Israel’s true objective in northern Gaza? Removing Palestinians – and annexing the territory | Ben Reiff
Settlers have been dreaming of a return to Gaza for nearly 20 years – and Trump’s presidency may only embolden them
- Ben Reiff is a senior editor at +972 magazine
Last week, Brig Gen Itzik Cohen, a senior IDF officer, quietly admitted what the international community has long been reluctant to acknowledge: that Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, and deceiving the world about its true objectives in the besieged territory. He made the admission during a closed briefing to Israeli journalists last Tuesday regarding the army’s activities in the north of the strip. Israel’s forces, he boasted, were getting closer to the “complete evacuation” of Jabaliya, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya – Gaza’s three northernmost cities, which have been under intense Israeli bombardment since early October. “There is no intention of allowing the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes,” Cohen continued, before adding that his “clear orders” were to “create a cleansed space”.
The army hastened to distance itself from Cohen’s comments after they garnered the attention of the international media: what may have sounded like war crimes, a spokesperson clarified, was merely a remark taken out of context. Yet what we see playing out on the ground in northern Gaza is exactly as Cohen described it: tens of thousands of civilians forced out of homes, shelters and hospitals, day after day, by airstrikes, artillery fire, quadcopter drones or armed battalions arriving at their door – who make sure to demolish or burn whatever is left behind.
Ben Reiff is a senior editor at +972 magazine
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...-
Palestinian officials say Israeli strikes in northern Gaza kill 22
World - ABC News - October 27 -
An Israeli strike kills 20 in north Gaza, where Palestinians say they've had little food for weeks
World - ABC News - November 5 -
Palestinians will not be allowed to return to homes in northern Gaza, says IDF
World - The Guardian - November 6 -
Palestinian agency says 12 killed in Israeli strike in northern Gaza
World - Yahoo News - 6 days ago -
Israeli strikes kill dozens in Lebanon and isolated northern Gaza while Netanyahu and Trump speak
World - ABC News - 2 days ago -
How much food is Israel letting into northern Gaza?
Top stories - BBC News - October 17 -
Israel accuses 6 Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza of being Palestinian militants
World - ABC News - October 23 -
Gaza aid fears as Israel bans UN Palestinian refugee agency
Top stories - BBC News - October 29 -
Strike on Gaza Hospital Destroys UN Supplies, Palestinian Officials Say
World - The New York Times - October 31
More from The Guardian
-
Republicans baffled after Trump picks ‘reckless’ Gaetz for attorney general
World - The Guardian - 58 minutes ago -
More than 800 million people around the world have diabetes, study finds
World - The Guardian - 3 hours ago -
Marine Le Pen: prosecutor recommends jail and 5 year ban from public office in EU embezzlement trial
World - The Guardian - 1 hour ago -
Pint-sized crustacean named after New Zealand brewery to boost interest in marine life
World - The Guardian - 1 hour ago -
Palau’s pro-US president wins second term, defeating pro-China brother-in-law
World - The Guardian - 2 hours ago
Latest in World
-
Dutch lawmaker Wilders wants to deport those convicted of violence against Israeli soccer fans
World - ABC News - 12 minutes ago -
US ambassador says Mexico 'closed the doors' on security cooperation and denies its violence problem
World - ABC News - 13 minutes ago -
India's Modi likely to find comfort in Trump's return and a shared worldview
World - ABC News - 13 minutes ago -
Protests erupt in Paris over pro-Israel gala organized by far-right figures
World - ABC News - 13 minutes ago -
Aid Deliveries to Gaza Remain Low Despite U.S. Warning to Israel
World - The New York Times - 42 minutes ago