A partner in the government responsible for continuing the horrific 16-year blockade of Gaza was shocked by the two-minute voluntary and partial quarantine of part of the country. Instead of welcoming the government's restraint, which lasts as long as the life of a butterfly (you need to hurry, the election is on the horizon), Labor immediately supported a war that had an alternative, as every time before. The Zionist left demonstrates its double standards again. Maybe this time her voters and the voters of the center will realize that there is no real difference between them and the right.
This military action under the infantile name of Dawn (Alut HaShahar) is a war that Israel can no longer claim that it did not start or that it had no other choice. This time even the introductory gun clatter was skipped and it got straight to the point. First they arrested the leader of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank, even though they knew it would provoke a harsh reaction, and then they assassinated a high-ranking commander in Gaza, after which there was no turning back. But Israel declares another defensive, righteous war of the one to whom all things are permitted. Because this is a country that loves peace and all it wants is the safety of its citizens. What feigned innocence. It is a country that has everything but force to deter it from attacking Gaza.
And this time it is about the government that announced changes and healing of old wounds. Fifteen months since the last time, Operation Guardian of the Walls, Dawn arrives. Five weeks after taking office as the fastest gunslinger in the West, Lapid is already sending the army to war. In the history of Israel, there has never been a prime minister who was in such a hurry to kill. All of Netanyahu's criminal charges pale in comparison to the crime of entering this unnecessary war, which will achieve nothing but more blood, mostly Palestinian. Netanyahu has been relatively restrained in the use of military force (with the exception of the 2014 war), but everyone still gets excited about the illegal gifts he received. At least he doesn't have to play a real macho man like Lapid.
It is true that the analysts, the old boys club and the mayors of the southern cities, as always, exerted pressure to enter the war, but such quick surrender to their whims is still unheard of. There was hardly any time for the war to be waged in the media. Now that attacks on Gaza are becoming more frequent, it makes no sense to even ask what the goal of that war is. He is not there, unless it turns out that he is the biggest so far.
Peace is not the goal and we do not have a government of change. Because if we had it, Lapid would now be teaching Israel about restraint, he would be a brave statesman who would initiate the process of recognizing Hamas, lifting the blockade of Gaza and would seek to meet with its leadership. Anything less than that is the continuation of the policies of the previous governments, which had war written into their DNA. We didn't need a government of change for that. Please remember who started this war and who supported it.
Haaretz, 07.08.2022.
Translated from the Hebrew by Alma Ferhat
Peščanik.net, 08.08.2022.
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