Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu appears to have free rein to do as he pleases, as UN Security Council backs Gaza plan
After protracted negotiations, the UN Security Council voted last week to support Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza. The proposal, which was passed 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining, includes the disarmament of Hamas and demilitarisation of Gaza, provision for an international stabilisation force, the rebuilding of Gaza and its control by an appointed body that includes Palestinian technocrats.
States supporting the motion viewed it as an uncomfortable compromise, agreed primarily to allow some further progress to be made. There is also a more general belief that the worst is over, with aid agencies reporting a drop in public interest. The reality on the ground tells a very different story, though.
Israel remains in firm control of Gaza and is increasing its violence in the occupied West Bank, as well as expanding its war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
In Gaza, Israel is following a plan that fits with US intentions, dividing the strip into three zones. The vast majority of the 2.2 million Palestinians are being corralled into a coastal strip known as the ‘Red Zone’, which accounts for less than half of the land area, where 80% of buildings are damaged or destroyed; public services such as water supplies and sewage treatment are either limited or non-existent.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are allowing some aid into this area, but at levels far below what is needed. Similarly, some hospitals are still open, but they are seriously limited in what they can offer. The World Health Organisation is reporting multiple problems across the whole of the Red Zone, such as trauma and injuries, malnutrition, infections, mental health conditions and complications with maternal and neonatal health.
Moreover, it is now winter. The rain, wind and cold are making living conditions for Palestinians appalling, especially since many are crowded into tents or hastily constructed shelters in ruined buildings.
Beyond the Red Zone is the Yellow Zone, a narrow strip of land. Beyond that is the Green Zone, which makes up the majority of the Gaza Strip but which Israel has largely depopulated, with few Palestinians remaining. The Green Zone is under full IDF control, and any Palestinians trying to move there from the Red Zone are likely to be killed. The IDF is also now slowly encroaching on the Red Zone, further restricting the area into which the Palestinians are crowded.
Adding to the catastrophe, IDF air strikes continue. Over 12 hours on 20 November, Israel killed 33 people, mainly women and children, and wounded many more in attacks in Gaza City and Khan Younis, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to local medical officials. Since the ceasefire started last month, Gaza authorities have reported close to 500 ceasefire violations, which have killed 339 Palestinians and wounded 871.
The overall picture is that Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu can do what he chooses, with the tacit agreement of the Trump administration, regardless of what both leaders are saying in public.
This also shows in the settler-instigated violence right across the occupied West Bank. The UN Humanitarian Office reported that October saw the highest monthly number of Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank since records began in 2006, “with more than 260 attacks resulting in casualties, property damage or both – an average of eight incidents per day”. Seizure of Palestinian land also continues, including with an Israeli government plan to take over an important historical site, where settlers are already establishing an outpost.
Palestinians are also still being killed in Israeli prisons and military detention. At least 98 Palestinians have died in detention since 7 October 2023, according to data collected by an Israeli human rights group, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI), although that number is widely thought to be a substantial underestimate, with hundreds more missing in detention. A director at PHRI, Naji Abbas, said: “|The alarming rate at which people are killed in Israeli custody reveals a system that has lost all moral and professional restraint.”
Beyond the Gaza Strip and the Occupied West Bank, Israel is also continuing its long war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, despite a supposed ceasefire. The current phase began when Hezbollah staged rocket barrages against Israel in support of the Hamas attack into southern Israel on 7 October two years ago.
Since then, and up to a tentative ceasefire starting a year ago, an analysis by Associated Press reveals that 130 Israelis have been killed, including 47 civilians, and tens of thousands have been displaced, most of whom are civilians who have moved well away from the border area. Meanwhile, the analysis also shows that the cost for the Lebanese has been massive, with 3,800 killed, including close to a thousand women and children, and 1.2 million people displaced.
Israel continues to maintain IDF bases in southern Lebanon, and there are frequent air strikes, but Hezbollah still has more than 20,000 armed operatives, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. This is despite the group having lost around 5,000 paramilitaries in the past two years.
Security experts now expect a sudden Israeli military escalation, after an Israeli air strike in Beirut killed the Hezbollah chief-of-staff, Haitham Ali al-Tabtabai.
All of this amounts to a situation that is a very far cry from anything remotely resembling a transition to peace in the region, and the Israeli government sees itself able to set the agenda up to next year’s election. Meanwhile a new generation of determined young Palestinians is emerging, Israel will remain insecure despite a veneer of peace, and Netanyahu will continue to be a valued recruiting sergeant for Hamas.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Get the latest CounterCurrents updates delivered straight to your inbox.
Paul Rogers is Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies in the Department of Peace Studies and International Relations at Bradford University, and an Honorary Fellow at the Joint Service Command and Staff College. He is openDemocracy’s international security correspondent.
Originally published in OpenDemocracy