PFLP warns British troops in Gaza would be ‘legitimate target’
The Cradle, Apr 28 2024
Britain troops deployed to Gaza or its coast will be treated as occupying forces and will be legitimate targets for resistance, the PFLP warned on Apr 28. The warning follows a BBC report on Saturday saying British troops could be deployed to assist with delivering aid to Gaza from an offshore port now under construction by the US military. The BBC report, citing unidentified government sources, stated that the British government is considering deploying troops to drive the trucks that will carry aid from the port along a floating causeway to the shore. Though US forces are building the port, White House officials have claimed that there would be no US “boots on the ground” in Gaza.
The British military is already involved in the port’s construction by providing logistical support, including a Royal Navy ship to house US soldiers and sailors working on the project. British military planners are currently embedded at US CENTCOM in Florida, as well as in Cyprus, where aid will be screened before shipment to Gaza, the UK Ministry of Defense said on Friday. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement:
It is critical we establish more routes for vital humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza, and the UK continues to take a leading role in the delivery of support in coordination with the US and our international allies and partners.
Aid agencies have asked Israel to simply open the road crossings into Gaza to allow additional aid to reach the starving population. The PFLP clarified:
Britain’s justifications for sending troops to Gaza are lies that deceive no one. The British claims about delivering aid are merely a pretext for the permanent presence of military forces on the ground for malevolent colonial purposes and to protect the security of the Zionist entity. This is something our people and resistance are well aware of.
Though Biden announced the construction of the port as his own proposal in March, Netanyahu first suggested the idea to Biden in October. Netanyahu has also suggested the port could help in the “voluntary” deportation of Gazans to third countries.
The PFLP issued a warning in March stating that the US plan to build a port on the Gaza coast is “suspicious and dubious,” as it would open the door to the forced displacement of Gaza’s population under humanitarian and other pretexts. Fears of forced displacement via the port are rising, given Israeli threats to invade Rafah on the Egypt-Gaza border, where 1.3 million people have sought refuge from Israeli bombing elsewhere in the strip. Such an invasion would cause a new wave of displacement and massive numbers of civilian deaths, aid officials and western diplomats have warned.
Fearful Netanyahu scrambles to prevent ICC arrest warrant: Report
The Cradle, Apr 28 2024
The US is involved in a diplomatic effort to prevent the International Criminal Court from issuing an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, according to Hebrew media reports. Haaretz analyst Amos Harel said on Apr 28 that Washington is “already” engaged in efforts to block the ICC warrant against Netanyahu. The prime minister is reportedly in a state of extreme anxiety over the matter.
Israeli journalist Ben Caspit wrote that Netanyahu is “under unusual stress” over the possibility of an arrest warrant being issued against him by the UN tribunal at the Hague, adding that he is leading a “nonstop push over the telephone” to prevent it. Both Washington and Tel Aviv are not among the 124 states that signed the ICC Rome Statute of 1998, which established genocide as one of four major international crimes, along with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression.
Maariv also reported that Netanyahu is fearful of the prospect of an ICC warrant against him. Sources close to the matter told the newspaper that Netanyahu has made an extensive number of phone calls to international leaders and officials, particularly US President Joe Biden, in an attempt to prevent the issuance of an arrest warrant against him and that the Israeli prime minister is indirectly trying to pressure Biden to act against the ICC. The sources said:
Netanyahu realizes that the international arrest warrant could make him subject to prosecution and detainment, so he attempts to thwart its issuance daily.
The sources also did not rule out the possibility that the recent shift in the Israeli position regarding a prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal, which now appears to be in favor of an agreement, is part of efforts to avoid the ICC warrant. The ICC could also issue warrants to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, according to the report. Netanyahu said on Apr 26:
We will never stop defending ourselves. Whereas decisions of the court in the Hague will not affect Israel’s actions, they would be a dangerous precedent threatening the soldiers and officials of any democracy fighting criminal terrorism and aggression.
Earlier this month, it was reported that arrest warrants could be issued against top Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, prompting an emergency meeting at the prime minister’s office on Apr 16. Israel has been accused of genocide by the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling at the start of the year determined that Israel was plausibly guilty of the crime of genocide and ordered it to stop genocidal acts during its war on Gaza and take measures to guarantee the efficient provision of humanitarian aid to the strip.
Israel proposes ‘sustainable calm’ in Gaza ceasefire negotiations
The Cradle, Apr 28 2024
A new Israeli proposal for a possible prisoner exchange and ceasefire deal with Hamas includes a willingness to discuss the “restoration of sustainable calm” in Gaza after an initial release of captives on humanitarian grounds, Axios reported on Apr 28. According to two Israeli officials speaking with Axios journalist Barak Ravid:
The proposal includes Israel’s willingness to discuss the establishment of a sustainable ceasefire as part of the implementation of the second phase of the deal, which would take place after the release of hostages on humanitarian grounds.
Hamas is currently holding some 100 Israelis captive in Gaza, along with the remains of 30 more killed in captivity by Israeli bombing. Israel is holding thousands of Palestinians captive in its prisons. Axios notes that this is the first time Israeli leaders have suggested they are open to discussing an end to the war.
Hamas has thus far demanded any ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal lead to a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a return of the displaced to their homes in north Gaza, and a permanent end to the war. In contrast, Israeli leaders have insisted on only a temporary ceasefire that would allow them to resume the war on Gaza after its expiration.
Previous Israeli offers included a six-week ceasefire and the release of 900 Palestinians in exchange for Hamas releasing forty Israelis consisting of female soldiers, men over the age of 50, and male captives in poor medical condition. Hamas says only 20 of its captives currently meet that criteria. According to Axios, Israeli negotiators are now authorized to discuss a deal involving the release of fewer than 40 captives. An Israeli official said:
We hope that what we have proposed is enough to bring Hamas into serious negotiations. We hope Hamas sees we are serious about reaching a deal, and we are serious. They should understand that it is possible that if the first stage is implemented, it will be possible to advance to the next stages and reach the end of the war.
The Guardian noted that the offer of a “sustainable ceasefire” mirrors a suggestion for a truce from a senior Hamas official. Last week, Khalil al-Hayya floated the idea of a hudna, a word used in Islamic jurisprudence to describe a kind of long-term truce or “calm.” However, a Hamas leader responded by telling Al-Mayadeen that the Israeli proposal “does not reflect a fundamental shift” in the Israeli position. The leader said:
The Israeli proposal does not give clear answers to the issue of withdrawal and a comprehensive ceasefire. Hamas is still studying the proposal, but there are no high expectations for its acceptance unless fundamental amendments are made to it.
Sources speaking with Al-Sharq Sunday said a delegation from Hamas will visit Cairo tomorrow to hold talks on a ceasefire. The sources said Hamas is satisfied with the progress regarding the issue of the return of the displaced but that Hamas demands that an agreement must still include a text regarding stopping the war or sustainable calm and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza at the end of the negotiating process.
Israel has used the threat of a full-scale invasion of Rafah for leverage in the negotiations. International diplomats and aid groups have warned an invasion of the city on the Egypt-Rafah border would result in mass civilian casualties. Over 1.3 million people displaced by Israel’s brutal seven-month bombing campaign have taken refuge in Rafah, including many living in makeshift tent cities. Axios adds:
The Israeli official noted that Israel believes Hamas perceives the threat of an Israeli invasion of Rafah as a credible threat, and that this may help the two sides reach a deal. He added that Israel is serious about an operation in Rafah.
At the same time, Netanyahu and his partners in the war cabinet are under intense domestic pressure, including in the form of large-scale protests, to reach a deal that will see the return of the Israeli captives. Shimon Shiffer wrote in Yediot Ahronot:
After more than 200 days of fighting, Netanyahu and Gantz promised that the battle in Rafah would defeat Hamas. There is no possibility of this. In short, we must now pay the price required of us and retrieve our loved ones from Gaza at any cost.
Israel’s effort to postpone negotiations for a permanent end to the war until after the first stages of a deal are implemented resembles the Israeli negotiating strategy during the 1993 Oslo Accords. In that case, an interim agreement was reached to establish a Palestinian state. However, the “final status” negotiations were postponed until a later stage. Israel used the delays, which lasted years, to accelerate the building of Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian land, thereby sabotaging the prospects of a Palestinian state.
Hezbollah responds to Israeli attacks in south Lebanon with dozens of rockets
The Cradle, Apr 28 2024
Hezbollah attacked the Israeli Meron settlement and a number of others with dozens of Katyusha rockets on the evening of Apr 27, the Lebanese resistance group said in a statement. Hezbollah said in a statement early on Sunday:
In response to the Israeli enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes, especially the towns of Al-Quzah, Markaba and Serbin, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance bombed the Meron settlement and the surrounding settlements with dozens of Katyusha rockets.
Hebrew media reported that a main radar was damaged at one of Israel’s northern bases following rocket fire at several settlements in the Mount Meron area, where Israel’s strategic Meron air control base is located. Many of the rockets made impact after the Iron Dome failed to intercept them. Ynet said that an Israeli army soldier was injured by shrapnel near the Manara settlement on Saturday evening. The Israeli army claimed it hit dozens of “military buildings” affiliated with Hezbollah following the resistance group’s attacks. Earlier on Saturday night, Israeli warplanes heavily bombarded the southern Lebanese villages of Markaba, Serbin, and Al-Quzah. At least 14 were injured in an Israeli attack on a residential building between the towns of Yatar and Serbin.
Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, said that day that his group’s operations have hindered Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon. He said:
Those who fail to see the future, who are ignorant of this enemy, will not be able to understand the facts that indicate that this support will have benefits beyond supporting Gaza and beyond protecting Lebanon; it extends to forming a real deterrent force that confronts Israel and teaches it that it cannot cross the line. Western-sponsored deescalation efforts for Lebanon are not viable unless they are based around a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Whoever comes up with an initiative that entails a ceasefire in the south to relieve Israel so that it can bolster its positions in Gaza is calling on us to participate in supporting the Israeli enemy. Gallant threatens us that if we don’t stop the attacks, he will attack Lebanon to return the residents of the north to their homes. I say to Gallant that this war will not only cause the residents to not return to their homes but will push their return further and further away and is likely to end their presence once and for all.
A senior Israeli official told WSJ that night that an Israeli escalation against Lebanon is the only way forward.
Niqnaq 