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 Click here for an overview by week in 2024

Special reports: Updates January and earlier, 2025-'24: Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war & Sense of impunity 'absolute' & No food, no sleep, no hope in Gaza and related report & Genocide in Gaza: Silence is complicity Previous reports: Al-Shifa was a dream and a nightmare & Why is hypothermia killing Gaza’s children? & Gaza's 2024: A year of war and misery 2 Stories & When burning hospitals are no longer news 2 Stories & Genocide in Gaza: Silence is complicity and earler stories  Overview special reports

November 28 - 24 and earler stories, 2024 Is Netanyahu immune from ICC arrest warrant-NO!   TRIBUTES TO MOTHERS AND CHILDREN

Shireen Abu Akleh In commemoration of Shireen Abu Akleh, the 'voice of Al Jazeera' killed while revealing the true face of israel Updated: December 6, 2024: Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war   Click here for earlier stories/news

Actual news January 17 - 13, 2025 A ceasefire has been reached but the milions-people life question is if the idf-led carnage/bloodshed will stop? And more actual news   January 19 - 14, 2025 Pre-ceasefire & Post-Ceasefire

January 13 - 10,2025 Food for thought Hitler once used the tactic of 'scorched earth' knowing too well he was about to lose all. So netanyahu, eat your 'heart' out, loser. Gino d'Artali Read more and decide for yourself    December 30 - 26, 2024 'Betrayed' and 'abandoned' Sixth baby dies from severe cold

December 10 - 7, 2024 Food for thought: 'The next one' as seen by an Iranian activist cartoonnist and yes, with the fall of assad it most likely is a matter of time before the next ones, netanyahu, khamenei, erdogan and others, will follow. Gino d'Artali Read more and decide for yourself

 When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali.

 

Al Jazeera - Jan 19 2025 - By Mohamed Solaimane
<<Palestinians in Gaza desperate to travel abroad for life-saving treatment
Palestinians await ceasefire and the reopening of the Rafah crossing to get the crucial medical treatment they need to survive.
Khan Younis and Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine - In a small apartment in Khan Younis, surrounded by a war-torn landscape as far as the eyes can see, Abeer al-Awady counts the minutes until the much-anticipated ceasefire.
Her daughter Hanaa's life depends on it.
The 15-year-old lets out a piercing cry whenever Abeer lifts the blanket shielding her face. Even the faintest glimmer of light triggers excruciating pain in the teenager's sensitive, swollen eyes, leaving Abeer with no choice but to heed her daughter's agonised pleas to be covered again. Beneath the blanket lies a face marked by the relentless toll of cancer. A red mass protrudes from her left eye, her head appears shrunken, and her frail arms barely move. Her weakened voice and constant cries tell of the pain she's endured since her diagnosis three months ago. Abeer prays that the Rafah crossing, which Gaza shares with Egypt and has been sealed shut by Israel since its ground operation in the southernmost region of the enclave in May, opens as soon as the ceasefire comes into effect early Sunday. "I don't know how much longer Hanaa will survive," she said. For thousands of wounded Palestinians in Gaza and patients like Hanaa, the ceasefire agreed to by the Israeli cabinet on Saturday after much political tension, is more than a diplomatic milestone; it’s a matter of survival. The Rafah crossing is expected to open as part of the deal, allowing Palestinians in Gaza to leave for medical treatment. The territory's healthcare sector has been ravaged by the war, depleting it of human resources, equipment and infrastructure, and medical staff who have braved Israeli attacks and are left with little to offer their patients. "There is nothing that Gaza's healthcare sector could offer these critical conditions: no medication, no specialists, no operations or procedures, no proper equipment," Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Medical Complex and head of the Department of Treatment Abroad, told Al Jazeera, adding that for many the only chance of survival is treatment abroad. The ceasefire is set to ease the exit of Gaza Palestinians in need of medical treatment through the Rafah border crossing. "The details of where patients will go for treatment are still not clear. The 5,300 Gazans who left for treatment since October 2023 went to Arab and European nations, as well as the US. It is still not clear the countries to which these cases will go," noted Abu Salmiya.
Death sentence
For Abeer, who also has two sons, the Rafah crossing is their family’s only hope to hold onto her Hanaa. "Hanaa diagnosis' felt like a death sentence for our family," said Abeer, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face. "But to watch her condition worsen daily, with nothing that we or anyone in Gaza can offer, is another level of torment." The family's ordeal began when Hanaa’s eyes swelled, prompting a visit to an eye doctor who referred her immediately to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. There, tests confirmed the devastating news: Hanaa had cancer, with multiple tumours in her head. Abeer recounted how her once-energetic daughter, despite being born with cerebral atrophy and having a speech impairment, had thrived with sharp hearing, clear vision, and a zest for life. But since her diagnosis, Hanaa has lost her sight completely, and her hearing is rapidly deteriorating. A massive tumour in her throat has also meant she’s unable to eat, and she now relies on a feeding tube connected to her stomach.
For three months, Hanaa has received no cancer treatment due to the lack of medical supplies in Gaza. "All she gets are painkillers to help her sleep," Abeer said. "If it weren't for this war and the blockade, Hanaa could have started treatment and recovered. Instead, her condition has worsened, robbing her of her senses and leaving her motionless."
Patients dying every day
According to Abu Salmiya, there are 20,000 patients and wounded Palestinians in Gaza in need of treatment, of whom 12,000 are in dire conditions. "Nearly 6,000 people wounded by the war need urgent treatment in facilities abroad. These include roughly 4,000 amputees, and more than 2,000 cases sustaining serious injuries to their backbone and their spinal cord, resulting in crippling and paralysis," he said. In a speech delivered at a United Nations Security Council meeting on January 3, Dr Rik Peeperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) representative for the West Bank and Gaza, said more than a quarter of the 105,000 civilians injured during the 15-month Israeli pounding of Gaza face "life-changing injuries". Describing hospitals as "battlegrounds", UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk quoted WHO figures of 654 attacks on healthcare facilities, leading to 886 deaths and 1,349 injuries. According to the organisation, more than 1,000 healthcare workers have been killed since October 2023, adding further strain to an overstretched healthcare system, in which only 16 out of Gaza's 36 hospitals are partially operational, and as few as 1,800 beds are available. "We're losing patients with conditions that we could've easily handled if not for the war. We've lost nearly 25 percent of our dialysis patients. Infants with heart conditions are dying on a daily basis in incubators because we cannot operate on them. As many as 20 patients of curable illnesses die every day in front of helpless staff," noted Abu Salmiya. For those critical conditions, exiting the territory has been "a tedious and futile process", especially since the closure of the Rafah crossing, added the official. "Israel's restrictions at the Karem Abu Salem [Kerem Shalom] border crossing [between Gaza and Israel] meant many weren't allowed to leave although they were given the green light to. For instance, infants would be given permission to go, but without their mothers," he explained. Only 490 medical conditions were allowed to leave the territories since May. "Out of 12,000 critical conditions, 490 is nothing," commented Abu Salmiya. According to Abu Salmiya, a ceasefire must be accompanied by an influx of resources and an ease of departure for patients going out. "We urgently need plastic and burn surgeons, bone restoration consultants, as well as consultants in neurosurgery, vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, thoracic surgery, maxillofacial surgery and cardiac surgery," he said. He also called on the WHO, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to "ensure the safe and timely departure of medical cases to be hospitalised around the world, bearing in mind that most have lost their travel documents amidst the war and displacement," pleaded the official.
Desperate hopes in Nasser Hospital
At Khan Younis's Nasser Hospital, 14-year-old Raghd al-Farra lies in a hospital bed, barely able to speak. Her dream of surviving her injuries and living a normal life depends on receiving treatment outside Gaza. Raghd was critically injured on July 22, 2024, when an Israeli air strike hit her family’s home. "The pain never ends," she said, her words slow and strained. Raghd has spent most of the past six months in the hospital, moving between departments for nerve, bone, and abdominal care. Her mother, Shadia al-Farra, recounted the day their home was bombed. Shadia and three of her daughters, including Raghd, were on the upper floor, while her husband and their youngest child were downstairs. "The walls collapsed around us," she said. The strike also destroyed a neighbouring home, killing its occupants. Raghd's injuries were severe. Doctors diagnosed her with two spinal fractures, complex fractures in her right leg, and massive internal bleeding. She underwent emergency surgery to remove her spleen and parts of her lungs, but her condition remains critical. "She still has severe fibrosis and other abdominal complications that require treatment unavailable in Gaza," her mother said. In late August, doctors at Nasser Hospital prepared a file for Raghd's transfer abroad, submitting it to Israeli authorities through WHO in mid-September. However, no approval has been granted, and Raghd's condition continues to decline. She struggles to breathe, move, or eat, and recently had her tonsils removed to address further complications. Shadia fears her daughter's time is running out. "If Rafah doesn't open soon, Raghd won't survive. Her life depends on specialised care that Gaza cannot provide," she said. The stakes are high for patients and their families, who have endured immense suffering during the 15-month war. "Our children are dying in front of our eyes," Shadia said. "We are powerless because our medical system is overwhelmed. The ceasefire and Rafah’s reopening are our only hope."
This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/19/palestinians-in-gaza-desperate-to-travel-abroad-for-life-saving-treatment

France24 - Jan 18 2025
<<Netanyahu likely to resist troop withdrawal from Gaza, expert says
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is likely to resist the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal which would see Israeli troops pull out of Gaza, said Ahron Bregman, department of war studies senior teaching fellow at King’s College London. "For him, to completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip is to admit that he failed to achieve the most important aim of the war: to topple Hamas". >>
Video: https://www.france24.com/en/video/20250118-netanyahu-likely-to-resist-troop-withdrawal-from-gaza-expert-says

Al Jazeera - Jan 18 2025
<<Palestine's President Abbas says ready to govern Gaza after ceasefire deal
Palestinian president reiterates call for 'an immediate ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal' from besieged territory. Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas has said that the Palestinian Authority (PA) was ready to assume "full responsibility" in post-war Gaza, in his first statement since a ceasefire deal was announced between Israel and Hamas. "The Palestinian government, under president Abbas' directives, has completed all preparations to assume full responsibility in Gaza," a presidency statement said on Friday. It would include the return of the displaced, providing basic services, crossings management and reconstruction of the war-torn territory. The statement, published by the Palestinian Wafa news agency, also reiterated the call of Abbas's government "of the necessity of an immediate ceasefire in and full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip". While Hamas has exercised full control in Gaza since 2007, the PA, dominated by the Fatah movement, runs the West Bank which has been occupied by the Israeli forces. Currently, Israel has no definitive stance on post-war governance beyond rejecting any role for both Hamas and the PA. Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly opposed Hamas or the PA ruling the Palestinian territory, describing either scenario as "a reward" for the October 7, 2023 attack. However, outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that the PA should run the coastal territory. Palestinian leaders across factions have long said that Gaza's future is for them to decide, rejecting any outside interference. On Friday, Palestine's Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said government institutions were ready to step up their work and restore basic services in Gaza, while calling on the European Union (EU) to redeploy a monitoring mission to the Rafah border crossing and help facilitate the entry of aid. "The Palestinian ministers have clear instructions on what to do from the moment the ceasefire begins. We have a 100-day plan for the day after," Mustafa was quoted by the Belga News Agency as saying during his trip to Brussels.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/18/palestinian-authority-says-ready-to-govern-gaza-after-ceasefire

Al Jazeera - Jan 17 2025 - By Ali Harb
<<Gaza atrocities will 'haunt' Antony Blinken, says former US diplomat
Hala Rharrit calls for accountability for US officials who ensured the flow of arms to Israel despite abuses in Gaza.
Washington, DC - Israel's devastating offensive in Gaza - and the United States' support for it - will "haunt" outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken for the rest of his life, says a former diplomat, who quit in protest over the war last year. Hala Rharrit told Al Jazeera in a phone interview that the administration of President Joe Biden is skirting the US's own regulations by continuing to arm Israel despite well-documented abuses in Gaza. "They are willfully - and I don't say that word lightly, willfully - violating and evading US law," said Rharrit, who resigned from the US State Department in April. "When I became a diplomat, I swore an oath to defend the Constitution. They are circumventing the process to continue the flow of arms, knowing how catastrophic that is. For me, it's really unforgivable, and it is criminal." There are several US laws that prohibit weapon transfers to human rights abusers, including a ban on security assistance to countries that block Washington-backed humanitarian aid. The Leahy Law also restricts US aid to military units that are credibly accused of gross human rights violations, such as extrajudicial killings, torture and rape.
Moreover, the Biden administration has adopted a policy, dubbed National Security Memorandum 20, requiring allies that receive US weapons to provide credible assurances that they are not using the arms in violation of international humanitarian law. Despite these safeguards, the US has continued to supply Israel - a country that leading rights groups say is committing genocide in Gaza - with billions of dollars in weapons. Israel has killed at least 46,876 people in Gaza. It has also imposed a suffocating siege on the territory that sparked a deadly, man-made hunger crisis.
Last year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges of war crimes, including using "starvation as a method of warfare". Yet, Blinken has certified to Congress that Israel is not blocking humanitarian assistance to Gaza - an assessment that aid groups have rejected. Blinken's State Department has also been accused of failing to act on allegations of abuse by Israeli soldiers under the Leahy Law, prompting a recent lawsuit against the Biden administration, led by Palestinians and Palestinian Americans. And so, critics say Blinken has been instrumental in ensuring that Israel continues to receive the US weapons it uses to decimate Gaza. Blinken also oversaw the US delegation to the United Nations, which vetoed four Security Council resolutions that would have called for a ceasefire in Gaza. The top US diplomat - who has a long history of staunch pro-Israel advocacy - has faced Palestinian rights protesters at congressional hearings, in the streets and even in front of his home. Just this week, several activists interrupted Blinken's remarks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, calling him the "secretary of genocide". And on Thursday, at Blinken's final appearance in the State Department's press briefing room, a journalist was forcibly removed for repeated questions about Blinken's complicity in Israel's alleged war crimes.
Rharrit said it is natural to object to "massacres and human beings being butchered", predicting that Blinken will continue to be confronted by protesters after leaving his post on Monday. "This will haunt him for the rest of his life," the former diplomat told Al Jazeera. "History, for sure, will judge him, and it is already doing so today. The question is: In future administrations, will there actually be accountability for the crimes that were committed under this administration?" The war in Gaza appears to be nearing a conclusion after a ceasefire agreement was reached this week, following reports of intervention from incoming President-elect Donald Trump. For months, Israeli officials have pledged to push on with the war, and Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has openly bragged about thwarting attempts to reach a deal that would end the conflict and lead to the release of Israeli captives in Gaza. However, Blinken continues to insist that Hamas "played the spoiler" in talks over the deal. "I'll tell you very bluntly, Blinken is lying," Rharrit said. The ex-diplomat worked at the State Department for 18 years and served as an Arabic language spokesperson before quitting last year. She is one of several US officials who resigned from the Biden administration over the uncompromising US support for Israel. Rharrit said she is grateful that she left her post because she felt like she was being "silenced" when voicing concerns about US policy. "I don't think as diplomats we are meant to enforce or implement illegal or inhumane policies and also ones that are fundamentally contradictory to US national security interests," she told Al Jazeera.
"So there was no way for me to be able to remain under those conditions." >>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/17/gaza-atrocities-will-haunt-antony-blinken-says-former-us-diplomat

France 24 - Jan 17 2025
<<All eyes on Gaza: United Arab Emirates positions itself for post-war period
With Israel and Hamas on the cusp of a ceasefire in Gaza, our reporters investigated the strategy of the United Arab Emirates in the region. The oil and gas-rich Gulf monarchy - a Middle Eastern heavyweight which has a strong rivalry with neighbouring Qatar - is spreading its influence and preparing for the period after the war, when the bombs will finally fall silent in the Gaza Strip and focus will turn to reconstruction. In recent years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has played a leading role in the normalisation of ties with Israel, with the signature of the Abraham Accords in 2020. But amid criticism for this rapprochement with the Jewish state, the Gulf monarchy wants to polish its image in the Middle East, where public opinion is strongly supportive of the Palestinian cause. Abu Dhabi has thus decided to use diplomacy and humanitarian aid to show support for the people of Gaza. The wealthy Gulf monarchy is organising evacuations of wounded Gazans by plane to Abu Dhabi, via Israel. Meanwhile, in the middle of Egypt's Sinai desert, on the border with Gaza, the UAE has built a floating hospital, huge aid storage hangars and six desalination plants capable of supplying drinking water to more than 600,000 Gazans - a quarter of the enclave's inhabitants.
Fifteen months of war in Gaza has killed over 46,000 people and left 110,000 wounded, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The material damage is also immense. Experts predict that reconstruction will take decades and will cost at least $40 billion - the largest rebuilding effort since the end of World War II and the Marshall Plan.
How will the reconstruction of Gaza be organised? How is the "day after" the war being planned for? For this report, our journalists Sophie Guignon, Chloe Domat and Claire Duhamel travelled to the UAE, Egypt and Israel.>>
Video-Source:https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/reporters/20250117-all-eyes-on-gaza-united-arab-emirates-positions-itself-for-post-war-period

Al Jazeera - Jan 17 2025 - By Mat Nashed
<<Gaza ceasefire won't last without political process, analysts warn
The Israeli government has repeatedly sought to back out of truces, and this time could be no different, experts say.
Beirut, Lebanon - The ceasefire agreed by Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas has brought some optimism that Israel’s 15-month war on Gaza will finally end and Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners will be released. But there is still uncertainty from some analysts that the deal, announced on Wednesday and due to begin on Sunday, will go ahead as planned. Israel's security cabinet greenlit the agreement on Friday evening after postponing a meeting that was initially scheduled for Thursday. Still, the division of the deal into three phases opens up the potential for its terms to be violated or for the parties - particularly Israel - to backtrack on its terms, analysts said. The deal stipulates that an initial 42-day phase - which is to see a handover of some captives and prisoners, an Israeli retreat from populated areas and an increase in aid - will be followed by additional phases in which more prisoner exchanges will happen as well as a permanent Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a sustainable ceasefire. Experts who spoke to Al Jazeera fear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has resisted a ceasefire for months and insisted that Hamas must be destroyed, will resume hostilities after the captives are recovered to ostensibly "punish" the Palestinian group, buttress Israel's security and ensure his own political survival while somehow blaming Hamas for the failure of the deal. "Israel is very good at breaking ceasefires and making it appear that it wasn't its fault," said Mairav Zonszein, an expert on Israel-Palestine with the International Crisis Group.
Temporary relief
The Gaza ceasefire was announced by outgoing United States President Joe Biden and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. US President-elect Donald Trump also announced his backing – and it has been widely reported that it was pressure from Trump, who is set to take power on Monday, that pushed ceasefire negotiations to a deal. The agreement aims to end a devastating war that has prompted legal scholars, rights groups and United Nations experts to accuse Israel of "genocide" due to its policy of starving Palestinians and destroying services necessary to sustain life. South Africa has also launched a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, which has been backed by numerous countries. Israel has killed more than 46,700 people - men, women and children - and uprooted nearly the entire pre-war population of 2.3 million people from their homes through attacks and orders to flee or face bombings and ground attacks. The war began after Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,139 people were killed and 250 taken captive. Many of the captives were released in an earlier ceasefire in November 2023, and those remaining are expected to be released for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, an exchange that could unfold over several weeks. However, Zonszein believes the deal could collapse after that point. "This [deal] will provide immediate relief by getting humanitarian aid in and to provide for a release of hostages and prisoners. The [deal] is more of an immediate pause than a long-term solution," she told Al Jazeera. Diana Buttu, a Palestinian legal scholar and a former negotiator with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, also fears that the vagueness of the deal may allow Israel to end it at any time. One term, for instance, requires Israel to retreat back to the "border" of the Gaza Strip as opposed to the 1967 border, which demarcates Israel’s borders from the occupied territory. This wording, Buttu said, raises concerns over whether Israel will actually withdraw fully from the enclave. "The agreement is very vague, and there are a lot of places where Israel can - and will - manoeuvre its way out of it," Buttu told Al Jazeera.
Political fears
The ceasefire agreed upon on Wednesday is roughly the same as an earlier one proposed in May, which was agreed to by Hamas but rejected by Israel, which promptly went on to invade the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. At the time, Biden warned Israel that Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians were living, was a “red line” out of fear that an invasion would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. However, the US did not follow through on its threat to punish Israel after its ally sent troops into Rafah. Israel’s move was part of a broader pattern by Netanyahu to torpedo ceasefire proposals, seemingly to keep his fragile far-right coalition together until he regained enough popularity to run in new elections. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have exploited Netanyahu's political fears to push their own agenda, such as keeping the war in Gaza going indefinitely, experts said. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are part of Israel's religious nationalist settler movement and have threatened to leave the coalition if Netanyahu inked a ceasefire, a move that would potentially collapse the government and trigger elections. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are again threatening to exit the coalition if the current ceasefire goes ahead. It's uncertain whether those threats are mere posturing or whether the two are willing to try to bring down Netanyahu. "Everyone sees Netanyahu as a dominant force in Israeli politics, but it is remarkable how much Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have been able to exploit his political fears to pursue their own agendas," said Hugh Lovatt, an expert on Israel-Palestine with the European Council on Foreign Relations. Netanyahu appears to have regained most of his popularity since the attacks on October 7, 2023, which saw his approval ratings plummet. However, he still appears wary of moving ahead with the ceasefire for fear of his political survival. On Thursday, Netanyahu said he was "postponing" a cabinet meeting required to approve the ceasefire and blamed Hamas for backtracking on the terms of the deal. The security cabinet finally approved the deal on Friday. Mediators have said Hamas has already accepted the proposal, as it has done on several occasions since May. "The Netanyahu today is not the one of the past. He’s more fearful, and he's unable to make decisions, which has led to strategic paralysis," Lovatt said.
The day after?
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, the US has advocated for the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has some control of the occupied West Bank, to return to Gaza to govern. The PA was born out of the 1993 Oslo I Accord, which was signed by Israeli and Palestinian leaders and kicked off a peace process with the ostensible aim of bringing about a Palestinian state. For more than two decades, the peace process has been defunct due in large part to Israel expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law, and imposing restrictions that have politically, economically and territorially cut off Gaza from the West Bank, according to a report by Human Rights Watch. The PA is also run mainly by Fatah, a Palestinian party that fought a brief civil war with Hamas in 2007, leading to a division in the Palestinian national movement. The war saw the PA in effect kicked out of Gaza and confined to the West Bank, where it has limited authority under Israel's entrenched occupation. Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, which Israel then labelled a "hostile" territory and placed it under a land, sea and air blockade. Any plan to bring the PA back to Gaza worries Israel because it would politically and territorially reconnect the occupied areas and revive calls for Palestinian statehood, according to Omar Rahman, an expert on Israel-Palestine with the Middle East Council for Global Affairs. "If you have a united Palestinian territory under a united Palestinian leadership, then Israel will be under pressure to participate in a political end game, and Netanyahu doesn't want that to happen," he told Al Jazeera. In addition, experts told Al Jazeera they do not see Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza in a vacuum, mainly due to Israel's fear that Hamas could reassert control over the enclave and build back its capabilities. Netanyahu has previously said Israel should have "overall security control" over Gaza for an "indefinite" period of time. "The sad history of Gaza shows us there is a cycle of escalation and de-escalation because there is no political framework to address root causes," Lovatt said. "Those who want to resume fighting in Gaza will likely have an opportunity at some point.">>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/17/gaza-ceasefire-wont-last-without-political-process-warn-analysts
 

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