UN
agency for Palestinian refugees at 'breaking point': Press TV, Iran
I recommend this 10 minute video both for what the presenter and my fellow panelist said as they described Israel’s unconscionable efforts to destroy UNRWA, the main provider of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians inside and outside of Gaza, and also to what I was allowed to say regarding how this tragedy may yet be brought to a halt if the war widens, rather than contracts.
As I note here, there are relevant lessons from the original Holocaust perpetrated against European Jewry by Nazi Germany in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Modern day communications and journalistic practices mean that the world public is well aware day by day of the murderous attacks of the IDF on the civilians of Gaza, whereas the German killings of Jews and other minorities were known primarily to leaders in the West rather than to rank-in-file people in the ‘street.’ Nonetheless, foreign and military policy was and is made by leaders, not by the broad population and those leaders did not lift a finger against Nazi Germany until the outbreak of WWII. When they finally went to war it was for reasons that had nothing to do with the genocide being practiced.
So it is today. Most of humanity is outraged by what Israel is doing in Gaza. But governments in the region have not taken military action against Israel to save the Palestinians. The only forces that have acted are non state forces of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houtsis in Yemen. Everyone else is reasonably fearful of getting involved in a hot war with Israel given the vast destructive force that Tel Aviv commands, not to mention its nuclear arsenal.
As I say in this interview, Israel may yet be brought to heel because of the now irrational, hubristic mentality of Natanyahu and his cabinet. Netanyahu seems to want a wider war to hold onto power, and perhaps he should get one because only a real war can stop the genocide.
The wider war may yet come from the side of the Houtsis. From what looked like pitiful volleys of drones and missiles that were easily shot down by U.S. air defense several weeks ago, we saw how the Houtsis have in the past week seriously damaged a Qatari oil tanker, forcing its crew to abandon ship, and how they sank a British freighter in the Red Sea. Now, I understand that the Houthis have successfully attacked Eilat. We may suppose that their weaponry has been greatly improved, and how can that be? It is improbable that Iran would step in, due to the risks posed by the U.S. naval force in the Med. But it is well possible that the Russians are assisting the Houthis in the spirit of tit for tat, paying Britain and the U.S. back for their proxy war on Russia in Ukraine. If this conflict expands, if the fight between Hezbollah and the IDF becomes a war, then we may witness the showdown that will distract Israel from genocide and focus its attention on its own survival as a state.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2024
See UN agency for Palestinians refugees at 'breaking point': chief
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