24 nov 2018

The result of the latest round of fighting in the besieged Gaza Strip, when the Israeli army tried to carry out a covert military operation even while the Egyptians were in the final stages of mediating a ceasefire between armed factions in Gaza and the Israeli government, proved that Palestinians can damage Israel, as never before. Israeli media provided some statistics in this regard that were unprecedented and, from an Israeli point of view, appalling.
The Israeli army killed seven Palestinians while attacking more than 160 targets; that was the usual story. What was new was that, in retaliation, 460 rockets were fired from Gaza, in just 25 hours. The barrage caused considerable damage in Israel, leaving at least two people dead and an unknown number injured. The Israeli “Iron Dome” anti-missile system managed, according to the media, to intercept around 100 rockets; the rest reached their targets. The difference this time was the accuracy of the projectiles and their explosive strength.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a trip to France and called an almost immediate halt to military action. His coalition government’s Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who ordered the botched covert operation, accused Netanyahu and the rest of the Israeli cabinet of cowardice and then resigned.
Human beings differ in their response to confrontation, so it is never really a good idea to call anyone a coward as it is often very subjective, while labelling a whole group as such is another thing altogether. Nevertheless, we should take Lieberman’s accusation seriously as it helps us to understand the collective mindset and values of the Israelis, not least because an opinion poll suggests that a majority of Jews in Israel opposed the ceasefire and thought that the army should have bombed Gaza even more.
There is no question that Israel has always demonstrated great brutality in its military action against the Palestinians. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are armed with the latest weapons and munitions which, when deployed against largely unarmed civilians — as they are in the Gaza Strip — can and do kill thousands of men, women and children and destroy the civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, water and electricity facilities, places of worship and homes.
Israel’s is a society unlike any other, built on land taken from other people; it is a state created by a UN resolution and follows an ideology forged in response to oppression in Europe and Russia. With Jewish citizens who have ostensibly fled from anti-Semitism in their home countries, how can they be asked to put their lives on the line in what is effectively a foreign country?
The answer to this been to create conditions whereby Israeli soldiers are well-trained, well-armed, feted as heroes and protected from legal accountability for breaches of international laws and conventions (as, indeed, the state itself is protected). Israel and its backers, principally the US government, have always sought to ensure that it maintains its military hegemony in the Middle East, enabling its troops to inflict death and destruction on others while being safe from serious opposition. These conditions have made many Israelis believe that they are omnipotent and able to act with arrogance towards everyone else.
Thus, if an Israeli soldier or civilian is killed as a direct consequence of the state’s aggressive military policies, it is catastrophic for society, not only because a life has been lost but also because it is realized that, like other human beings, they are vulnerable. There then usually follows a blame game: the authorities will blame “terrorists”; the people will blame the government for not protecting them; and the army will conduct a “thorough investigation” which will absolve itself of any blame, before declaring that the enemy will pay a heavy price as it reinstates the IDF’s deterrent factor.
The IDF has had a number of military setbacks recently. Unlike the wars against Arab armies, its offensives against the Palestinian factions are not so successful. Although Arab soldiers are usually better trained and equipped than Palestinian resistance fighters, they don’t have such good morale. Almost all Arab regimes are despotic in nature and demand loyalty by force, and many are making overtures for normalization of relations with Israel. Ordinary citizens, therefore, tend to suspect their government’s seriousness about fighting the Zionist state. Palestinians, on the other hand, are more obviously self-motivated, and have built a small but effective group of resistance forces.
Israel’s policies have gone more or less to plan for the past 20 years or so. All the major Arab armies have either been neutralized by peace treaties, such as the Egyptians and Jordanians; destroyed like the Iraqi army; or completely bogged down in civil wars, like the armed forces in Syria and Yemen. The rest are either intimidated or sidelined by ongoing normalization with Arab countries, especially in the Gulf. Even though it has always envisaged itself facing annihilation at the hands of the Arabs, Israel is now in a position to lead its neighbors in a potential confrontation with Iran. The government in Tehran is now Israel’s main bogeyman, while the Palestinian resistance in Gaza represents a smaller but costlier threat. The Arab public might support a war against Iran but will oppose a war against the Palestinians.
What’s more, there are rumors that Netanyahu’s plane stopped in Pakistan on its way to Oman recently. This was, apparently, followed by a speech in the Lower House of the Pakistani Parliament by the ruling party’s Asma Hadeed, which was described as being “pro-Jewish”. Pakistan suffers from chronic economic problems and the government of Imran Khan might be considering its relations with Israel. Indonesia seems to be on the same track; Vice President Jusuf Kalla met with Netanyahu at the UN General Assembly in New York in September in what he was quick to insist was not a pre-planned encounter. It is obvious, though, that he did not act on his own.
With a little push from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, who is in dire need of Israel’s support in the aftermath of the Jamal Khashoggi murder, we might be seeing the biggest Muslim countries knocking on Netanyahu’s door very soon. Another Israeli military offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza is likely to endanger all of these developments for which Israel longs.
Nevertheless, the current ceasefire in Gaza might not hold for long. Almost all Israeli politicians derive their public support from presenting themselves to voters as tough guys ready, able and willing to prevent another Holocaust. To demonstrate that they are more capable than their political opponents, they have to wade ever deeper in Palestinian blood. This might be essential for Netanyahu if he wants to win the next general election against his likely main opponents, Lieberman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett.
Lieberman’s resignation exposes how fragile Israel is. Despite Netanyahu’s acclaimed “diplomatic victories”, one military encounter with the besieged Gaza Strip was enough to strike a fatal blow to his government and might even bring it down. The simple conclusion to draw from all of this is that Israel does not survive because it is strong; it is where it is because it succeeds in weakening its enemies, no matter what the cost.
- Dr Mohammad Makram Balawi is a Palestinian writer and academic based in Istanbul. He is the president of Asia Middle East Forum. His article appeared in MEMO.
The Israeli army killed seven Palestinians while attacking more than 160 targets; that was the usual story. What was new was that, in retaliation, 460 rockets were fired from Gaza, in just 25 hours. The barrage caused considerable damage in Israel, leaving at least two people dead and an unknown number injured. The Israeli “Iron Dome” anti-missile system managed, according to the media, to intercept around 100 rockets; the rest reached their targets. The difference this time was the accuracy of the projectiles and their explosive strength.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a trip to France and called an almost immediate halt to military action. His coalition government’s Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who ordered the botched covert operation, accused Netanyahu and the rest of the Israeli cabinet of cowardice and then resigned.
Human beings differ in their response to confrontation, so it is never really a good idea to call anyone a coward as it is often very subjective, while labelling a whole group as such is another thing altogether. Nevertheless, we should take Lieberman’s accusation seriously as it helps us to understand the collective mindset and values of the Israelis, not least because an opinion poll suggests that a majority of Jews in Israel opposed the ceasefire and thought that the army should have bombed Gaza even more.
There is no question that Israel has always demonstrated great brutality in its military action against the Palestinians. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are armed with the latest weapons and munitions which, when deployed against largely unarmed civilians — as they are in the Gaza Strip — can and do kill thousands of men, women and children and destroy the civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, water and electricity facilities, places of worship and homes.
Israel’s is a society unlike any other, built on land taken from other people; it is a state created by a UN resolution and follows an ideology forged in response to oppression in Europe and Russia. With Jewish citizens who have ostensibly fled from anti-Semitism in their home countries, how can they be asked to put their lives on the line in what is effectively a foreign country?
The answer to this been to create conditions whereby Israeli soldiers are well-trained, well-armed, feted as heroes and protected from legal accountability for breaches of international laws and conventions (as, indeed, the state itself is protected). Israel and its backers, principally the US government, have always sought to ensure that it maintains its military hegemony in the Middle East, enabling its troops to inflict death and destruction on others while being safe from serious opposition. These conditions have made many Israelis believe that they are omnipotent and able to act with arrogance towards everyone else.
Thus, if an Israeli soldier or civilian is killed as a direct consequence of the state’s aggressive military policies, it is catastrophic for society, not only because a life has been lost but also because it is realized that, like other human beings, they are vulnerable. There then usually follows a blame game: the authorities will blame “terrorists”; the people will blame the government for not protecting them; and the army will conduct a “thorough investigation” which will absolve itself of any blame, before declaring that the enemy will pay a heavy price as it reinstates the IDF’s deterrent factor.
The IDF has had a number of military setbacks recently. Unlike the wars against Arab armies, its offensives against the Palestinian factions are not so successful. Although Arab soldiers are usually better trained and equipped than Palestinian resistance fighters, they don’t have such good morale. Almost all Arab regimes are despotic in nature and demand loyalty by force, and many are making overtures for normalization of relations with Israel. Ordinary citizens, therefore, tend to suspect their government’s seriousness about fighting the Zionist state. Palestinians, on the other hand, are more obviously self-motivated, and have built a small but effective group of resistance forces.
Israel’s policies have gone more or less to plan for the past 20 years or so. All the major Arab armies have either been neutralized by peace treaties, such as the Egyptians and Jordanians; destroyed like the Iraqi army; or completely bogged down in civil wars, like the armed forces in Syria and Yemen. The rest are either intimidated or sidelined by ongoing normalization with Arab countries, especially in the Gulf. Even though it has always envisaged itself facing annihilation at the hands of the Arabs, Israel is now in a position to lead its neighbors in a potential confrontation with Iran. The government in Tehran is now Israel’s main bogeyman, while the Palestinian resistance in Gaza represents a smaller but costlier threat. The Arab public might support a war against Iran but will oppose a war against the Palestinians.
What’s more, there are rumors that Netanyahu’s plane stopped in Pakistan on its way to Oman recently. This was, apparently, followed by a speech in the Lower House of the Pakistani Parliament by the ruling party’s Asma Hadeed, which was described as being “pro-Jewish”. Pakistan suffers from chronic economic problems and the government of Imran Khan might be considering its relations with Israel. Indonesia seems to be on the same track; Vice President Jusuf Kalla met with Netanyahu at the UN General Assembly in New York in September in what he was quick to insist was not a pre-planned encounter. It is obvious, though, that he did not act on his own.
With a little push from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, who is in dire need of Israel’s support in the aftermath of the Jamal Khashoggi murder, we might be seeing the biggest Muslim countries knocking on Netanyahu’s door very soon. Another Israeli military offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza is likely to endanger all of these developments for which Israel longs.
Nevertheless, the current ceasefire in Gaza might not hold for long. Almost all Israeli politicians derive their public support from presenting themselves to voters as tough guys ready, able and willing to prevent another Holocaust. To demonstrate that they are more capable than their political opponents, they have to wade ever deeper in Palestinian blood. This might be essential for Netanyahu if he wants to win the next general election against his likely main opponents, Lieberman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett.
Lieberman’s resignation exposes how fragile Israel is. Despite Netanyahu’s acclaimed “diplomatic victories”, one military encounter with the besieged Gaza Strip was enough to strike a fatal blow to his government and might even bring it down. The simple conclusion to draw from all of this is that Israel does not survive because it is strong; it is where it is because it succeeds in weakening its enemies, no matter what the cost.
- Dr Mohammad Makram Balawi is a Palestinian writer and academic based in Istanbul. He is the president of Asia Middle East Forum. His article appeared in MEMO.
23 nov 2018

Israeli soldiers attacked, Friday, the Great Return March processions on Palestinian lands near the perimeter fence in the besieged Gaza Strip, and shot fourteen Palestinians, including one child.
Medical sources said the soldiers stationed in their fortified posts across the fence, fired dozens of live rounds and high-velocity gas bombs at the protesters.
It added that the soldiers shot three Palestinians with live fire, and causing many to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation, east Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The soldiers also shot two Palestinians east of Gaza city, and east of Jabalia, in the northern part of the coastal region.
The Health Ministry in Gaza has reported that the soldiers have injured at least 14 Palestinians, and caused dozens to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation.
The processions are still ongoing, while hundreds of Palestinians continue to gather in and near the Great Return March encampments across the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip.
This week’s processions are dubbed as “Resistance Unites Us,” and marks the 35th consecutive week of ongoing processions.
Dozens of women also gathered in tents, and started baking bread and cookies on wood fire, as part of ongoing activities of the Great Return March processions.
Medical sources said the soldiers stationed in their fortified posts across the fence, fired dozens of live rounds and high-velocity gas bombs at the protesters.
It added that the soldiers shot three Palestinians with live fire, and causing many to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation, east Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
The soldiers also shot two Palestinians east of Gaza city, and east of Jabalia, in the northern part of the coastal region.
The Health Ministry in Gaza has reported that the soldiers have injured at least 14 Palestinians, and caused dozens to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation.
The processions are still ongoing, while hundreds of Palestinians continue to gather in and near the Great Return March encampments across the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip.
This week’s processions are dubbed as “Resistance Unites Us,” and marks the 35th consecutive week of ongoing processions.
Dozens of women also gathered in tents, and started baking bread and cookies on wood fire, as part of ongoing activities of the Great Return March processions.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Friday morning kidnapped three Palestinian fishermen and confiscated their boat off the northern coast of the besieged Gaza Strip.
A local committee documenting Israeli violations against Gaza fishermen said that an Israeli naval force kidnapped the fishermen, Mohamed al-Sultan, 27, Yousef Saadallah, 35, and Ahmed Saadallah, 25.
The committee added that Israeli gunboats intensively opened fire at the boat the fishermen were aboard off the shores of al-Sudaniya area in northern Gaza before rounding them up and towing their boat to an Israeli port.
Israeli gunboats are around Gaza fishermen almost every day, harassing them, shooting at them, damaging their boats, and making arrests. Sometimes fishermen are injured or killed during gunfire attacks.
Under the 1993 Oslo accords, Palestinian fishermen are permitted to fish up to 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, but since then Israel has kept reducing the fishing area gradually to a limit of three nautical miles as part of its blockade on Gaza.
Fishermen and human rights groups also say that, since the 2008-09 war in Gaza, the Israeli army has been regularly enforcing a limit even closer to the shore.
A local committee documenting Israeli violations against Gaza fishermen said that an Israeli naval force kidnapped the fishermen, Mohamed al-Sultan, 27, Yousef Saadallah, 35, and Ahmed Saadallah, 25.
The committee added that Israeli gunboats intensively opened fire at the boat the fishermen were aboard off the shores of al-Sudaniya area in northern Gaza before rounding them up and towing their boat to an Israeli port.
Israeli gunboats are around Gaza fishermen almost every day, harassing them, shooting at them, damaging their boats, and making arrests. Sometimes fishermen are injured or killed during gunfire attacks.
Under the 1993 Oslo accords, Palestinian fishermen are permitted to fish up to 20 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, but since then Israel has kept reducing the fishing area gradually to a limit of three nautical miles as part of its blockade on Gaza.
Fishermen and human rights groups also say that, since the 2008-09 war in Gaza, the Israeli army has been regularly enforcing a limit even closer to the shore.
22 nov 2018

The Israeli-Palestinian peace plan being prepared by US President Donald Trump is “a waste of time,” extremist Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said, on Wednesday.
Speaking before hundreds of ambassadors and attachés, at the Jerusalem Post Diplomats’ Conference, in Jerusalem, Shaked added that the differences between Israelis and Palestinians are too great.
“I want peace like everyone else,” she said, “but, I do not believe an agreement can be reached. I would tell Trump: ‘Do not waste your time.'”
Days of Palestine further reports that Shaked also spoke about the demand made by her party, the Jewish Home, to appoint party leader Naftali Bennett as defence minister – an ultimatum that threatens the stability of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
“The prime minister needs a strong defense minister at his side,” she said. “Unfortunately, he thought otherwise. We are a strong country, and Hamas is just a terror organization. But, in recent years, we’ve lost our deterrence.”
On Gaza, Shaked predicted the cease-fire will only last a few months, and then, “there will be no choice but to fight Hamas with all means.”
Earlier at the conference, Strategic Affair minister Gilad Erdan said that Israel is “closer than ever” to controlling parts, or all, of Gaza.
Erdan said that “moving from defense to offense against Hamas means targeted assassinations of leaders of Hamas’ military wing.”
This, Erdan said, “means being ready to take control of the Gaza Strip and hold it until we dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, Today we are closer than ever – since the devastating disengagement plan – to having to control parts of the Strip, or all of it.”
Speaking before hundreds of ambassadors and attachés, at the Jerusalem Post Diplomats’ Conference, in Jerusalem, Shaked added that the differences between Israelis and Palestinians are too great.
“I want peace like everyone else,” she said, “but, I do not believe an agreement can be reached. I would tell Trump: ‘Do not waste your time.'”
Days of Palestine further reports that Shaked also spoke about the demand made by her party, the Jewish Home, to appoint party leader Naftali Bennett as defence minister – an ultimatum that threatens the stability of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
“The prime minister needs a strong defense minister at his side,” she said. “Unfortunately, he thought otherwise. We are a strong country, and Hamas is just a terror organization. But, in recent years, we’ve lost our deterrence.”
On Gaza, Shaked predicted the cease-fire will only last a few months, and then, “there will be no choice but to fight Hamas with all means.”
Earlier at the conference, Strategic Affair minister Gilad Erdan said that Israel is “closer than ever” to controlling parts, or all, of Gaza.
Erdan said that “moving from defense to offense against Hamas means targeted assassinations of leaders of Hamas’ military wing.”
This, Erdan said, “means being ready to take control of the Gaza Strip and hold it until we dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, Today we are closer than ever – since the devastating disengagement plan – to having to control parts of the Strip, or all of it.”
21 nov 2018

Israel's Minister of Construction and Housing Yoav Galant on Wednesday threatened to assassinate Hamas's chief in the Gaza Strip Yahya al-Sinwar.
For his part, Israel's Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, speaking at a Jerusalem conference, said that Israel is close to re-occupying the Gaza Strip.
Erdan affirmed that Israel is "closer than ever" to re-taking over the coastal enclave and "must move from defense to offense", which means "targeted killings of Hamas leaders".
Israel over the past ten years has waged three military assaults on the Gaza Strip. The first started on 27 December 2008, lasted for 21 days, and led to the killing of 1,436 Palestinians, including 410 children, 104 women, and 100 elderly people. Over 5,400 were injured, half of whom were children.
The second assault flared up on 14 November 2012 and lasted for eight days. The Israeli army killed 162 Palestinians, including 42 children and 11 women, while nearly 1,300 were injured.
The third assault was the longest. It lasted for 51 days, killing 2,322 Palestinians, 578 of whom were children, 489 were women, and 102 were elderly people. About 11,000 Palestinians suffered different injuries.
Last week the Israeli army launched a two-day military operation on the Gaza Strip and killed 14 Palestinians.
Seven resistance fighters were killed in clashes with an Israeli special force that sneaked into Khan Younis city in the southern area of the Gaza Strip, while seven Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli airstrikes on different targets.
For his part, Israel's Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, speaking at a Jerusalem conference, said that Israel is close to re-occupying the Gaza Strip.
Erdan affirmed that Israel is "closer than ever" to re-taking over the coastal enclave and "must move from defense to offense", which means "targeted killings of Hamas leaders".
Israel over the past ten years has waged three military assaults on the Gaza Strip. The first started on 27 December 2008, lasted for 21 days, and led to the killing of 1,436 Palestinians, including 410 children, 104 women, and 100 elderly people. Over 5,400 were injured, half of whom were children.
The second assault flared up on 14 November 2012 and lasted for eight days. The Israeli army killed 162 Palestinians, including 42 children and 11 women, while nearly 1,300 were injured.
The third assault was the longest. It lasted for 51 days, killing 2,322 Palestinians, 578 of whom were children, 489 were women, and 102 were elderly people. About 11,000 Palestinians suffered different injuries.
Last week the Israeli army launched a two-day military operation on the Gaza Strip and killed 14 Palestinians.
Seven resistance fighters were killed in clashes with an Israeli special force that sneaked into Khan Younis city in the southern area of the Gaza Strip, while seven Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli airstrikes on different targets.
20 nov 2018

The botched Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip on 12 November is delineating Tel Aviv’s failure to utilize its army as a tool to achieve Palestinian political concessions.
Now that Palestinian popular resistance has gone global through the exponential rise and growing success of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement, the Israeli government is fighting two desperate wars.
Following the Gaza attack, Palestinians responded by showering the southern Israeli border with rockets and carried out a precise operation targeting an Israeli army bus. As Palestinians marched in celebration of pushing the Israeli army out of their besieged enclave, the fragile political order in Israel – long-managed by right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – was quickly unraveling.
Two days after the Israeli attack on Gaza, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman quit in protest of Netanyahu’s ‘surrender’ to the Palestinian resistance. Israeli leaders are in a precarious situation. Untamed violence comes at a price of international condemnation and a Palestinian response that is bolder and more strategic every time. However, failing to teach Gaza its proverbial ‘lesson’ is viewed as an act of surrender by opportunistic Israeli politicians.
While Israel is experiencing such limitations on the traditional battlefield, which it once completely dominated, its war against the global BDS movement is surely a lost battle. Israel has a poor track record in confronting civil society-based mobilization. Despite the vulnerability of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, it took the Israeli government and military seven long years to pacify the Intifada, the popular uprising of 1987. Even on this, the jury is still out on what truly ended the popular revolt.
Of course, it should be accepted that a global Intifada is much more difficult to suppress, or even contain. Yet, when Israel began to sense the growing danger of BDS – which was officially launched by Palestinian civil society in 2005 – it responded with the same superfluous and predictable pattern: arrests, violence and a torrent of laws that criminalize dissent at home, while unleashing an international campaign of intimidation and smearing of boycott activists and organisations.
This approach achieved little, aside from garnering BDS more attention and international solidarity. However, Israel’s war on the movement took a serious turn last year when Netanyahu’s government dedicated about $72 million to defeat the civil society-led campaign.
Utilizing the ever-willing US government to boost its anti-BDS tactics, Tel Aviv feels assured that its counter-BDS efforts in the US are off to a promising start. However, it is only recently that Israel has begun to formulate the wider European component of its global strategy.
In a two-day conference in Brussels earlier this month, Israeli officials and their European supporters unleashed their broader European anti-BDS campaign. Organised by the European Jewish Association (EJA) and the Europe Israel Public Affairs group (EIPA), the conference was fully supported by the Israeli government and featured right-wing Israeli Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Ze’ev Elkin.
Under the usual pretext of addressing the danger of anti-Semitism in Europe, attendees deliberately conflated racism and any criticism of Israel, of its military occupation and colonization of Palestinian land. The EJA Annual Conference has raised Israel’s manipulation of the term ‘anti-Semitism’ to a whole new level, as it drafted a text that will purportedly be presented to prospective members of the European Parliament (MEPs), demanding their signature before running in next May’s elections. Those who decline to sign – or worse, repudiate the Israeli initiative – are likely to find themselves fending off accusations of racism and anti-Semitism.
Yet this was certainly not the first conference of its kind. The anti-BDS euphoria that has swept Israel in recent years yielded several crowded and passionate conferences in luxurious hotels, where Israeli officials openly threatened BDS activists such as Omar Barghouti. Barghouti was warned by a top Israeli official during a 2016 conference in Jerusalem of “civil assassination” for his role in the organisation of the movement.
In March 2017, the Israeli Knesset passed the Anti-BDS Travel Ban, which requires the Interior Minister to deny entry to the country to any foreign national who “knowingly issued a public call to boycott the state of Israel”. Since the ban went into effect, many BDS supporters have been detained, deported and barred from entering the country.
While Israel has demonstrated its ability to galvanize self-serving US and European politicians to support its cause, there is no evidence that the BDS movement is being quelled or weakened in any way. On the contrary, Israel’s strategy has raised the ire of many activists, civil society and civil rights groups who are angered by its attempt at subverting freedom of speech in western countries.
Just recently, the University of Leeds in the UK has joined many other campuses around the world in divesting from Israel. The tide is, indeed, turning.
Decades of Zionist indoctrination failed, not only in reversing the vastly-changing public opinion on the Palestinian struggle for freedom and rights, but even in preserving the once solid pro-Israel sentiment among young Jews, most notably in the US. For BDS supporters, however, every Israeli strategy presents an opportunity to raise awareness of Palestinian rights and to mobilize civil society around the world against Israel’s occupation and racism.
BDS’ success is attributed to the very reason Israel is failing to counter its efforts: it is a disciplined model of popular, civil resistance based on engagement, open debate and democratic choices, while grounded in international and humanitarian law.
Israel’s ‘war-chest’ will run dry in the end, for no amount of money could have saved the racist, Apartheid regime in South Africa when it came tumbling down decades ago. Needless to say, $72 million will not turn the tide in favor of Apartheid Israel, nor will it change the course of history that can only belong to those people who are unrelenting when it comes to achieving their long-coveted freedom.
- Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle.
Now that Palestinian popular resistance has gone global through the exponential rise and growing success of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement, the Israeli government is fighting two desperate wars.
Following the Gaza attack, Palestinians responded by showering the southern Israeli border with rockets and carried out a precise operation targeting an Israeli army bus. As Palestinians marched in celebration of pushing the Israeli army out of their besieged enclave, the fragile political order in Israel – long-managed by right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – was quickly unraveling.
Two days after the Israeli attack on Gaza, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman quit in protest of Netanyahu’s ‘surrender’ to the Palestinian resistance. Israeli leaders are in a precarious situation. Untamed violence comes at a price of international condemnation and a Palestinian response that is bolder and more strategic every time. However, failing to teach Gaza its proverbial ‘lesson’ is viewed as an act of surrender by opportunistic Israeli politicians.
While Israel is experiencing such limitations on the traditional battlefield, which it once completely dominated, its war against the global BDS movement is surely a lost battle. Israel has a poor track record in confronting civil society-based mobilization. Despite the vulnerability of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, it took the Israeli government and military seven long years to pacify the Intifada, the popular uprising of 1987. Even on this, the jury is still out on what truly ended the popular revolt.
Of course, it should be accepted that a global Intifada is much more difficult to suppress, or even contain. Yet, when Israel began to sense the growing danger of BDS – which was officially launched by Palestinian civil society in 2005 – it responded with the same superfluous and predictable pattern: arrests, violence and a torrent of laws that criminalize dissent at home, while unleashing an international campaign of intimidation and smearing of boycott activists and organisations.
This approach achieved little, aside from garnering BDS more attention and international solidarity. However, Israel’s war on the movement took a serious turn last year when Netanyahu’s government dedicated about $72 million to defeat the civil society-led campaign.
Utilizing the ever-willing US government to boost its anti-BDS tactics, Tel Aviv feels assured that its counter-BDS efforts in the US are off to a promising start. However, it is only recently that Israel has begun to formulate the wider European component of its global strategy.
In a two-day conference in Brussels earlier this month, Israeli officials and their European supporters unleashed their broader European anti-BDS campaign. Organised by the European Jewish Association (EJA) and the Europe Israel Public Affairs group (EIPA), the conference was fully supported by the Israeli government and featured right-wing Israeli Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Ze’ev Elkin.
Under the usual pretext of addressing the danger of anti-Semitism in Europe, attendees deliberately conflated racism and any criticism of Israel, of its military occupation and colonization of Palestinian land. The EJA Annual Conference has raised Israel’s manipulation of the term ‘anti-Semitism’ to a whole new level, as it drafted a text that will purportedly be presented to prospective members of the European Parliament (MEPs), demanding their signature before running in next May’s elections. Those who decline to sign – or worse, repudiate the Israeli initiative – are likely to find themselves fending off accusations of racism and anti-Semitism.
Yet this was certainly not the first conference of its kind. The anti-BDS euphoria that has swept Israel in recent years yielded several crowded and passionate conferences in luxurious hotels, where Israeli officials openly threatened BDS activists such as Omar Barghouti. Barghouti was warned by a top Israeli official during a 2016 conference in Jerusalem of “civil assassination” for his role in the organisation of the movement.
In March 2017, the Israeli Knesset passed the Anti-BDS Travel Ban, which requires the Interior Minister to deny entry to the country to any foreign national who “knowingly issued a public call to boycott the state of Israel”. Since the ban went into effect, many BDS supporters have been detained, deported and barred from entering the country.
While Israel has demonstrated its ability to galvanize self-serving US and European politicians to support its cause, there is no evidence that the BDS movement is being quelled or weakened in any way. On the contrary, Israel’s strategy has raised the ire of many activists, civil society and civil rights groups who are angered by its attempt at subverting freedom of speech in western countries.
Just recently, the University of Leeds in the UK has joined many other campuses around the world in divesting from Israel. The tide is, indeed, turning.
Decades of Zionist indoctrination failed, not only in reversing the vastly-changing public opinion on the Palestinian struggle for freedom and rights, but even in preserving the once solid pro-Israel sentiment among young Jews, most notably in the US. For BDS supporters, however, every Israeli strategy presents an opportunity to raise awareness of Palestinian rights and to mobilize civil society around the world against Israel’s occupation and racism.
BDS’ success is attributed to the very reason Israel is failing to counter its efforts: it is a disciplined model of popular, civil resistance based on engagement, open debate and democratic choices, while grounded in international and humanitarian law.
Israel’s ‘war-chest’ will run dry in the end, for no amount of money could have saved the racist, Apartheid regime in South Africa when it came tumbling down decades ago. Needless to say, $72 million will not turn the tide in favor of Apartheid Israel, nor will it change the course of history that can only belong to those people who are unrelenting when it comes to achieving their long-coveted freedom.
- Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle.

Israeli navy ships opened fire, on Tuesday morning, at several Palestinian fishing boats, while the soldiers invaded agricultural lands, in the Gaza Strip.
Media sources in Gaza said several armored military vehicles, stationed at Abu Safiya army base, across the perimeter fence, invaded farmlands, east of the al-Maghazi refugee camp, in central Gaza.
They added that the army vehicles, including bulldozers, advanced nearly 100 meters into the lands, and bulldozed sections close to the fence.
In addition, the Israeli navy ships fired many live rounds at fishing boats, in Palestinian territorial waters close to the shore, in the northern part of the coastal region.
Media sources in Gaza said several armored military vehicles, stationed at Abu Safiya army base, across the perimeter fence, invaded farmlands, east of the al-Maghazi refugee camp, in central Gaza.
They added that the army vehicles, including bulldozers, advanced nearly 100 meters into the lands, and bulldozed sections close to the fence.
In addition, the Israeli navy ships fired many live rounds at fishing boats, in Palestinian territorial waters close to the shore, in the northern part of the coastal region.
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Truce violations List of names Pictures of martyrs
Days: Aug: 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
July: 31 - 30 - 29 - 28 - 27 - 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8