Smokes and mirrors in the Middle East

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has left Washington following his third visit to the White House since President Trump entered his second term as President.

Despite the many speculations, the visit has not resulted – at least publicly – in major breakthroughs or announcements in respect of the many issues that were canvassed in the meetings between Netanyahu and Trump and their teams – such as the future of the Gaza conflict with Hamas, Abraham Accords, relations with Syria, and the conflict with Iran.

But the Middle East is all about smokes and mirrors. All is not what it seems. As former Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren observes, it is quite possible – indeed likely – that behind the scenes Netanyahu and Trump have discussed and reached agreement on many of these issues without making those agreements public.

Alternatively, as Israeli historian Benny Morris has argued, the lack of public announcements could point to significant differences of views as between the Israeli and US leaders.

In any event, no announcements have been made concerning the Gaza war, or suggesting progression in Trump’s ambitions to have Syria, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim-majority states to sign “Abraham Accords” with Israel. Nor were there any major announcements concerning the ongoing war with Iran.

– Palestinians carrying bags of flour outside distribution point controlled by the ‘Gaza Humanitarian Relief Foundation’ in Deir al-Balah | Photo: Ali Hassan/Flash90

Developments in Gaza

It had been expected that an agreement would be announced concerning the future of the war with Hamas, including a ceasefire and release of the remaining hostages (Hamas continues to hold around 50 hostages, of which probably only about twenty are still alive). Instead the two leaders announced that they “hoped” that a ceasefire would be negotiated with Hamas in the coming days.

Israel has consistently stated that one of its war aims is to eliminate Hamas. However Hamas has control in Gaza at three levels: as a military army, as a guerrilla organization, and as thugs using brute force to keep control of the Gaza civilian population. Israel’s army has achieved success in destroying Hamas at the first level, but not at the second and third levels. Destroying Hamas’ capabilities to fight guerrilla warfare is almost impossible to achieve, as recent days have shown (ambushes on IDF soldiers in the north of Gaza show that Hamas is still able to carry out effective guerrilla operations). And it is absolutely impossible to entirely remove Hamas’ violent control of the Palestinian population through “thug” force.

All of which means that the IDF campaign in Gaza is suffering from the law of diminishing returns. More soldiers are being killed, for less returns. There is growing pressure on Netanyahu – international and domestic – to “cut his losses” and reach a deal with Hamas that would not see its total destruction or perhaps not even the return of all the hostages.

The situation on the ground in Gaza remains dire. As the IDF continues to destroy infrastructure (necessary, tragically, in order to eliminate Hamas’s tunnels and military installations), the people are increasingly destitute. Humanitarian aid is being coordinated by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a joint U.S.-Israeli aid effort formed in February to replace the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

GHF announced on Wednesday the successful completion of a pilot program aimed at delivering food aid directly to Gazan civilians—bypassing the Hamas terrorist group. Conducted in partnership with Al-Amal, a local nongovernmental organization, the pilot distributed more than 2,000 boxes of food to residents in central Gaza. GHF said it plans to expand the program across several communities by collaborating with additional local NGOs. The long-term goal is to deliver over 20,000 food boxes—equivalent to 1.2 million meals—daily across all regions of Gaza. Under the program, food distribution begins when a community leader contacts GHF, directly or through an NGO partner. GHF then vets the leader, assesses the community’s needs, and coordinates the delivery of an initial shipment of food aid. The community leader collects the boxes at a predetermined location and distributes them to known members of their community. To ensure accountability, GHF verifies that all aid reaches those in need by cross-checking deliveries against a list of recipients provided by the community leader.

An Israeli air defense system launches interceptor missiles toward an incoming missile fired from Yemen, Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

Iran, Yemen and the Houthis

The Iran-backed Houthis — who control large swathes of Yemen, but are not the country’s internationally recognized government — continue to threaten Israel and disrupt international trade. The Houthis reached a ceasefire agreement with the US in May, and then stopped their attacks on commercial ships for some two months. This week, however, they attacked and sank two vessels, killing at least four people.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the President residence in Jerusalem | Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

The US fights back against the antisemitism of the UN Human Rights Council

The UN Human Rights Council based in Geneva is plagued by a spirit of antisemitism. Several years ago it established a permanent “Commission of Inquiry” to investigate Israeli crimes and breaches of international law in the “Occupied Palestinian Territory”. It also has Special Rapporteurs for specific situations in the world where there are serious human rights problems. The current Special Rapporteur responsible for reporting on Israeli human rights infringements in the “occupied Palestinian territories” is Francesca Albanese. Albanese holds the view that the Jewish State of Israel is – by definitaiton – a “genocidal” state built on the objective of eliminating the Palestinian people through the strategy of “replacement” and “ethnic cleansing”. Her virulent antisemitism has earned her the censure of many states who refuse to acknowledge her work and call for her removal. The United Nations so far refuses to censure or remove her.

Last week, she published her latest report, which (she states) “investigates the corporate machinery sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians in the occupied territory. While political leaders and governments shirk their obligations, far too many corporate entities have profited from Israel’s economy of illegal occupation, apartheid and now, genocide. The complicity exposed by this report is just the tip of the iceberg; ending it will not happen without holding the private sector accountable, including its executives. International law recognizes varying degrees of responsibility – each requiring scrutiny and accountability, particularly in this case, where a people’s self-determination and very existence are at stake. This is a necessary step to end the genocide and dismantle the global system that has allowed it.”

In response, US Secretary of State announced yesterday that the US has imposed sanctions on Albanese. He stated:

“Albanese has directly engaged with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries. Neither the United States nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute, making this action a gross infringement on the sovereignty of both countries.

The United States has repeatedly condemned and objected to the biased and malicious activities of Albanese that have long made her unfit for service as a Special Rapporteur. Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West. That bias has been apparent across the span of her career, … She has recently escalated this effort by writing threatening letters to dozens of entities worldwide, including major American companies across finance, technology, defense, energy, and hospitality, making extreme and unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue investigations and prosecutions of these companies and their executives. We will not tolerate these campaigns of political and economic warfare, which threaten our national interests and sovereignty.”

Let us pray this week for the hostages still held in Gaza. May they be protected and given miraculous strength to survive this horrendous ordeal. Pray for Israel’s enemies, that their hearts may be turned. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and that all will look for the coming of the Prince of Peace.

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