Palestine: Is “The Day After” sinking into oblivion?

“The day after” has been the mantra of the US government and media since the carnage in Gaza began six months after October 7. The initial postulate is that the ectoplasmic “peace process” and “normalization” of Israeli-Arab relations will take place under the auspices of the United States when Israel succeeds in undoing it and “destroying” the dominance of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Taken from Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières

May 1, 2024

By David Finkel

Demonstrations in New York against Washington’s complicity in Israel’s war against Palestine. Unions are often present during these actions. Event Photo: Dan La Botz

In fact, the question being asked today is whether there is a “day after” at all. Half a year of civilian massacres have not resulted in the defeat of Hamas or the release of Israeli hostages – those still alive – but in the complete destruction of Gaza, perhaps to such an extent that it will be impossible to rebuild, which is clearly the goal of the Israeli government.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s desire to prolong the disaster in Gaza, rather than end it, was evident long before the Israeli attack on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria and before the drone and missile attacks Iran’s widely heralded April 14 attacks predictably provoked , only minimal damage.

Against the current it was published immediately after these events, before we know if and how quickly Netanyahu will decide to push the conflict with Iran further, in order to keep his despised government afloat and in the hope of dragging the dismal administration of America’s “Joe the Genocide” into a major war scale.

Even before the weekend’s events, as prominent Israeli journalist Amos Harel noted:

” More than six months after the October 7 massacre, Israel is struggling to achieve a military victory that would strategically offset the destruction caused by this disaster, and is also far from alleviating the terrible plight of the families of the 133 hostages (many of whom died).” (Haaretz , 12 April 2024)

And now?

After the Iranian attack, Joe Biden implored Netanyahu to “up the ante” without further backlash, noting that the response by multinational forces that shot down the drones and missiles underscored Iran’s relative weakness.

This is obviously true. It is also true that Iran made sure that the governments of the region, not to mention the intelligence services, were warned 72 hours in advance so as not to surprise them and give them time to prepare. The Iranian regime’s priority – as well as Netanyahu’s – is its own domestic situation. He is at war with his people and the last thing he needs is for them to suffer more.

Furthermore, if Iran really intends to cause damage of a strategic nature, it would have to resort to extreme measures, including massive missile attacks from Lebanon and closing the Strait of Hormuz, which would pose a real threat of total conflagration. It is clear that Iran and the United States want to avoid this. But is that the case with Netanyahu?

Gilbert Achcar, commenting on the Iranian action, states that ” by launching hundreds of devices directly into Israeli territory, they fell into a trap, thereby legitimizing a direct Israeli attack on their own territory… thus strengthening Israel’s case for pre-emptive destruction of its own potential. »

Achcar concludes: “ In my view, this is a mistake that could prove to be as monumental as the one made by Hamas in launching the October 7, 2023 operation. “.

At the same time, the acts of sadistic savagery committed by the Israeli forces in Gaza, although little publicized, are impossible to completely hide, with consequences for the population of Gaza, of course, but also for Israel. Amos Harel describes them as follows:

” The control of the General Staff over the events in the field and at the command posts continues to weaken, resulting in deviations from procedures and instructions… This is reflected in Israel’s increasing indifference to human lives on the Palestinian side. This phenomenon, whose origin lies mainly in feelings of revenge caused by the massacre, has now become common in certain military units. “.

Over time, it is almost inevitable that the genocide in Gaza and brutal ethnic cleansing in the West Bank will have direct repercussions on Israeli society, as we saw in the United States during and after the Vietnam War, as well as the potentially explosive political crisis currently re-emerging. As for Netanyahu himself, Harel concludes:

” Everything tells us that he intends to seize power with all his might. There is no reason to believe that there will soon be five brave members of the coalition ready to raise their hands to oust him. “This man will remain in office and will continue to obstruct any possibility of the country and society emerging from the catastrophic situation we find ourselves in, which is largely attributable to him.”.

The cynical attitude of imperialism, which wants to make people believe that American influence can reshape Palestine and the Middle East “the day after” the massacre, begs the question whether the “day after” will come. it will arrive one day.

David Finkel

PS

• Translated for ESSF by Pierre Vandevoorde with help from DeepLpro.

Source: Against the current no. 230, May/June 2024:

https://againstthecurrent.org/atc230/the-day-after-fading-to-oblivion/

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