Even the Americans cannot deal with the matter, says international law expert Cecily Hellstveit about the situation in Gaza. Israel's closest ally threatens to use fewer weapons if Gazans do not receive emergency aid.
The short version
- The United States threatened fewer arms shipments if it continued to block emergency aid to Gaza.
- International law expert Cecily Hellesvet believes that Israel is under pressure “unever before.”
Israel shows no sign of slowing down its attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
But now, the United States is taking a new, tougher stance against Israel, says lawyer and sociologist Cecilie Hellstvet at the Norwegian Institute of Public Law.
The use of active substances in Gaza is about to become so massive and toxic that even Americans cannot handle it. She says this puts a whole new kind of pressure on Israel.
Helstvedt is an expert on Middle Eastern affairs and the rules of war. She now believes that the relationship between the United States and Israel is entering a new phase. This is primarily related to the United States' reaction to what the Israeli authorities did Systematically obstructs emergency aid To Gaza.
Something special happened this week: The United States asked Israel for proof that it is not using hunger as a weapon in Gaza, and also stressed that Israel cannot interpret failure to respond to instructions as making Palestinian civilians military targets. It says there are now numerous indicators that Israel's practices in Gaza regarding humanitarian aid involve serious violations of the rules of war.
“– The American reaction indicates that things are happening here that are completely illegal»
– Never tried it before
The United States gave Israel this week 30 days to increase emergency aid To Gaza.
The US Secretary of State wrote to his Israeli counterparts, “We are writing to emphasize the US government's deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and we ask your government to make rapid and sustained efforts this month to halt this situation.”
The message was sent several days before an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in Gaza, with images spreading around the world. The refugees are said to have been burned alive in the sea of fire.
What has given Israel room to move so far is that it has relied on the support of the United States in the United Nations Security Council. Now Israel is starting to approach some borders. She says: We are seeing increasing pressure from the United States and the United Kingdom, which Israel has never seen before.
Helstvedt points, among other things, to the fact that the UK has suspended arms licences.
The Israeli authorities take this allegation seriously due to the lack of military equipment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Hold a crisis meeting After the message from us.
Others are not so positive about the American message. EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell believes the one-month deadline is too long.
– Delay a month and people are being killed at the rate that is happening now. He said, according to Reuters, that there are a very large number of people.
Read also: Refugees burning alive: – I could hear his screams
Gideon Levy is a commentator for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. He believes the United States is merely trying to “clear its conscience,” he writes Aftenposten.
He says: If they really wanted to improve the situation of the Palestinians, they would have stopped the war.
By the time the deadline has passed, the United States will have elected a new president.
Three goals – different support
Several areas of Lebanon, especially southern Lebanon, were subjected to Israeli air strikes this week. The background to this is that Iran attacked Israel on October 1, in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leaders. Hezbollah has roots in Iran, but enjoys greater support in southern Lebanon.
According to Helstvedt, Israel has three main goals for the war in Lebanon.
The first is to clear the lands north of the border with Israel, and establish a demilitarized zone in southern Lebanon.
UN force Uniform He has a mandate to assist the Lebanese Army in its efforts to keep the southern part of the country free of weapons and armed groups that are not part of the Army.
This has led to friction with the Hezbollah militia, whose core areas are specifically in the south.
Helstvedt says Hezbollah never respected this UN resolution.
– Many have tried to implicate Hezbollah in this matter. Here, many Western countries believe that Israel fully enjoys its rights. The question is how far this right goes.
According to Reuters, in recent weeks, the Israeli army has carried out repeated attacks against the southern areas of Beirut without warning, or after warnings for one area while the attack was much larger.
Israeli attacks killed at least 2,350 people last year and injured nearly 11,000, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. More than 1.2 million people were displaced.
– Israel wants to neutralize as much of the Hezbollah organization as possible, because it has become very strong militarily during the war in Syria. The Middle East expert says that they have a very large military organization, both in terms of personnel and materials.
At this point, there are still many countries that support Israel, Hellstveit says, even those that do not support it in other areas.
- Persecution of Palestinians in Lebanon
– This concerns the Palestinians, for example Hamas and People of the Popular Front In Lebanon. Many believe this is unacceptable. Just because they opened the Lebanon theater, they cannot feed all the enemies they may have.
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