Rafah, The Last Border Point for Palestinians, On Its Border with Egypt, Under Siege
By
Asad Mirza, New Age Islam
14 February
2024
It seems
that at last, the international community and leaders have become fully
exasperated with Israel over its continued aggression against Israel. The EU
Vice-Chief and US president have sharply criticised Netanyahu’s plans to lay
siege to Rafah.
A displaced Palestinian boy prepares a kite in Rafah on February 8, 2024
[Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]
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After
decimating Gaza completely, it seems that Israel is hell-bent on laying siege
to Rafah, the last border point for Palestinians, on its border with Egypt.
Israeli strategy right from day one, after it claimed the Hamas attack on 7
October, as an attack on its sovereignty and against Israeli citizens, is to
get the whole of Palestine cleared of Palestinians, so that in future it could
reinforce its claim to the ‘promised land’ for Jews only.
On this
point it also negates the history of the Abrahamic faiths, and instead of being
inclusive, by assimilating Christians and Muslims communities in Israel, it
lays claim to the whole of Israel, by displacing the original inhabitants of
Palestine – the land of Canaanites.
However,
the recent outrage expressed by international leaders, gives hope that the
international comity is coming together to isolate Israel, on its aggressive
policy towards Palestinians. The latest Israeli strategy is to decimate the
city of Rafah after more or less completely destroying the Gaza city and parts
of West Bank.
The
Vice-President and EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles sharply criticised the Biden administration for
ignoring the growing death toll in Gaza while, at the same time, providing
Israel with weapons to prop up its military campaign.
Speaking in
Brussels on Monday, hours after Israeli forces bombarded the southern Gazan
town of Rafah, the EU's foreign policy chief called on Washington to stop
pleading with Israel to cease the killing of civilians and to start “doing
something” instead.
Borrell
further said that if you believe that too many people are being killed, maybe
you should provide fewer arms in order to prevent so many people being killed.
Responding to Netanyahu’s statement that refugees in Rafah would be evacuated
from the area before a major military offensive, Borrell said: “Where? To the
moon? Where are they going to evacuate these people to?”
Israeli attacks on Rafah intensify
(Al
Jazeera)
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International
Outrage
The EU
reproach came hours after an appeals court in the Netherlands ordered the
government to halt deliveries of parts of F-35 fighter jets to Israel for fears
that Dutch exports could be contributing to violations of international law in
light of the ICJ ruling.
In
addition, outpourings by international leaders and various countries suggest
that more and more countries are now coming out against Israel and its policy
of apartheid against Palestinians.
Meanwhile,
the US administration has in recent months bypassed Congress to continue
sending weapons to Israel, whilst also calling for restraint in its war in
Gaza, which has claimed the lives of some 28,000 Palestinians, according to the
Hamas-run health ministry.
Senate
Democrats have in recent days pushed on the White House to consult Congress
before any future arms sales to Tel Aviv, fearing American complicity in the
devastation and humanitarian crisis wrecked on Gaza.
President
Biden responded to those calls last Thursday with an executive order
authorising the cut-off of military aid to foreign governments that do not
abide by international law. The memorandum claims to "strengthen" US
national security by "reinforcing respect for human rights, international
humanitarian law, democratic governance, and the rule of law," and hopes
to "reduce the risk of civilian harm."
It is
estimated that Israel has received more military aid from the US than any other
nation since the 1950s owing to a long-standing, bipartisan policy of support.
Data shows
that many other EU countries – including Italy and Germany – have also provided
Israel with some of the military equipment and components used in its
offensives.
Barcelona-based
Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau (Centre of Studies for Peace J.M. Delàs) in
one of its reports said that Europeans are together “one of Israel's main
suppliers of military systems and equipment” behind the US, and that member
states have licensed military contracts worth over €2 billion to Israel.
Organisations
like Amnesty International and the European Network Against Arms Trade (ENAAT)
have long called for a comprehensive arms embargo on both Israel and Hamas.
Rafah’s
Siege
Meanwhile,
in a somewhat encouraging development, US President Joe Biden has added his
voice to growing international calls for Israel to drop plans for an all-out
military assault on the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, after a ferocious
hostage rescue operation that killed dozens of Palestinians.
Speaking
after talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House on Monday, the US
president said that a major military operation in Rafah should not proceed
without a credible plan for ensuring the safety and support of more than one
million people sheltering there.
King
Abdullah echoed Biden’s appeal for a broad ceasefire, saying, “We cannot stand
by and let this continue. We need a lasting ceasefire now. This war must end.”
Borrell’s
sentiments were echoed in more diplomatic language by David Cameron, the
British foreign secretary, who said: “It really, we think, is impossible to see
how you can fight a war among these people, there is nowhere for them to go.”
Penny Wong,
the Australian foreign minister, also suggested that a failure to ensure
special care for civilians in Rafah would “cause serious harm to Israel’s own
interests.”
Last week,
her German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, warned that an Israeli offensive on
Rafah would be a “humanitarian catastrophe in the making. The people in Gaza
cannot disappear into thin air.”
Volker
Türk, the UN’s human rights chief, said: “The world must not allow this to
happen. Those with influence must restrain rather than enable.”
Hundreds of
thousands of families from other parts of Gaza who are now living in makeshift
tents in Rafah, which sits on the border with Egypt, have moved up to half a
dozen times in the past four months in desperate attempts to flee bombardment
and ground fighting.
Despite
mounting warnings from aid agencies and the international community that an
assault on Rafah would be catastrophic, Netanyahu has reiterated his intention
to extend Israel’s offensive. Hamas said a new advance into Rafah would “blow
up” continuing negotiations to return hostages in exchange for a ceasefire.
The only
encouraging sign emerging during the last week is that many European supporters
of Israel are coming out openly against Israel and its aggressive policies. Now
it remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to execute these sentiments into
real action on the ground or not.
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Asad Mirza is a Delhi-based senior political and
international affairs commentator.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/rafah-siege-palestinians-border-egypt/d/131716
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