– Masood Abdali
There remains little hope for serious efforts to implement ceasefire in Gaza. While the US President Donald Trump keeps promising “good news soon,” neither Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu nor his far-right allies seem willing to consider military withdrawal. On July 10, Israel floated a “Map of Partial Redeployment (MoPR),” which resistance group outright rejected. Even the revised proposal presented two days later was dismissed on July 16 as “more rigid than before.” The resistance group reiterated their stance: there will be no prisoner exchange without a permanent ceasefire and full military withdrawal.
President Trump recently hosted Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for a dinner in Washington in hopes of persuading Qatar to convince the resistance group. This, too, yielded no result.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu continues a brutal campaign of genocide to hold his fragile coalition together – a fact even Israelis are beginning to acknowledge. Avigdor Liberman, opposition leader and former Defence Minister, claimed that Israeli soldiers who had died in recent months did not fall for the nation’s security but as sacrifices to preserve the ruling alliance. He labelled the exemption of Haredi yeshiva students from compulsory military service as “an act of treason” and the exemption law as a “law of escape.”
The political rift has deepened, with several parties abandoning the coalition on not granting exemption to the religious (Yeshiva) students from compulsory military service. Netanyahu’s government now hinges on the support of extremist ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, both of whom advocate for full annexation of Gaza and the West Bank.
Meanwhile, with every single passing day, the situation of food scarcity in Gaza is growing dire. The harrowing audio and visual clips of children panting with severe hunger are difficult to watch. According to a recent UN report, one in every 10 children in Gaza suffers from acute malnutrition. Over the past six weeks, Israeli strikes on relief centres have killed 875 people, including 20 who died in a July 14 attack on a Khan Younis aid centre. Ironically, Israel blames armed factions it claims to have formed itself.
This intransigence of Israel is fuelled by unconditional American and Western support. Though discussions of sanctions against Israel circulated within the European Union for weeks – Ireland and Spain were said to be the advocates of sanctions on Israel – the EU Foreign Affairs Council, led by High Representative Kaja Kallas, declared on July 15 that no punitive measures would be adopted. Observers suspect Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar may have intimidated EU foreign ministers through one-on-one meetings held just a day prior.
The attitude of U.S. senators is also no different in this regard. As Ireland considers a bill to ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, six American senators and 16 members of the House of Representatives, one after another, launched a coordinated Twitter campaign opposing the proposal. Though each post appeared separate, their uniform messaging and timing suggested a well-organised effort.
Despite the EU’s inaction, Slovenia took a bold stand by declaring Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir persona non grata, banning their entry into the country. Both ministers are central to Netanyahu’s governing alliance.
While Western politicians entangle themselves in diplomatic calculus, a surprising front of resistance has emerged from the music world. UK-based band Massive Attack has announced the formation of a coalition of artists who face censorship and legal threats for speaking out against Israeli genocide in Gaza. According to the band, groups like “UK Lawyers for Israel” have targeted pro-Palestinian musicians, as documented in the recent film by Led By Donkeys. Artists such as Kneecap, Fontaines D.C., and Brian Eno have already joined this growing alliance.
Along with mosques, madrasas and hospitals, not even churches in Gaza and West Bank are safe from Israel’s genocidal aggression. On July 17, Israel shelled the Holy Family Catholic Church in central Gaza, killing two women and injuring several others. Just days earlier, arsonists targeted part of the historic Church of St. George in Taybeh, near Jerusalem. Though Netanyahu apologised after U.S. condemnation and arranged a visit by Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch to Gaza, damage was already done. He also called Pope Leo XIV to offer an official apology.
In the West Bank, settler violence has intensified. Alongside the burning of homes and destruction of olive groves, settlers are now targeting livestock. On July 18, Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian farm in the occupied Jordan Valley, killing 117 sheep with gunfire and pellet weapons.
The psychological toll of the Gaza genocide is visible within Israel as well. According to the Ministry of Defence, Israeli soldiers are increasingly suffering from trauma and mental health issues, leading to suicides and erratic behaviour. One bizarre incident saw a massive Israeli army excavator, supposedly under the tight security of IDF that claims to have seized three-fourths of Gaza, stolen from Gaza and driven into the West Bank city of Huwara, and the so-called invincible Israeli army could not know of it. A satirical tweet read: “Was this machine bought to dig earth or to unearth the IDF’s incompetence?”
And now, a political sideshow: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has announced elections for the Palestinian National Council by year’s end. However, unlike the 2006 elections – which resulted in an unwelcome victory for Hamas – this time the 300-member Council will be handpicked by PLO members, ensuring the outcome suits both Abbas and his Western patrons. Critics see this as an attempt to revive the dead “two-state solution.” Even graffiti outside Abbas’s office reads: “NO MORE TWO STATES. WE WANT 48” – a reference to reclaiming all of historic Palestine.
Politically impotent and militarily irrelevant, Abbas appears to have been handed a new rattle by his sponsors to distract both himself and his dwindling base.
