Latest news with #GreaterIsrael
The South African
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The South African
The Hague Group is gunning for Netanyahu
And about bloody time too, I say. It is now blatantly obvious that wanted war criminal, illegitimate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his berserk blood-thirsty Zionist regime are officially going full Samson option. In the past few weeks, homicidal Israel has expanded its sickening, evil, ethnic cleansing holocaust in Gaza to include bombing Iran and Syria – reigniting a civil war in the latter. All part of the Zionist regime's expansive, imperial, neo-colonial 'Greater Israel' project. Thankfully, it appears more and more countries around the world are finally waking up and uniting against corrupt, psychopathic, mass-murdering, maniac Benjamin Netanyahu, and the neo-Nazi, genocidal, apartheid Zionist regime. Heck, I hear even pro-Zionist US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is slamming Israel for their tendency to insult, assault and spit on…Christians. (No, I'm not making that up.) On 31 January, nine nations – Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa – convened by Progressive International met in The Hague, the Netherlands, to form The Hague Group. Their mission: 'Pursue collective action through coordinated legal and diplomatic measures to hold Israel accountable for grave violations of international law against the Palestinian people, and bring Benjamin Netanyahu to justice.' On 15 and 16 July, Hague Group members from 30 countries across the world converged for an emergency conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bogota, Republic of Colombia. They were united by a single purpose: end Israel's impunity, uphold international law and cease the genocide in Gaza. The conference was called in response to Israel's ongoing and escalating violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the crime of genocide. The emergency meeting, co-chaired by South Africa, centred on the legal obligations of states as determined by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July 2024; to stop all actions that assist the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory and support the Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination. In his address, Zane Dangor, director-general of South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said: 'The impunity continues unabated. We are legally obligated not to condone internationally wrongful acts of the government of Israel.' Among the key attendees were ex-British Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and UNHRC Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestine Territory, Francesca Albanese. In her statement addressing the conference, Francesca Albanese said: 'The occupied Palestinian territory today is a hellscape. In Gaza, Israel has dismantled even humanitarian aid, to deliberate, starve, displace or kill a population they have marked for elimination.' She then called on all member states of the Group to fulfil their obligations under International Law. 'I am here to recount to you – uncompromisingly and dispassionately – the cure for the root cause', she said. 'We are long past the time to deal with the symptoms. The Hague Group has committed to obligations under international law.' 'Obligations, not sympathy, not charity.' She said. 'Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel; military, strategic, political, diplomatic and economic, and make sure that their private sectors and other service providers do the same.' Albanese recently came under fire from Israel, the US and their Western pro-Zionist lapdog 'allies' for her astute, clear-eyed report on Israel's unhinged genocide in Gaza. Albanese filed her report Anatomy of a Genocide with the UN Human Rights Council on 1 July 2024. The report thoroughly documents Israel's holocaust in Gaza and cites the ICJ's order that Israel prevent and punish genocide and ensure humanitarian aid – which Israel has ignored. The report summary states (extract): 'After five months of military operations, Israel has destroyed Gaza. Over 30 000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 13 000 children and over 12 000 are presumed dead and 71 000 injured or mutilated. 'Seventy percent of residential areas have been destroyed. Eighty percent of the population has been forcibly displaced. Thousands have been detained and systematically subjected to severe ill-treatment. The incalculable collective trauma will be experienced for generations to come.' The report concludes: 'There are reasonable grounds to believe that Israel has committed genocide.' (Duh! Ya think?) In that report, and a follow-up video for Double Down News released on 17 July this year, Albanese also revealed how Israel's economy thrives off the genocide in Gaza – particularly through weapons, intel and data companies. And what was the response by the so-called free and democratic US to Francesca's report? For doing her job? For documenting and criticising Israel's holocaust? On 9 July, bible-thumping, AIPAC-funded, rabid pro-Zionist and Eschatological Israel apologist, US Secretary of State, loco Marco Rubio released a press statement titled: Sanctioning Lawfare that Targets U.S. and Israeli Persons. In it, Rubio announced sanctions on UNHRC Rapporteur for Palestine OT, Francesca Albanese. Why? Well, according to Rubio… 'Albanese has directly engaged with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries, making this action a gross infringement on the sovereignty of both countries,' the statement read. Rubio claimed Albanese spewed 'unabashed antisemitism', expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the US, Israel, and the West. It's worth noting that Rubio's sanctions on Albanese came the day after Donald Trump welcomed indicted war criminal Netanyahu to the White House – for the third time in less than six months. (Which was also around the same time that Trump's Department of Justice and FBI did a u-turn on releasing the Epstein client list.). Responding to the US sanctions in a text to Al Jazeera , Albanese said: 'No comment on mafia-style intimidation techniques.' But she did query why she had been sanctioned for exposing a genocide and denouncing the system. 'They never challenged me on the facts,' she said. Following Rubio's announcement of US sanctions on Albanese, many were quick to point out the hypocritical, tyrannical fascism being displayed by the US – as usual. Human Rights Lawyer and ex-UN official, Craig Mokhiber responded to Rubio on X: 'This is a lawless, vile act, Rubio. Your arrogance will catch up to you. The impunity that you are enjoying now will be gone within a few years, and you will be held accountable for your violations of human rights. There are millions who will work to ensure it.' Indie news publisher Chris Menahan posted a video on X of Israeli Likudnik politician, Danny Danon, openly ordering Trump, last April, to sanction and ban Albanese from the US for 'promoting hate'. And Trump did – through Rubio. Demonstrating, once again, Israel and the AIPAC lobby's stranglehold on POTUS and the US government. In another response to Rubio's sanctions, Iranian-born Swedish writer and activist, Trita Parsi, founder of the Quincy Institute and the National Iranian American Council, posted two photos on X, side by side. The first was of Syria's de facto (HTS) leader, jihadi ex-terrorist Ahmed al-Sharaa (also known as al-Julani). The other photo was of UNHRC Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Above the images, Parsi wrote: 'The man below is the founder of Al Qaeda in Syria. The US just took his organisation off its terror list and lifted sanctions (and a $10M bounty) on him. The woman below is the UN rapporteur on Israel and Palestine. The US is about to impose sanctions on her. Let that sink in. In his article titled, The Persecution of Francesca Albanese, Pulitzer Prize-winning journo Chris Hedges wrote: 'The sanctioning by the Trump administration of Francesca Albanese is an ominous harbinger of the end of the rule of international law.' He also predicted, 'When the history of the genocide in Gaza is written, one of the most courageous champions for justice and adherence to international law will be UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.' In a recent article by Truthout , Marjorie Cohn wrote: 'In the height of irony, war criminal Netanyahu nominated serial lawbreaker Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. But it is Albanese who deserves that prize.' Richard Falk, who served as UN Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestine from 2008 to 2014, told Truthout that Albanese (above Trump) deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, not punitive targeted sanctions by the US. 'This was an intimidating attack on Albanese, an unpaid civil servant, for her brave truth-telling and expert knowledge – fully in accord with expectations of the job to report periodically to the UNHRC and General Assembly,' Falk said. 'Her well-documented reports have broken the mainstream silence in the West on Israel's genocidal assault, carried out before the eyes and ears of the world, shocking many by its transparency and sadism over more than 20 months. She has also exposed shameful patterns of U.S. complicity with Israeli criminality,' he added By the end of the conference, The Hague Group affirmed that the international community has 'a legal and moral obligation to act, and ensure that the orders of the ICJ are fully respected and implemented'. In a declaration issued after the meeting, the Group agreed to six specific measures aimed at 'restraining Israel's assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories', including an arms embargo, a review of contracts with companies that benefit from Israel's actions in Gaza, and complying with arrest warrants issued by the ICC against Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu. The declaration also called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, unrestricted access for humanitarian aid, and the international prosecution of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The 12 countries committed to the measures are Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and South Africa. The declaration marked the strongest joint statement yet by the group, which has aligned itself with South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. Of the emergency meeting, Riyad Mansour, Minister of the State of Palestine, said: 'This conference and others that will follow are the beginning of a new stage in the struggle of the Palestinian people.' Colombian President Gustavo Petro hailed the outcome as 'a milestone in the defence of international law and human dignity'. In her speech at The Hague Group conference, Francesca Albanese warned that the world is facing a 'critical test'. She also insisted that there was no more 'good' or 'bad' Israel. 'It is impossible to disentangle Israel's state policies and economy from its longstanding occupation. It has been inseparable for decades. This is the complicity. Now, that economy has turned genocidal. There is no good Israel, bad Israel ,' she argued. To illustrate her point, Albanese suggested the HG delegates and members consider this moment as if they were back in the 1990s deliberating the case of apartheid South Africa. She asked: 'Would you have proposed selective sanctions on SA for its conduct in individual Bantustans? Or would you have recognised the state's criminal system as a whole?' 'And here, what Israel is doing is worse. 'This is not just a legal matter – it is a moral one. 'The time for action…is now,' she added. Let us know by leaving a comment below or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
Business Recorder
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Greater Israel agenda threat to stability of Pakistan: JI
KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan Deputy Chief Dr Osama Razi has warned that the "Greater Israel" agenda is a major threat to the stability of Pakistan and the wider Muslim world. He made the remarks while addressing a day-long party convention in Karachi's Gadap area on Monday evening, as part of a series of similar events held across the city. Dr Osama Razi pointed to US-backed Israeli aggression against Iran and India's hostility towards Pakistan as examples of this broader agenda. He said both military campaigns failed in their objectives by the grace of Allah Almighty, but emphasized that the underlying threat remains. He noted that regional geopolitics is now closely tied to domestic affairs, urging Islamic movements to remain alert and develop strategic responses in line with this reality. He also called on JI workers to strengthen their spiritual connection with Allah, calling it the only sustainable path in these challenging times. Dr Razi warned that a concerted effort was underway to destabilize Balochistan, comparing it to the events that led to the fall of East Pakistan. He also condemned Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza and criticized the lack of freedom to protest in Pakistan. 'Protests against Israeli genocide can be held in the British parliament and outside the Prime Minister's residence in London, but such voices are silenced in Islamabad—even within our own parliament,' he said. He reminded participants that Pakistan's Constitution clearly states that sovereignty belongs to Allah Almighty, and urged citizens to play their role in defending constitutional and Islamic values. JI Deputy Chief Dr Attaur Rehman, speaking at the same convention, described the Quran as a revolutionary guide against social injustice. He called for spiritual purification and reflection on Quranic teachings, saying that true peace would only come through an Islamic caliphate. JI Deputy Secretary General Muhammad Usman Farooq highlighted Karachi's worsening civic problems, including water shortages, power outages, broken infrastructure, and the burden of inflation and over-taxation. He urged citizens to raise their voices and support JI's rights movement. Other speakers included Dr Wasay Shakir, Taufiquddin Siddiqui, and Dr Merajul Huda Siddiqui, who emphasized Islamic unity, civil rights, and public empowerment. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Israel's dangerous delusions
Listen to article Israeli leader Netanyahu launched the war he has been planning for the last 20 years against Iran on 13 June. This aggression is a critical part of his ambition for a "Greater Israel", the Zionist project for regional hegemony. His collaborators are Western countries, in particular the US, since they are all under the overwhelming influence of their domestic Jewish lobbies. But such Israeli ambitions are a dangerous delusion, creating greater insecurity for its people, and ensuring a perpetual state of war in the region. When Netanyahu became Prime Minister in 1996, he immediately launched the Zionist agenda of rejecting the Two-State Solution to the Palestinian issue and creating a "Greater Israel" by expanding Israeli territory over occupied Arab lands while promoting settler colonialism by illegally occupying Palestinian properties. Moreover, with the support of American Neo-Cons, Christian Zionists and the all-powerful Jewish American lobby, he instigated American regime change operations in countries opposing his agenda. Former US General Wesley Clark has stated publically that shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the US initiated plans for wars against Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Iran. Fast forward to the present and the only country remaining on the Israeli-American hit list was Iran. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has been reduced to a cypher, Hamas and Hezbollah have been battered, and wars for regime change have taken place in all the other targeted countries. These were ideal conditions for the Israeli aggression against Iran. Netanyahu's stated objectives are to replace the Khamenei government and destroy Iran's alleged nuclear weapons capability. But his real agenda is promoting Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. However, Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, air defences, critical infrastructure, military leadership and nuclear scientists have neither brought about regime change nor destroyed their nuclear assets. Instead, the robust Iranian military response has surprised Israel and broken the myth of Israeli invincibility. The war is now a stalemate in which Netanyahu's objectives have not been achieved, even though Israel is in a stronger position militarily with continuous American supplies of weapons and funds. Highlighting this situation, Israeli paper Haaretz has written that "Netanyahu might be bumbling into a war of attrition" from which he has no exit strategy of his own. Netanyahu, therefore, became desperate for direct American involvement. Only the US has the B-2 Stealth bombers to drop bunker buster bombs like the GBU-57B to destroy Iran's underground nuclear facilities such as in Fordow and Natanz. Even then, experts acknowledge that the damage could be repaired in 3 to 6 months and that there is no knowledge of the whereabouts of the enriched fissile material already produced. There is also the danger of nuclear radiation from the damaged sites. Besides, American intelligence and nuclear experts are not convinced that Iran has the intention or the ability to make nuclear bombs, an allegation that Netanyahu has been making for the last 20 years. For regime change, impossible through aerial attacks alone, American boots on the ground will be needed. This poses a dilemma for President Trump whose MAGA support base is opposed to American involvement while the powerful Israeli lobby is pushing for intervention. The lessons of the misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan also weigh heavily on the Americans. After procrastinating for a week, Trump succumbed to Israeli pressure and ordered American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on 21 June. The much-dreaded bunker buster 30,000 pound bombs were dropped on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear site by Stealth bombers. While Trump claimed that these facilities have been "obliterated", no reliable evidence has emerged so far to justify this claim. Trump has also threatened more attacks if Iran does not "surrender". In turn, Iran threatened further escalation and immediately attacked Israeli targets. The danger now is whether Trump would risk a ground invasion for regime change which would be extremely perilous. Now that Israel and America has played their trump card, Iran can respond by rejecting nuclear negotiations with the US, exit from NPT, renounce Khamenei's 2003 commitment not to acquire nuclear weapons and conduct a nuclear test. It can also blockade the Persian Gulf and attack US bases in the region, apart from intensifying attacks on Israel. Iranian allies, Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis, whose capabilities have been degraded but not destroyed, could also intensify attacks on the Israelis and Americans. This would not only be counterproductive for Israel and America but also dangerous for the entire region. Russia and China have fully supported Iran and condemned Israeli aggression. They have also joined other states in the UN to call for de-escalation, restraint and immediate ceasefire. More importantly, neither power would want to see their interests in Iran compromised by the Israeli-American aggression and would act accordingly. As a friend and neighbor Pakistan has strongly supported Iran. In this volatile situation, Pakistan can play a constructive role by initiating joint efforts for an early ceasefire, de-escalation and resumption of Iran-US negotiations on the nuclear issue in conjunction with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia. Even the US, despite the rhetoric in Israel's favour, recognises the merits of a peaceful outcome to this crisis. At the same time, Pakistan must be wary of Israeli and Indian machinations. In the past both countries have collaborated to plan attacks on Pakistan's strategic assets. Netanyahu has also publically stated his opposition to Pakistan's nuclear capabilities on several occasions. But both countries also know that Pakistan is fully capable of deterring any threat to its national interests, as was amply demonstrated last May. Indo-Israeli subversion and terrorism, as demonstrated in Iran, also poses a threat to Pakistan's security since the BLA has links with both countries. Our border regions with a destabilised Iran could become even more volatile and, therefore, urgently need to be sanitised. To conclude, while Israel may presently have the tactical military advantage over Iran, it is in a strategic no-win situation. Its dangerous delusions of regional hegemony are doomed.
Scoop
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
The West's War On Iran
Opinion – Eugene Doyle What we are witnessing is the racist, genocidal Israeli regime, armed and encouraged by the US, Germany, UK and other Western regimes, launching a war that has no justification other than the expansion of Israeli power and the advancement of its Greater Israel … I have visited Iran twice. Once in June 1980 to witness an unprecedented event: the world's first Islamic Revolution. It was the very start of my writing career. The second time was in 2018 and part of my interest was to get a sense of how disenchanted the population was – or was not – with life under the Ayatollahs decades after the creation of the Islamic Republic. I loved my time in Iran and found ordinary Iranians to be such wonderful, cultured and kind people. When I heard the news today of Israel's attack on Iran I had the kind of emotional response that should never be seen in public. I was apoplectic with rage and disgust, I vented bitterly and emotively. Then I calmed down. And here is what I would like to say. Just last week former CIA officer Ray McGovern, who wrote daily intelligence briefings for the US President during his 27-year career, reminded me when I interviewed him that the assessment of the US intelligence community has been for years that Iran ceased its nuclear weapons programme in 2003 and had not recommenced since. The departing CIA director William Burns confirmed this assessment recently. Propaganda aside, there is nothing new other than a US-Israeli campaign that has shredded any concept of international laws or norms. I won't mince words: what we are witnessing is the racist, genocidal Israeli regime, armed and encouraged by the US, Germany, UK and other Western regimes, launching a war that has no justification other than the expansion of Israeli power and the advancement of its Greater Israel project. This year, using American, German and British armaments, supported by underlings like Australia and New Zealand, the Israelis have pursued their genocide against the Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza, and attacked various neighbours, including Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Iran. They represent a clear and present danger to peace and stability in the region. Iran has operated with considerable restraint but has also shown its willingness to use its military to keep the US-Israeli menace at bay. What most people forget is that the project to secure Iran's borders and keep the likes of the British, Israelis and Americans out is a multi-generational project that long predates the Islamic Revolution. I would recommend 'Iran: A modern history' by the US-based scholar Abbas Amanat that provides a long-view of the evolution of the Iranian state and how it has survived centuries of pressure and multiple occupations from imperial powers, including Russia, Britain, the US and others. The country was raped by the Brits and the Americans and has won a hard-fought independence that is being seriously challenged, not from within, but by the Israelis and the Western warlords who have wrecked so many countries and killed millions of men, women and children in the region over recent decades. I spoke and messaged with Iranian friends today both in Iran and in New Zealand and the response was consistent. They felt, one of them said, 10 times more hurt and emotional than I did. Understandable. A New Zealand-based Iranian friend had to leave work as soon as he heard the news. He scanned Iranian social media and found people were upset, angry and overwhelmingly supportive of the government. 'They destroyed entire apartment buildings! Why?', 'People will be very supportive of the regime now because they have attacked civilians.' 'My parents are in the capital. I was so scared for them.' Just a couple of years ago scholars like Professor Amanat estimated that core support for the regime was probably only around 20%. That was my impression too when I visited in 2018. Israel and the US have changed that. Nationalism and an existential menace will see Iranians rally around the flag. Something I learnt in Iran, in between visiting the magnificent ruins of the capital of the Achaemenid Empire at Persepolis, exploring a Zoroastrian Tower of Silence, chowing down on insanely good food in Yazd, talking with a scholar and then a dissident in Isfahan, and exploring an ancient Sassanian fort and a caravanserai in the eastern desert, was that the Iranians are the most politically astute people in the region. Many I spoke to were quite open about their disdain for the regime but none of them sought a counter-revolution. They knew what that would bring: the wolves (the Americans, the Israelis, the Saudis, and other bad actors) would slip in and tear the country apart. Slow change is the smarter option when you live in this neighbourhood. Iranians are overwhelmingly well-educated, profoundly courteous and kind, and have a deep sense of history. They know more than enough about what happened to them and to so many other countries once a great power sees an opening. War is a truly horrific thing that always brings terrible suffering to ordinary people. It is very rarely justified. Iran was actively negotiating with the Americans who, we now know, were briefed on the attack in advance and will possibly join the attack in the near future. US senators are baying for Judeo-Christian jihad. Democrat senator John Fetterman was typical: 'Keep wiping out Iranian leadership and the nuclear personnel. We must provide whatever is necessary—military, intelligence, weaponry—to fully back Israel in striking Iran.' We should have the moral and intellectual honesty to see the truth: Our team, Team Genocide, are the enemies of peace and justice. I wish the Iranian people peace and prosperity. Eugene Doyle
Al Jazeera
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel's strategic failure is now apparent
Since the mid-1960s, Israel has received significant military and diplomatic support from successive administrations in the United States. But never has it enjoyed such unconditional support as it has in the past eight years – under the first and second administrations of President Donald Trump and the administration of President Joe Biden. As a result, Israel has started openly pursuing its greatest Zionist dream: expanding state borders to achieve Greater Israel and accelerating the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from their homeland. Although the Israeli state may appear more powerful than ever and overly confident that it will achieve regional dominance, its current position paradoxically reflects a strategic failure. The reality is that after nearly eight decades of existence, Israel has failed to achieve legitimacy in the eyes of the region's peoples and lasting security for itself. Its present resurgence will secure neither. And that is because its foreign, domestic and military policies are based on a settler-colonial logic which makes them untenable in the long run. Since its founding in 1948, Israel has sought to convince the world and its Jewish citizens that it was created 'on a land without a people'. While this narrative has successfully caught on – particularly among the younger generations of Israelis – the forefathers of the Israeli state openly spoke about 'colonisation' and settling a land with a hostile native population. Theodor Herzl, considered the father of modern Zionism, planned to reach out to well-known British colonialist Cecil Rhodes, who led the British colonisation of Southern Africa, for advice on and approval of his plan to colonise Palestine. Vladimir Jabotinsky, a revisionist Zionist who founded the far-right Zionist group Betar in Latvia, strategised in his writings on ways to address native resistance. In his 1923 essay The Iron Wall, he wrote: 'Every native population in the world resists colonists as long as it has the slightest hope of being able to rid itself of the danger of being colonised. That is what the Arabs in Palestine are doing.' This settler-colonial mentality played a central role in shaping the domestic, foreign and military policies of the newly founded Israel. Today, almost 80 years after the creation of the Israeli state, expansionism and aggressive military posturing continue to define the Israeli regional strategy. Despite official rhetoric about seeking peace and normalisation of relations in the region, the Israeli aspiration to achieve a Greater Israel – one that includes not only occupied Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but also parts of modern-day Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan – persists. That has been apparent in public discourse and government actions. Settler activists have openly talked about an Israel stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates river. Government advisers have penned articles about 'reconquering Sinai', 'dismembering Egypt' and precipitating the 'dissolution of Jordan'. Prime ministers have stood in front of the United Nations General Assembly, holding maps of Greater Israel. The idea of Greater Israel has been widely accepted across the Zionist political spectrum, both on the right and on the left. The primary differences have been in how and when to advance this vision, and whether it requires the expulsion of Palestinians or their segregation. Expansionist policies have been applied under all Israeli governments – from those led by left-wing Mapai Labor to those led by right-wing Likud. Since the 1949 armistice, Israel has occupied the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, Sinai (twice), southern Lebanon (twice) and now most recently, more parts of southern Syria. Meanwhile, its colonisation of the occupied Palestinian territories has proceeded at an accelerated pace. The number of Jewish colonial settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was approximately 250,000 in 1993; by October 7, 2023, this number had risen to 503,732 in the West Bank and 233,600 in East Jerusalem. Settlements in Gaza were dismantled in 2005, but plans are being made for recolonisation, as the current Israeli government eyes the full ethnic cleansing of the strip. Today, there is no major political force in Israel that looks beyond the direct application of naked military power to maintain and protect colonisation activities. This mindset is not limited to politicians but is also a widespread conviction among the Israeli public. A June 2024 survey found that 70 percent of Jewish Israelis think settlements either help national security or do not interfere with it; a March 2025 poll showed that 82 percent of Jewish Israelis support the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza. The settler-colonial mindset at the core of the Israeli state has precluded the emergence of a genuine drive for peace. As a result, successive Israeli governments have continued to pursue war, colonisation and expansion, even when seemingly embracing peace talks. In the 1990s, Israel had the opportunity to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict by withdrawing from the territories occupied in 1967 and accepting the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Instead, it used the negotiations as a smokescreen to advance settler-colonial policies. Even leaders like Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was hailed as a peacemaker and assassinated for it by a Jewish extremist, did not really envision Israelis and Palestinians living side by side. Under his government and during the peace negotiations, the expansion of Jewish settlements continued at a steady pace, while plans for a segregation wall on occupied Palestinian land were pushed forward. Meanwhile, Rabin and other Israeli leaders involved in the peace negotiations focused primarily on normalising Israel's existence as it was, without addressing the root causes of the conflict. They sought to pacify Palestinian resistance, rather than establish durable peace. The absence of a peace camp is not only at the leadership level but also at the societal one. While the Israeli society has active movements for social causes, settlers' coalitions, and now a movement pushing for continuing the prisoner exchanges with Hamas, it lacks a genuine grassroots peace movement that recognises Palestinian rights. This is in sharp contrast to other settler-colonial societies, in which there was a push from within to end colonialism. During the French colonisation of Algeria, for example, an anti-colonial movement within France openly supported the Algerian armed resistance. During the apartheid era in South Africa, white activists joined the anti-apartheid struggle and helped sway domestic attitudes. In Israel, Jewish supporters of Palestinian rights are so few that they are easily ostracised and marginalised, facing death threats and often feeling compelled to leave the country. The absence of a genuine peace camp reflects the inherent flaw of settler-colonial Israel. It has no coherent political strategy to address broader issues, such as coexistence in the region, which requires acknowledging the interests of others, especially the national rights of the Palestinian people. This makes the settler colony incapable of peace. Historically, settler-colonies have always had to rely on outside support to sustain themselves. Israel is no different. For decades, it has enjoyed far-reaching support from Western Europe and the United States, which have provided it with a significant strategic edge. But this Israeli reliance on Western backing also poses a long-term strategic threat. It makes the country dependent and unable to function like a normal sovereign nation. Other countries in the region will continue to exist even if they lose support from their Western allies, with only their regimes potentially changing. But that is not the case for Israel. This unlimited and extravagant support for Israel, aimed at maintaining its dominance as the primary regional power, is likely to backfire. The growing imbalance of power is generating pressure not only on antagonist countries like Iran, but on other regional players such as Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. They increasingly feel that the Western push to defend Israeli interests is infringing on their own. This situation is likely to push them to increasingly seek alliances beyond the Western bloc to counterbalance this influence. China offers a viable alternative, as it is not a strategic ally of Israel. A gradual opening to China can shift the political dynamics of the region in the coming years, beyond the capacity of Israel and its allies to control them. That will certainly undermine the Israeli plans to establish regional hegemony. But Israel faces not only the risk that Western dominance could be challenged from the East, but also that Western societies could pressure their governments to stop backing it. The Israeli genocidal policies, especially since October 7, 2023, have spurred a profound shift in public opinion across the world, including in Europe and North America. Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, its prime minister has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court and Israeli soldiers are facing charges in many countries around the world. As a result, the Israeli state has notably lost support among those on the left and centre of the political spectrum in the West. While it still manages to maintain backing in high-level European and American political and military circles, this support is becoming increasingly unreliable in the long term. This uncertainty is further aggravated by the rise of isolationism on the right in the US. If these trends continue, Israel may eventually run out of dependable supporters in the West and lose its financial and military advantage. The limits of the Israeli settler-colonial state strategy are increasingly becoming clear. The continued use of settler-colonial policies, characterised by excessive violence, along with the pursuit of regional hegemony, is pushing Israel into an untenable position. The Israeli leadership may be living in a fantasy world, thinking it can pull off a 'New World' model on Palestine and exterminate its population to fully colonise it; or to declare itself officially an apartheid state, seeking to make Palestinian subjugation legal. But in the historical and geopolitical context of the Middle East, neither of these fantasies is viable. Global pressure is coming to bear. The expulsion of the people of Gaza has been outright rejected. The Palestinian people, like any other nation that has survived brutal colonisation, will not leave their country and disappear, nor will they accept life under a colonial apartheid regime. Israeli leaders may do well to start imagining the very real possibility of sharing land and accepting equal rights, and start preparing the Israeli society for it. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
