TEHRAN- Benjamin Netanyahu's newly formed cabinet has been officially sworn in despite receiving no favorable headlines from around the world.
Even some Israeli media outlets have referred to the new cabinet as the most rightwing during the entity’s decades-long history.
Israel, as a colonialist regime, has always been viewed as an extremist right-wing occupation committing atrocities and Palestinian do not see much difference between any Israeli cabinets over the past seven decades.
All the regime's cabinets have committed crimes against humanity that included war crimes, genocide, the mass slaughter of children, the ongoing ethnic cleansing campaign along with so many other violations of international law.
However, the newly formed Netanyahu cabinet is perhaps the most extreme and right-wing and that's according to Israel’s so-called leftist parties who are afraid that it will result in an increased number of retaliatory operations by the Palestinians.
A member of Israel’s own Knesset admitted that the occupation, under the rule of Netanyahu and his extremist cabinet, is moving toward a “fully-fledged fascist state”.
The remarks were made during an Israeli settler protest outside the Knesset in strong opposition to the return of Netanyahu who has been Israel's longest-ever serving Prime Minister.
The truth is Israel has always held a fascist ideology but it is now under the rule of a more extreme and fascist ideology. The regime has given the powers of governance to war criminals and extremists because Israel has never been so weak and vulnerable as it is at the moment.
It has been exposed because of the unprecedented armed resistance that has been emerging from the occupied West Bank this year.
Such is the extent of the resistance; Israel has turned to Netanyahu, the war criminal and a person that is facing multiple corruption charges along with a coalition that is so extreme that it has called for the expulsion of all Palestinians from their native land and the execution of Palestinian prisoners.
Netanyahu was forced to bring in these fascist figures because he wanted to secure a majority that can bring him back to power and save him from corruption charges.
In other words, the war criminal does not care for the safety of Israeli settlers which is something that is very concerning for Israelis who are planning on leaving the occupied Palestinian territories in their droves, according to surveys.
There are now Israelis protesting against the new cabinet, for the first time in history, because of new ministers in an office such as Itamar Ben-Gvir who has made so many disturbing and racist statements that even Israel’s allies are concerned.
The most extreme and right-wing fascist cabinet in history will put Israel at odds with large parts of the Israeli public, and concern Israel's closest allies while escalating tensions with the Palestinians.
Reports indicate that some elements of the new Israeli cabinet are so extreme that the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden will not deal with them as they feel uncomfortable with such elements.
Netanyahu's incoming hardline government will place illegal West Bank settlement expansion at the top of its agenda and had already pledged to legalize dozens of illegally built outposts and annex the occupied territory as part of its coalition deal with ultranationalist allies.
Some members of the new cabinet squat on illegal settlements themselves, in a sign that there will be a major push in the future toward expanding settler units, despite the fact they are considered illegal under international law.
But experts say the newly formed West Bank resistance groups will expand their armed operations in the face of further settlement expansion, which comes alongside Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes.
The new cabinet members also support the Israeli settlers storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, something Palestinians have said is a redline.
There is no doubt this will represent a new escalation in occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem) next year and the wider occupied West Bank as well as inside the occupied Palestinian territories.
Some Palestinian analysts say they are glad the new Israeli government is in power because it represents the real face of the regime in front of the international community.
Meanwhile, Palestinians have welcomed a vote by the United Nations General Assembly to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to deliver a widespread opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.
"The time has come for Israel to be a state subject to law, and to be held accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a senior Palestinian official based in the occupied West Bank.
In a social media post, another senior official Hussein al-Sheikh said that the vote "reflects the victory of Palestinian diplomacy."
The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution calling on the ICJ to give an opinion on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.
The General Assembly voted 87 to 26 with 53 abstentions on the resolution, with Western nations split but with virtually unanimous support in the Islamic world – including among Arab states that have normalized relations with Israel.
Russia and China also voted in favor of the resolution.
Israel, the U.S., and 24 other members – including the United Kingdom and Germany – voted against the resolution, while France was among the 53 nations that abstained.
The resolution will see the ICJ give an opinion on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.
The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the top UN court. Its rulings are binding but have no power to enforce them.
Palestine’s UN ambassador Riyad Mansour noted that the vote came amid the swearing-in of a new far-right Israeli government, which he said will accelerate “colonial and racist policies” toward Palestinians.
He also hailed nations that voted in favor of the resolution and were “undeterred by threats and pressure”.
“We trust that, regardless of your vote today, if you believe in international law and peace, you will uphold the opinion of the International Court of Justice when delivered and you will stand up to this Israeli government right now,” Mansour told the General Assembly.
The UN General Assembly asked the ICJ to give an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s “occupation, settlement, and annexation … including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the Holy City of al-Quds (Jerusalem), and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures”.
The UN resolution also asks the ICJ to advise on how those policies and practices “affect the legal status of the occupation” and what legal consequences arise for all countries and the UN from this status.
The ICJ last weighed in on the issue of Israel’s occupation in 2004, when it ruled that Israel’s apartheid separation wall in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds (Jerusalem) was illegal. Israel rejected that ruling, accusing the court of being politically motivated.
Israel now occupies all of historic Palestine and expelled more than a million Palestinians from their homes. Israel also occupies Syria’s Golan Heights in the north.
In 1967, the regime expanded its military occupation to the West Bank, which makes it the longest occupation in modern history.
Among Western nations that backed the resolution was Portugal, whose representative acknowledged the “risk of overjudicialising international relations” but said the world court “underpins the international rules-based order which we seek to preserve”.
Mansour said "This vote, and the request, comes one day after the new Israeli government was formed, pledging to accelerate colonial and racist policies against the Palestinian people. We trust that regardless of your vote today if you believe in international law and peace, you will uphold the opinion of the International Court of Justice when delivered. And you will stand up to this Israeli government right now because freedom, justice, and peace shall prevail."
While symbolic in nature, the advice will increase global awareness about Israel's occupation which could increase the activity of NGOs and other organizations in dealing with Israel.
As for the liberation of Palestine, experts say armed resistance is the only path left.
No comments:
Post a Comment