CAIRO, Aug 9 (NNN-MENA) – The Israeli Security Cabinet’s plan, to take over Gaza City, sparked condemnation from home and abroad, with many saying the decision violates international law, worsens the Gaza humanitarian crisis, and undermines efforts to reach a ceasefire deal.
Recalcitrant Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said yesterday, the Security Cabinet has approved a plan, to take over Gaza city, and that the Defence Forces will prepare for the takeover. Following the announcement, Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, wrote in a social media post that, the decision is “a disaster that will lead to many more disasters.”
It will drag Israel “into a move that will take months, lead to the deaths of Israeli hostages, the killing of soldiers, cost Israeli taxpayers billions, and lead to a political collapse,” Lapid wrote.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a Tel Aviv-headquartered organisation, said in a statement that, the decision, completely disregarding “the clear will of the majority of the Israeli public,” will lead Israel “to a colossal disaster.”
“The Israeli regime has sentenced the living hostages to death and the dead hostages to disappearance,” it said, adding that, the only way to return the hostages is through a comprehensive deal, “and not another futile war.”
Meanwhile, the Palestinian presidency said, the Israeli decision “represents a continuation of the policy of genocide, systematic killing, starvation and siege, and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the resolutions of international legitimacy.”
It will also “lead to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe” in the enclave, the presidency was quoted as saying, by the Palestinian official news agency WAFA.
Hamas said in a statement that, it considers the Israeli plan “a new war crime,” which represents “a clear reversal of the course of negotiations” and reveals “the true motives behind his (Netanyahu’s) withdrawal from the final round.”
In a post on social media platform X, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said, the decision is “a continuation of Israel’s grave violations of international law and international humanitarian law, a clear undermining of the two-state solution, and the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state” along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
It is also “an extension of the Israeli regime’s extremist policy, that uses starvation and siege as a weapon against the Palestinian people, as well as, its persistence in systematically targeting civilian objects, hospitals and schools,” the ministry said, adding, it undermines the global efforts for reaching a ceasefire deal and ending the humanitarian suffering in Gaza.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that, the Israeli move “marks a new phase of its expansionist and genocidal policy in the region.”
The decision deals “a severe blow to international peace and security, exacerbates regional instability and further deepens the humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, it said, adding, Israel “must immediately abandon its war plans, agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, and start negotiations towards a two-state solution.”
In a statement posted on X, the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said, the decision “undermines the chances of achieving the two-state solution and obstructs the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
The ministry called for “putting an end to such inhumane practices, ensuring the immediate and sufficient entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and halting policies of starvation and ethnic cleansing.”
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry called the move an attempt to cement Israel’s “illegal occupation of Palestinian territories,” continue a “war of genocide” in Gaza, eliminate all “foundations of life” for the Palestinian people, and undermine their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state.
Israel’s continued policy of systematic starvation, killing, and “genocide” against the unarmed Palestinian people will only fuel the conflict, escalate tensions, and deepen hatred and extremism in the region, it said.
Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said in a statement that, the move is a reflection of the Israeli intention to completely occupy Gaza, since the start of the war and to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
The Israeli regime, driven by extreme ideologies or narrow self-interest, is unaware of the extent of international isolation it faces, as a result of its persistence in the “genocidal war,” Gheit said.
For its part, Saudi Arabia, in a statement, strongly condemned the Israeli plan to take over Gaza City, and its “persistence in committing crimes of starvation, brutal practices, and ethnic cleansing” against the Palestinian people.
“The inhumane ideas and decisions adopted by the Israeli occupation authorities, without deterrence, reaffirm their failure to understand the emotional, historical, and legal ties of the Palestinian people to this land and their right to it, based on international law and humanitarian principles,” said the statement.
Four new deaths due to starvation and malnutrition were recorded in Gaza over the past 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll of that kind since Oct, 2023, to 201, including 98 children, Gaza-based health authorities said yesterday.
The authorities said later in the day that, at least 9,824 Palestinians have been murdered and 40,318 injured, since Israel renewed intensive strikes on March 18, bringing the total death toll since Oct, 2023, to 61,330, with 152,359 wounded.– NNN-MENA
