Noting that Biden called for "an immediate ceasefire" today, Josh Marshall says that what happens next is "really all on the current government in Israel and the man who orchestrates every one of its strategies, Benjamin Netanyahu."
@isaackuo I find it's a good site. I'm not a paying subscriber, either, but find that I can fairly well access most of the material that appears on the site.
"President Joe Biden on Thursday called for an 'immediate cease-fire' in Gaza, telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that future U.S. support for the country’s military offensive will depend on whether Israel takes concrete steps to protect civilians and humanitarian workers in the Palestinian enclave."
"Three quarters of Brits want the UK Government to impose a ban on all arms sales to Israel, new polling commissioned by Byline Times suggests, with broader support for the country’s actions in Gaza continuing to decline."
"Israel is wielding starvation as a weapon of war, imposing a famine on the more than two million Palestinians trapped in Gaza, one million of whom are children. Twenty-seven children have already starved to death since Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared, on October 9th, 'There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed…We are fighting human animals.'”
@Treeline Yes, that sounds right and you put the point well. And what Israel is doing has to be situated within the bigger context of a global authoritarian initiative to dismantle democracy everywhere. That initiative depends in a very radical way on dehumanizing us, since fundamental to the idea of democratic self-governance is a trust that human beings are capable of organizing effective social organizations and managing their own affairs.
IIRC Israelis were demonstrating against Netanyahu in the streets in record numbers, calling for his removal on corruption charges just before this conflict erupted.
I agree. re. this being part of a larger pattern; feels like we're witnessing another January 6-type depth charge against Democracy, a reminder that we're all just insignificant disposable things as the authoritarians force everyone's perspective to be as cruel, culpable, and lifeless as theirs.
Lucian K. Truscott thinks there's strong reason to conclude that a U.S. "flying ginsu" missle was used when the IDF killed 7 World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza. He writes,
"The U.S. State Department approved the transfer of more than two thousand bombs to Israel on the day the aid workers were killed in Gaza."
Images of the damaged vehicles are at first reminiscent of damage caused by an R9X hellfire strike, but the R9X leaves a distinctive signature which is not evident here.
@simontsui So if we step back and prescind from arguments about precisely which American-made atrocity committed this atrocity, we're still left with the thing that counts most of all: these are American-made weapons supplied by the US to Israel.
"The government of Israel, as led by Benjamin Netanyahu and empowered by his right-wing coalition in the Knesset, has become an evil empire. And their chief enablers are in the United States.
This is a hard truth that must be said. And please don’t label me antisemitic for saying it. That would be a lie."
Israel's Past 'Weaponization' of Gaza Food Supplies Looms Over #WorldCentralKitchen Deaths
by Karl Vick, April 3, 2024
"Starvation may well be replacing bombs as the gravest danger in Gaza. But the killing on Monday of seven aid workers demonstrates that the two lethalities can combine to devastating effect. The Israeli government called the deaths of seven staffers for World Central Kitchen “a tragedy.” But as the food aid group—which had rushed into Israel to feed people there after Oct. 7—announced that safety concerns were forcing it to pull out of Gaza, advocates saw additional evidence that Israel is “weaponizing” access to food in an enclave where 1.1 million face danger of famine. "
It is almost as if the #world is telling us a morbid joke: we will kill you if you resist and kill you if you hide, and if you refuse, and if you concede, and we will devour your land and gulp your oceans and kill you with hunger and thirst.
The massacres will be televised, broadcast in broad daylight. Our judges will legalize them.
José Andrés is suspending operations of World Central Kitchen in Gaza after Israel killed 7 workers trying to deliver food to starving Palestinians. He says,
“The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon. No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now.”
@wdlindsy José Andrés went from “Israel has a right to defend itself” to condemning Israel for their atrocities. Let him serve as an example for changing one’s mind when presented with irrefutable evidence.
"There is no reason for the United States to be engaged with any government that can do this."
Then he excerpts a BBC report about the IDF of 7 food-charity workers of chef Andrés' World Central Kitchen on Monday, something the IDF is trying to dismiss as, "It just happened."
"I’ve been an advocate for Palestinian rights for many years but as a Jewish American, born in the year of Israeli independence, my connection to Israel is a lifetime long. That connection has become more and more attenuated over the years.
Now it’s gone. I’ve seen enough. I’m done. Israel is a country dedicated to the violent deaths of its neighbors. It has lost all claims to moral superiority, all claims to just defending itself."
@wdlindsy I would like that, but, can Biden follow up on that promise unilaterally? If not, Netanyahu knows he can't and therefore, the threat will not work. If he can cut off all aid to Israel without congressional approval, and treaty modifications, please show me.
@jiminfantino I'd like to hope Biden might hold Netanyahu's feet to the fire in this way. So far, I haven't seen it happening in any strong and meaningful way. And, of course, he cannot act unilaterally without Congressional support. But he occupies a bully pulpit and can certainly make important statements from that pulpit.
"Israel is facing global condemnation after killing several international aid workers in Gaza. The workers with charity group World Central Kitchen were killed by an Israeli airstrike after unloading more than 100 tons of food aid carried by ship from Cyprus into Gaza."
Tens of thousands of #Israelis thronged central #Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government #protest since the country went to #war in Oct. Protesters urged the govt to reach a #CeaseFire deal to free dozens of #hostages held in #Gaza by #Hamas militants & to hold early #elections.
In #Jerusalem outside of #Israel's parliament, some called for the removal of PM Benjamin #Netanyahu, & many said they want the govt to do more to bring the remaining #hostages home.
"This government is doing horrendous things in #Gaza, not in our name, & we want the government to take responsibility & resign today, right now," protester Karen Saar told Williams.