Israel's Actual Targets Are Law and Diplomacy

“The last picture of journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul, taken minutes before his car was directly targeted by an Israeli attack after finishing his report in front of the late Ismail Haniyeh’s house.”

Thanks for reading. To support this work, please go here.

I had this Q and A with a journalist today.

1. Ismail Haniyeh wasn't only a Hamas political bureau head but was also the top negotiator from the Hamas side. Does his assassination suggest that Israel is not interested in the ceasefire in Gaza?

Yes, but it's been clear for some time that Israel is not interested in a ceasefire. Some may be surprised that Israel would target the person it is supposedly negotiating with. They need to pay closer attention. In fact, the actual targets for Israel are law and diplomacy. The recent alleged "ceasefire" process was initiated by Joe Biden on May 31 when he claimed to unveil an Israeli proposal and demanded that Hamas accept. But Israel distanced itself from the proposal. The reason for this Biden statement was almost certainly because the US government sought to undermine the International Court of Justice orders of May 24. These orders came out of the South African case invoking the Genocide Convention. The ICJ had ordered that Israel stop its offensive in Rafah, which the Court stated began on May 7. The US government succeeded in getting the UN Security Council to push aside an Algerian resolution to implement that ICJ order. Instead, the US succeeded in getting the UNSC to pass a resolution which falsely claimed that Israel had accepted the ceasefire. Even Algeria voted for this baloney resolution, which made no mention of the ICJ orders. Increased lawlessness by Israel was almost certain, so the "international community" — especially the nations on the UNSC — bears responsibility. Additionally, other nations are responsible for the continued disasters because they have not forcefully used the General Assembly's "Uniting for Peace" mechanism to confront the US veto. The ICJ in another ruling recently further urged the UNSC and GA to enforce its ruling that Israel's occupation is illegal. 

2. The assassination came days after Netanyahu's visit to the US. Do you think Americans gave him the green light to carry out targeted attacks - Hezbollah commander in Beirut on Tuesday and Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday?

Yes, additionally, Netanyahu met with Trump as well as the Biden administration. It's possible that this means that Netanyahu is playing them off against each other, ensuring that each backs him even more than they ordinarily would. This dynamic is further degenerating US politics because so many people are naively backing Harris, as if she offers a meaningful break from the Biden administration's genocidal policies. I have put forward the VotePact.org strategy whereby a would-be Harris voter and a would-be Trump voter come together in pairs and both vote for the non-genocidal candidates of their choice. Unless the US public gets out of the dominance of the establishment genocidal parties, further disasters are extremely likely. 

3. Iran has vowed a stern response. Do you see major escalation happening?

Iran did not respond as forcefully as many expected to the assassination of Qasem Soleimani. Hezbollah has not attacked Israel as forcefully as Israel has attacked it. Israel attacks Syria with impunity. And of course it slaughters in Gaza with the world standing by. However, the Iranian attack on Israel in the spring I suspect was expected and effectively timed by Israel. Especially, the attack in retaliation for an Israeli attack in Syria came just before the G7 meeting and helped the US compel the G7 to back Israel even more strongly than it ordinarily would. Israel of course has a nuclear weapons arsenal and a biological weapons program. It has not signed the relevant treaties for either. It would seem to have escalation dominance. Other countries need to organize in terms of using embargoes and economic boycotts with sufficient vigor as was done against the South African apartheid government. I have seen estimates that 500,000 Israelis have left since Oct. 7. This may or may not be a vulnerability that Iran could utilize. We should note that there has been a marked increase recently in rhetoric against Iran from the US establishment, including from Blinken, Harris and Vance.