Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

[SvennoJ]

Trump giving Israel ‘green light to destroy Gaza City, annex West Bank’

Mustafa Barghouti says that the US continues to prevent sanctions on Israel, despite Netanyahu’s government carrying out atrocities in Palestinian territory similar to the actions of the South African regime during apartheid.

“Of course, we are starting to see some changes, like Germany deciding to suspend any military supplies to Israel, or Spain preventing any passage of military equipment to Israel. Or Norway deciding to disinvest from Israel, but that’s not enough,” Barghouti said.

“What we need is true sanctions, similar to the way the apartheid system was sanctioned in South Africa. And the crimes that Israel is committing are way, way, way more than what happened in South Africa,” he said.

“We need each country of the world, we need each civil society in the world, to put pressure now, to exercise pressure now, on this Israeli government to stop. We already had the genocide, but we don’t want the genocide now to kill every Palestinian in Gaza.”

Barghouti, who is the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, added that he does not believe that Donald Trump wants to make peace in Gaza, and accused the US president’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, of undermining the talks for a ceasefire. He also noted that Washington continues to supply Israel with weapons.

“He [Trump] never mentioned the word[s] ‘Palestinian states’ since he came to power in his second term, because, clearly, he is giving a green light to Israel, not only to commit a genocide in Gaza and now to destroy Gaza City completely and ethnically cleanse its people, but also, clearly, he’s giving a green light to Israel to annex the West Bank.”

‘Israel won’t stop on its own’

We’ve been speaking to Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political commentator based in Tel Aviv, on Israel’s assassination of five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza City hours ago.

Goldberg said he believes international condemnation is beginning to accelerate against Israel. “I don’t believe what Israel is doing can be tolerated anymore to the extent that it was tolerated. I don’t believe Israel enjoys full impunity,” he said.

“[Israel] cannot do anything else but go for broke, and that means effectively obliterate Gaza City, and try and kill as many Palestinians or ethically cleanse as many Palestinians as possible. But this is now up to the world. Israel won’t stop on its own.”

Goldberg added that Israel has burned another bridge with the world by assassinating al-Sharif.

“I believe the balance is already shifting,” he said. “This is no longer tolerable… Israel has been very actively burning any remaining bridge it might have to the rest of the world. And I believe that this targeted assassination tonight will prove to be a major bridge.”