Gaza City seizure plan appears aimed at keeping war going indefinitely: Ex-Israeli PM
Ehud Olmert, who was Israel’s prime minister from 2006 to 2009, says the “only possible interpretation” of the Israeli government’s widely criticised plan to seize control of Gaza City is to keep the war going “indefinitely”.
“We are trying to understand what may be the goal or the objective of this military operation, and we are not sure that we can understand it,” he told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.
“All the former chiefs of staff of the Israeli army and senior generals, and the commanders of Mossad and the secret service are all having the same opinion: that this war should end now, that there is not any objective where for a military operation which is worth the cost – and the cost may be Israeli soldiers, the hostages and also Palestinians in Gaza, which we definitely don’t want to and don’t need to kill.”
Earlier this month, hundreds of former Israeli security chiefs urged US President Donald Trump to bring an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
Israeli fighter pilots protest demanding Gaza ceasefire deal
Pilots and reservists with Israel’s air force are staging a protest outside of the army’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding an end to the war in Gaza.
A statement from organisers, reported by Israeli media, said the protest called for “an immediate end to the futile war” and urgent action to secure the return of captives.
Participants are voicing opposition for plans to expand the assault, local media said.
Israel’s decision to seize Gaza City ‘violation of international law’
Israel’s decision to expand its “military operations” in Gaza and look to seize Gaza City violates international humanitarian law and the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, experts said.
Heidi Matthews, a professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in Canada, told Anadolu Agency that Israel’s decision should be halted through diplomatic pressure from third states.
Matthews said an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory made it very clear that the “occupation has become unlawful and must be brought to an end as rapidly as possible”.
“Any plans to take over parts or all of Gaza would be in contravention also of the rule against the violent acquisition of territory as well,” she said. “And obviously, that’s a peremptory norm of international law. It’s one of the most important foundational norms of the post-World War II international order, that states are not permitted to violently acquire and expand their own territory.”
