New Delhi, Nov 19 (IANS): The similarities between Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and its operations in Gaza go beyond just the choice of tactics. Then, as now, the invasion began after a shocking Palestinian attack. Then, as now, Israel’s hawkish leaders opted for a maximalist response.
US allies in the Arab world have also clearly voiced anger at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, rejecting Israel’s claims of self-defence. But Arab nations, notwithstanding their outcry over the war, don’t seem willing to make serious moves vis-a-vis Israel as they rejected a proposal to cut diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv during a recent Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh.
Jordan is one key regional player whose diplomatic gestures could have an impact. With close to half of its population being of Palestinian descent, sharing a long border with the West Bank and Israel, and serving as the custodian of the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem, for the Hashemite Kingdom the Israeli onslaught on Gaza is a matter of national security, New Arab reported.
Former leader Ehud Barak fears Israel has only weeks left to eliminate Hamas, as public opinion -- most significantly in the US -- rapidly swings against its attacks on Gaza, Politico reported in a recent interview.
Barak, who led Israel between 1999 and 2001, observed the rhetoric of US officials had shifted in recent days with a mounting chorus of calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting.
The sympathy generated toward Israel in the immediate wake of October 7, when Hamas launched the deadliest terrorist attacjk on Israel in the Jewish state’s 75-year history, was now diminishing, he worried, Politico reported.
Barak added it would take months or even a year to extirpate the Islamist militant group Hamas -- the main war aim set by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his war cabinet -- but noted Western support was weakening because of the civilian death toll in Gaza and fears of Israel’s campaign sparking a much broader and even more catastrophic war in the region.
(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)