Six months later… Have things begun to go against what Israel desires?

The British newspaper “The Guardian” reported, “The six months that have passed since the Gaza war brought with it a tangible transformation. The amnesty granted by the Israeli government by its allies in the wake of the Hamas attacks is now in danger of expiring. For much of the public, which has supported the ceasefire since the first days of the attack on Gaza, it was always clear that disaster would unfold. But in the official sphere, the horror of October 7 contributed to what seemed like a blank check for Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. “It may have taken the deaths of seven aid workers in the World Central Kitchen for this shift to occur, and it may have been cumulative, but what is difficult to deny now is that Israel has gone rogue.”

According to the newspaper, “Over the past six months, whether in tone or action, Israel has shown that it is a country that violates all protocols. The Israeli government has insulted its patrons, ignored and defied the rulings and warnings of organizations in that law-abiding, democratic world, and made its allies appear weak and powerless, which has destabilized their internal politics. On the ground, it is clear that Israel not only overreacted, but also showed how arrogant it is. Haaretz recently reported that the Israeli military has created “killing zones” in Gaza: anyone who crosses their invisible lines can be shot. An investigation conducted by the Israeli-Palestinian magazine +972 and the website Local Call this week also revealed something else, which is that the Israeli army uses artificial intelligence systems to identify targets, and the sources said that 15 or 20 civilians were allowed to be killed as collateral killings during air strikes on those who were identified. “They are low-ranking militants.”
The newspaper continued, “With Israel leveling Gaza to the ground and taking sides against the international community, it has undermined its reputation, eroded confidence in its military and political operations, and exhausted the tolerance it enjoys.” It is a tolerance that has been granted not only recently because of the Hamas attack, but because Israel is traditionally seen as sharing Western political and cultural values. It is also seen as having a kind of “morality,” an emphasis on social freedoms and respect for global power hierarchies, which makes it worthy of unwavering support. But impunity has a price to be paid by both the perpetrator and the victim. This price is summed up in the state ceasing to be able to regulate its behavior and starting to self-sabotage. This point came when foreign aid workers were hit by precision missiles, killing them.”
The newspaper added, “Six months is a long time for this type of military action to continue at the pace it has witnessed, with the scope of terror and escalation that it entailed.” Six months is a long time for such a violent conflict to continue in such an open manner. It is a long time for Arab governments to continue to walk the fine line between maintaining good relations with the United States and worrying about regional stability as the war spreads, as well as growing domestic anger over Gaza. In any case, because of Gaza, the global political machine has become heated. So, it is not difficult to see why US President Joe Biden made his strongest call to Netanyahu yet, indicating, for the first time, that more support would come with conditions. He also called on Israel to implement “a series of specific, concrete and measurable steps to address civilian harm, human suffering and the safety of aid workers,” and called for an immediate ceasefire.
The newspaper concluded, “In short, changes in tone and political demands are only beginning to bring the official world into line with public opinion and the fears of countless demonstrators whose motives have been slandered and whose feelings have been belittled.” “A change of heart among Israel’s friends and guarantors is welcome, if it will go some way to alleviating the humanitarian crises and hastening the end of the war, but it also comes with the implication that everything that has happened so far was neither foreseeable nor entirely preventable.”