Permanent occupation of Gaza is the Israeli plan
Permanent occupation of Gaza is the Israeli plan
Despite the legal, ethical and practical issues, Israel is moving towards a permanent military occupation of Gaza, with the real possibility of radical settlers building outposts.
With the Middle East on the precipice of regional war, it’s possible to miss the smaller, though no less important, details. This is about Gaza and the nearly one year of war the territory has suffered. The area is now largely uninhabitable, a key Israeli goal, and tens of thousands of Palestinians are dead.
Despite these grim realities, virtually every Western nation still backs the Jewish state and the US continues to provide weapons to Israel.
But for Israeli colonists, building outposts on the Gaza beachfront is the long-term vision.
It may sound extreme and unrealistic but you’d be a fool to ignore the growing calls to make it happen.
The editor of Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, Aluf Benn, recently explained the thinking in the Israeli government:
In practice, a long-term arrangement for "the day after" is being drawn up. Israel will control the northern Gaza Strip and drive out the 300,000 Palestinian still there. Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland, the war's ideologue, proposes starving them to death, or exiling them, as a lever with which to defeat Hamas. The Israeli right envisions a Jewish settlement of the area, with vast real estate potential of convenient topography, a sea view, and proximity to central Israel.
The 57-year experience of the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem indicates that this is a long process that requires a lot of patience and diplomatic maneuvering capability. No large Jewish city will be built in Gaza tomorrow, but progress will be made acre by acre, mobile home by mobile home, outpost by outpost - just like in Hebron, Elon Moreh, and Gilad Farm.
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Do not get confused: occupation is the goal Netanyahu is fighting for, even at the price of the remaining hostages dying, and at the risk of a regional war. The scaffolding holding up his regime, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, will stand in place so long as he seeks by word and deed a permanent occupation and creeping annexation of Gaza.
It’s just another step in the likely path of Israel becoming a Jewish theocratic state. These real possibilities in Gaza, alongside the surging violence and pogroms against Palestinians in the West Bank and Jewish settlers wanting to colonise southern Lebanon, herald an even darker period ahead.
I’m an independent journalist without any institutional backing. If you’re able to support me financially, by donating money to continue this work, I’d hugely appreciate it. You can find donating options in the menu bar at the top of my website.
My recent work has largely focused on the catastrophe in Gaza and I’ve spoken to media outlets including CNN, Sky News, Al Jazeera English and TRT World. There’s a small selection of my interviews below and you can see the rest on my website and YouTube channel:
What’s happening to Israeli society since 7 October? Dehumanisation of Palestinians on an industrial scale.
I explain to the US outlet, MintPress News:
Since my book, The Palestine Laboratory, was released in May 2023, I’ve been overwhelmed with the number of people around the world who are writing and talking about it, showing a huge interest in the issue.
Here’s just the latest:
Al-Shabaka is a US-based Palestinian think-tank. I recently spoke at an event on how Gaza has become a key testing ground for new Israeli weapons and surveillance tech:
My book, The Palestine Laboratory, is now out in a Brazilian edition to reach a massive new audience in one of the biggest nations on the planet. I love this cover so much:
My book is also now out in an Indian edition with a remarkable endorsement from one of the world’s leading historians, William Dalrymple:
The connections between the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the tools used to subjugate Palestinians have direct ties to the global border industrial complex. I discussed these issues with the great US publication, The Border Chronicle:
I’m honoured that my book is a short-list finalist in the Queensland Literary Awards, one of Australia’s major book awards:
The winner is announced on 5 September.
I’m happy to announce the release of a new book in the UK, Monstrous Anger of the Guns, on the global arms industry. My chapter is on how Israel is using Gaza as a testing ground:
In other recent news:
My interview with one of Spain’s biggest newspaper, El Mundo;
Following the recent release of the book, After Zionism, a title I co-edited with Palestinian Ahmed Moor, we spoke to The Fire These Times podcast about it;
Following the recent release of my book in an Arabic edition, I spoke to Al Jazeera Arabic about it;
Declassified Australia is an outlet that aims to investigates the dark reality of Australia’s relations with the world.
In the last month, we’ve covered the expansion of the US intelligence base, Pine Gap, in the centre of Australia, the arms trade with Israel in a time of genocide, Palestinians stuck in Gaza who can’t get to Australia even though they have valid visas and Australia’s unwillingness to challenge Israel even when one of its own citizens is killed.
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A friend sent me this photo taken in the biggest bookstore in Islamabad, Pakistan. It’s gratifying to see two of my recent books, The Palestine Laboratory and After Zionism, front and centre and changing minds 🍉👊🏼🤞.
You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter for constantly updated content. My website has information about all my work, books and documentary films stretching back to 2003.
I’m an independent journalist without any institutional backing. If you’re able to support me financially, by donating money to continue this work, I’d hugely appreciate it. You can find donating options in the menu bar at the top of my website.
Thanks very much for reading.
Take care.
Antony