We have all called out former US President Joe Biden’s role in acting as the quartermaster general for Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza. And rightly so.
But Biden did more than enable a war to continue for 15 months. He laid the foundation for something much worse to follow. It was not just a case of impotence; it was malice aforethought.
That has now been put into words and policy by his successor, Donald Trump.
Staunch allies calling themselves friends of Israel are beginning to realise they are also friends of the murderers of western aid workers, friends of genocide and friends of fascism
Netanyahu’s game plan is now clear: prolong the war as long as possible; seal all the land borders, ending with Rafah; and make the sea the only escape route for Palestinians from Gaza.
Behind the hot words of condemnation, Biden and the EU have thus far played into his hands. The infrastructure for just such a plan is being built before our eyes, with Washington’s willing assistance. (…)
The plan for a maritime route to Gaza via Cyprus was initiated by Netanyahu, a senior diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post. “Netanyahu took the initiative to establish maritime humanitarian aid for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, in collaboration with the Biden administration,” the source said.
The date when this happened is more important than the identity of the scheme’s author. According to this report, Netanyahu outlined his strategy to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on 31 October, just three weeks after the Hamas attack, and revisited the matter with Biden on 19 January.
In other words, the floating pier was not a reaction to impending famine. It was part of the planning that created it.
Friday’s ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) drives something bigger and more powerful than a D9 bulldozer through the western position supporting Israel’s blitzkrieg on Gaza, which has continued for nearly four months.
The ruling establishes that what is going on in Gaza is not a war aimed at disabling an enemy militant group, but an operation aimed at disabling a people, and a nation. There can be no more momentous legal judgement in the history of the conflict, certainly in the current century.
This judgement reestablishes the morality, impartiality and standing of international law, and will show the impunity that Israel has been granted by its major arms suppliers and backers for what it is: a license to kill.