William Hague sees Rafah as a “Hamas trap”. Affected civilians would be radicalized by an Israeli attack. This narrows the scope for peace negotiations.
London/Tel Aviv – Britain's former foreign minister William Hague warned Israel against an offensive on the southern city of Rafah Gaza Strip. The “fate” of the Middle East could be decided in a city bordering Egypt, he wrote in a guest article for the London newspaper Times. According to the ex-diplomat, the planned Israeli military offensive on Rafah would be a “fatal mistake” for both humanitarian and strategic reasons.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the country's armed forces to prepare an offensive on the Rafah. According to him, the last four combat battalions of the Islamist terrorist organization are located there Hamas condition. Israel's ultra-right government announced it would “dismantle” the terror group following the atrocities carried out by Hamas in southern Israeli communities on October 7.
Joe Biden calls on Netanyahu to have a “credible plan” for Palestinian civilians in Rafah
In Rafah, up to 1.4 million people sought protection from the heavy urban fighting and Israeli bombings during the war, which has now lasted four months, estimated the left-liberal Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz. US President Joe Biden demanded that Netanyahu come up with a “credible, actionable plan” to protect civilians. Israel is currently considering, according to Wall Street Journal, a resettlement of refugees to tent cities in other parts of the Gaza Strip. This should then administer Egypt. At the same time, there is a lot of noise in Egypt Times of Israel negotiated a six-week ceasefire. At the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Israel is currently defending itself against allegations of violating the Genocide Convention in the Gaza war.
Former British Foreign Minister “Deterrence” logic doesn’t work because Hamas doesn’t care about civilians
The logic behind it Israel The conservative former Foreign Minister Hague explained massive attacks on Hamas in the Gaza Strip as a “deterrent”. This is fundamentally understandable. She just has a mistake. Deterring attacks through military power and demonstrations of it only works against states and their armies. But if you are dealing with “armed groups” that “don’t care about the civilian population,” this logic not only fails. It is also an effective means of making things worse.
Rafah could be a “Hamas trap” – the future of the Middle East is at stake
Hague pointed to the tens of thousands of orphans left behind by the war between Israel and Hamas. If there is “no hope for peace” for them, they would one day “form even larger Hamas battalions,” said Hague. In his opinion, Israel has already experienced something similar. When the Israeli military withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and the Hezbollah Having recovered after 14 years of guerrilla warfare, it has become stronger “than ever before”.
If Israel Rafah now attacks, the “Hamas trap” threatens to spring shut. According to Hague, their goal, in accordance with Hamas's founding charter, is to prevent any negotiations on a two-state solution. This is the “only way” to lasting peace, he wrote, referring to his former boss and current Foreign Secretary David Cameron. Israel must not “narrow” the scope for this path by attacking Rafah and making the civilian population suffer in the process. The long-term perspective of the Middle East is at stake. (kb)
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