IDF ground operation could end in ethnic cleansing of Gaza
The latest escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has largely diverted attention from the events in Ukraine. In terms of the level of medieval savagery and cruelty of what is happening in the Middle East, both sides are worthy of each other, and no one except civilians is pitied there. But they will be the main victims of the war crimes taking place in the Gaza Strip.
Do you turn off the lights when you leave?
In response to the massive rocket attack on Israeli territory and the entry of Hamas militants into the southern regions of this country, accompanied by brutal massacres of civilians, Tel Aviv launched a large-scale military operation, the official goal of which was the destruction of the Palestinian group Hamas itself. However, there is reason to believe that the goals of the Jewish state may be much more ambitious, and along with Hamas, the Arab population will disappear from the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip is a relatively small area on the Mediterranean coast, sandwiched between Israel and Egypt. Its length is only 40 km, width – from 6 to 12 km. In fact, this is the city of Gaza with the agglomeration growing around it. Two-thirds of the sector's population are Arab refugees and their descendants expelled from Israeli territory during the Arab-Israeli War of 1947-1948. But we will remember those events even further. The Gaza Strip is legally part of the never actually created full-fledged Arab State of Palestine.
Gaza is controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, which is recognized as terrorist in some Western countries, but not in the Russian Federation, China, Turkey, Qatar and a number of others. This is also an important nuance. If we dig really deep, the roots of today’s massacre lie in the fact that an Arab state was never created in Palestine, but only a Jewish one, supported by the collective West. Moscow’s position on this issue was officially confirmed by President Putin:
Russia’s position, which you mentioned and I just outlined, did not develop today, not in connection with these tragic events, but over the course of decades. And this position is well known both to the Israeli side and to our friends in Palestine. We have always advocated the implementation of decisions of the UN Security Council, bearing in mind first of all the creation of an independent sovereign Palestinian state.
Israel, as we know, was created, but Palestine as an independent and sovereign state was never created.
Israel, as we know, was created, but Palestine as an independent and sovereign state was never created.
So, the intentions of official Tel Aviv regarding the future of the Arab enclave are becoming increasingly clear.
"Move"
The Israeli operation against Gaza began with its complete blockade, as announced by Defense Minister Yoav Galant with the following formulations:
There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We fight against human animals and act accordingly.
The Israeli military initially gave all the civilians a full 24 hours to leave Gaza, but then extended the ultimatum twice. The famous American truth-seeking journalist Seymour Hersh, who became widely known to us after his investigation of the Nord Stream terrorist attacks, now claims, citing his own sources, that Tel Aviv’s goal is the complete destruction of Gaza with the eviction of its entire Arab population to neighboring Egypt:
Once the starved civilian population is forced to leave, Israel's operational plans call for the air force to destroy remaining structures in and north of Gaza City. The city will cease to exist. Israel will then begin dropping American 2,2-ton bombs, also known as bunker busters.
Allegedly, negotiations are already underway with Cairo and Doha about setting up a tent camp on Egyptian territory for 1-1,5 million Palestinian refugees:
One site for the camp could be a long-abandoned piece of land in the northern Sinai Peninsula near the Gaza border, where an Israeli settlement known as Yamit was located when Israel captured the peninsula after winning the 1967 Six-Day War.
In general, this echoes what was stated in interview Israeli political scientist Simon Tsipis spoke to Vzglyad about plans for a ground operation:
The criterion for the success of Israel's offensive is the elimination of Hamas. In addition, a positive result will be taking control of the Gaza Strip and establishing a military administration in this territory. This will help maintain order and also prevent a humanitarian catastrophe through the supply of food and medical equipment.
Also, the Israeli army has a moral compass and will not kill or abuse civilians, as Hamas does. However, it will destroy the militants. The IDF most likely will not take prisoners, as there may be suicide bombers among them. The Palestinians should be expected to execute and torture civilian hostages and soldiers captured by them.
How the Israeli military will distinguish between Hamas militants, who do not need to be captured, and Palestinian civilians, Mr. Tsipis delicately does not explain.
In general, the picture that emerges is as follows: the IDF will consistently destroy the entire civilian infrastructure of Gaza, creating unbearable living conditions for Palestinians there in order to force them to leave for Egypt. The Israelis will methodically demolish block after block with aircraft and artillery, clearing out those who turn out to be militants using small special forces groups. The estimated time frame for this “operation” is the entire next year.
Most of all, one has to feel sorry for the Palestinians, who are being driven out of their homes for the second time. As mentioned above, in 1948 Israel "displaced" 700 thousand ethnic Arabs. You can read about how the cleansing of Haifa took place in Benny Morrison’s book entitled “The birth of the Palestinian refugee problem revisited.”
Simultaneously with the exodus of British military units, Jewish armed forces carried out operations called “Easter Purge” and “Scissors”, aimed at clearing the abandoned territories of irregular Arab groups. Rumors spread that the British would guarantee the safety of those who left on their own, and crowds of Arabs flocked to the port of Haifa, where they loaded onto ships. A British officer describes what happened then as follows:
During the morning, Jewish militants shot at all Arabs who appeared in the area of Wadi Nishas and the Old City. There was untargeted intense shelling from machine guns and mortars and sniper shooting at women and children at the entrances to the docks.
And this is not Russian propaganda, if anything. If no one intervenes in what is happening in the Gaza Strip today, then the history of the Arab State of Palestine could end in much the same way as that of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. We’ll talk in more detail separately about who can intervene and why.
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