We could be in for an interesting, and hopefully good day. Details are limited but reporting is that Israel is withdrawing most of its forces from Gaza. It’s not a complete withdrawal, and it’s being framed as the forces left protecting from outside hostile forces coming in from the north and also a corridor for humanitarian aid. We’ll see as the day and week progresses whether that’s really the case. With a round of negotiations about to take place in Egypt it remains to be seen if there will be meaningful progress towards ending the war and the suffering of millions of Palestinian civilians who don’t want anything more to do with Hamas than they do with Israel. However, any sign of hope is a good thing so I’m daring to hope.
I was actually outlining an article about how for the talk last week from Netanyahu/Israel about changes in their approach to rooting out Hamas terrorists from Gaza it was likely just talk. I held off writing about it yesterday because Saturday is the Sabbath, and that would mean little news. What we did know was that even if it was talk from Netanyahu he was feeling (finally) enough pressure from President Biden and other world leaders to if only grudgingly acknowledge Israel’s image in the world was taking a major beating. However talk is cheap. As Rachel Maddow advises I chose to not listen to what was said, but what Netanyahu/Israel actually did and until this morning it seemed like no real changes were in the works. That admitting the targeting and killing of those World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers shouldn’t have happened.
However, reporting this morning from Rueters Israel is claiming a major reduction in it’s military presence in Gaza. A military spokesman announced all IDF troops except for one brigade have been withdrawn. Good news as I said but there are caveats. From Reuters:
The military did not immediately provide further details. It was unclear whether the withdrawal would delay a long-threatened incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which Israeli leaders have said is needed to eliminate Hamas.
This is all taking place as a round of cease fire talks is set to begin. It’s unclear at this point whether both sides will have representatives there actually negotiating, but one step at a time. NBC also has an article up this morning about this. It contains a bit more information but not nearly as much as we all would like. From NBC:
In a statement on Sunday, the IDF said it was pulling its 98th commando division “to recuperate and prepare for future operations.”
The Nahal brigade and the 162nd division remain in Gaza, which the IDF describes as “a significant force” that will continue to “operate in the Gaza Strip, and will preserve the IDF’s freedom of action and its ability to conduct precise intelligence based operations.”
An Israeli brigade is typically made up of a few thousand troops.
The NBC article goes on to provide additional information which seems to leave as many (if not more) questions than answers to what’s next. First it notes it’s unclear whether this is an actual change in policy or simply a planned rotation of troops. It also notes Israel’s long known plans for a major move into Rafah, and again that it’s unclear whether this withdrawal will have any impact on those plans. So far Israel doesn’t seem to be saying one way or the other, at least publicly.
Israel and Nethanyahu in particular has come under intense pressure as I’ve said. They also have a long, long history of telling the world and us in particular “F**k off. We’ll do what we want and when we want and if it causes YOU problems we don’t care.” Still, while I’m not going to relax and pop the cork on a bottle of champagne I see at least the possibility of at least a temporary cease fire being arranged. More hostages being released. More humanitarian aid getting to people in desperate need.
This announcement may or may not turn out to be the beginning of developing peace and stability in Gaza but it’s welcome news at least. Let’s hope it’s the start of something that makes a positive difference.
D.K. has an interesting article, from yesterday actually:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/4/6/2233612/-Israel-has-Unmasked-the-West?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web
The writer is holding up a mirror between Israel and the West (the U.S. really). One itty, bitty difference however that isn’t mentioned in the article: Israel is surrounded by enemies. With the exception of the eastern border of the Med (into which most Muslims want to drive Israelis into), Israel does not have a completely safe and secure border. Hell, even countries not bordering Israel are in on being a mortal enemy of the country (and please, let’s not get into various and sundry treaties: they’re not worth the paper they are written upon (see U.S./Iran nuclear agreement)). The U.S., last time I looked, was in absolutely no danger from the countries it assisted when installing dictatorships. Israel, by contrast, never knows when its immediate enemies will attack, and also never knows when the west will stop its funding–all its funding. Israel has been governing itself over the decades with the Us against Them attitude for decades and for good reason.
I am having a real hard time castigating Israel for trying to rid itself of the particularly pernicious and vicious roaches on its southern flank. Perhaps the paletinian civilians will take a good, hard look at THEIR political leaders and choose leaders who will keep hamas out, lead without rampant corruption, and take care of the citizenry. Fighting back against existing power structures is never easy; it is never without risk. Call me goofy but I think being known for being something other than a haven for an extremely violent group of terrorists might make such a fight worth it.
Did you ever stop to consider just WHY the Palestinians are opposed to Israel?
Israel is, in defiance of every international agreement, confiscating Palestinian land, it’s occupying territories that it gained by invasion and trying to expel the original inhabitants (or force them into smaller and smaller ghettos.
I’m not trying to excuse or exonerate Hamas but Israel actually needs (and did fund them) so they can have an ‘enemy’ to justify their illegal occupation of the West Bank (which they actually seized from Jordan) the occupation of Jerusalem in defiance of the UN, their occupation of the Golan Heights (seized from Syria).
The only thing they seem to have learnt from the Holocaust is how to produce their own
Killing armed opponents is one thing – the targeting of civilians (including women, children and international aid workers) is another matter entirely
Daithi. Agree totally. There is NO excuse for the genocide of unarmed civilians especially women and children. Everyone has their excuses. The Germans did also. Putin has his. So on and so on.
“Perhaps the paletinian civilians will take a good, hard look at THEIR political leaders and choose leaders who will keep hamas out, lead without rampant corruption, and take care of the citizenry.” Lovely idea, but why should THEY when WE don’t have the political will and power to do the same?
As far as I know, and I am not the most informed person, Israel chose Hamas to govern Gaza after their last incursion. From what I have heard, the Palestinian people do not necessarily support Hamas.
An equally “lovely idea” is APPLY THAT STANDARD TO THE ISRAELIS. Their leaders are corrupt (witness Netanyahu’s attempts to keep from being held accountable for his corruption), they allow themselves to be held hostage by religious extremist parties (which are Israel’s version of HAMAS; parties like Shas, Mafdal, United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit and Noam have a total of 32 seats in the Knesset–as many as Bibi’s Likud has–and all endorse a strict conservative/orthodox religious interpretation of Zionism which would force out ALL Arabs, even Arab Christians) and are unwilling to make those religious parties share equally in Israel’s defense (while there are–and have been–calls to end the IDF’s religious exemption for “Torah students,” Bibi won’t do that because his extremist allies would topple the government; but these same religious groups oppose LGBTQ rights and insist on ministry posts that let them apply their religious values on all Israelis).