15 October 2009 Edition
Repercussions of Gaza Assault Continue
BY DARA MacNEILL
ISRAEL is embroiled in a desperate rearguard battle to minimise the damage it has suffered as a direct result of its murderous assault on the civilian population of Gaza – Operation Molten Lead – which left 1400 Palestinians dead.
Last month saw the publication of Justice Richard Goldstone’s exhaustive 574 page investigation into that campaign, which concluded that “actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly.....crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defence Forces.”
Israel later scored a mini diplomatic victory when it persuaded the Palestinian Authority to defer demands that the International Criminal Court proceed with a full investigation of IDF actions during the assault on Gaza. It is understood that Israel and the US utilised both diplomatic and financial muscle to ‘persuade’ the PA that it should defer.
In the first instance, President Abbas was ‘persuaded’ that there was a prospect of real progress in the diplomatic process currently being run by the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell. To date, positive spin and leaks have failed to cover up the fact that there has been no progress to report.
Equally, Israel is understood to have exerted considerable financial pressure, amounting to little more than a grubby blackmail which centered on the granting of licences and radio frequencies to a mobile phone operator in the West Bank. Israel has been blocking the deal for some time and its collapse would have cost the PA hundreds of millions in penalties and cost the local economy 2500 jobs.
PYRRHIC VICTORY
However, Israel’s mini diplomatic victory was pyrrhic. It has done nothing for the standing of the PA, cast President Abbas in a very unfavourable light and served to reinforce the appeal and image of a ‘principled’ Hamas government in Gaza. Such was the fury in the West Bank which greeted the PA decision to defer the complaint, that its reversal is surely only a matter of time.
And on the international stage, Israel continues to suffer damage. In mid October it suffered humiliation when its airforce was excluded from a major exercise involving Turkey and NATO members. The exercise was cancelled after Turkey banned the Israelis from taking part, in protest at their actions in the Gaza assault. Following protests from the US and Israel, the exercise was cancelled.
Israel initially sought to play down the ban, but was forced to acknowledge it had happened after the Turkish Foreign Ministry very deliberately went public on the affair. And from a US point of view this must be a real cause for concern. Turkey is an old and valued ally in the region – remember the siting of US missiles in Turkey played a key role in the Cuban missile crisis, forty seven years ago. Surely this latest incident will force some in US government circles to wonder if its policy of unconditional support for Israel can continue, in light of the strain it is obviously placing on other strategic relationships.
For Israel too, loss of Turkish support would be a blow, given the long-established links between the two: as far back as the 1950s Israel embarked on a policy of building links with ‘non-arab’ nations in the region and Israel currently does a healthy annual trade with Ankara, in munitions and military hardware.
It appears that Israel is discovering that it can no longer act with impunity and that its actions in the Occupied Territories will have repercussions.
ISRAEL is embroiled in a desperate rearguard battle to minimise the damage it has suffered as a direct result of its murderous assault on the civilian population of Gaza – Operation Molten Lead – which left 1400 Palestinians dead.
Last month saw the publication of Justice Richard Goldstone’s exhaustive 574 page investigation into that campaign, which concluded that “actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly.....crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defence Forces.”
Israel later scored a mini diplomatic victory when it persuaded the Palestinian Authority to defer demands that the International Criminal Court proceed with a full investigation of IDF actions during the assault on Gaza. It is understood that Israel and the US utilised both diplomatic and financial muscle to ‘persuade’ the PA that it should defer.
In the first instance, President Abbas was ‘persuaded’ that there was a prospect of real progress in the diplomatic process currently being run by the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell. To date, positive spin and leaks have failed to cover up the fact that there has been no progress to report.
Equally, Israel is understood to have exerted considerable financial pressure, amounting to little more than a grubby blackmail which centered on the granting of licences and radio frequencies to a mobile phone operator in the West Bank. Israel has been blocking the deal for some time and its collapse would have cost the PA hundreds of millions in penalties and cost the local economy 2500 jobs.
PYRRHIC VICTORY
However, Israel’s mini diplomatic victory was pyrrhic. It has done nothing for the standing of the PA, cast President Abbas in a very unfavourable light and served to reinforce the appeal and image of a ‘principled’ Hamas government in Gaza. Such was the fury in the West Bank which greeted the PA decision to defer the complaint, that its reversal is surely only a matter of time.
And on the international stage, Israel continues to suffer damage. In mid October it suffered humiliation when its airforce was excluded from a major exercise involving Turkey and NATO members. The exercise was cancelled after Turkey banned the Israelis from taking part, in protest at their actions in the Gaza assault. Following protests from the US and Israel, the exercise was cancelled.
Israel initially sought to play down the ban, but was forced to acknowledge it had happened after the Turkish Foreign Ministry very deliberately went public on the affair. And from a US point of view this must be a real cause for concern. Turkey is an old and valued ally in the region – remember the siting of US missiles in Turkey played a key role in the Cuban missile crisis, forty seven years ago. Surely this latest incident will force some in US government circles to wonder if its policy of unconditional support for Israel can continue, in light of the strain it is obviously placing on other strategic relationships.
For Israel too, loss of Turkish support would be a blow, given the long-established links between the two: as far back as the 1950s Israel embarked on a policy of building links with ‘non-arab’ nations in the region and Israel currently does a healthy annual trade with Ankara, in munitions and military hardware.
It appears that Israel is discovering that it can no longer act with impunity and that its actions in the Occupied Territories will have repercussions.