Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Reuters
When is an occupation not an occupation? When Benjamin Netanyahu orders it.
The Israeli Prime Minister has agreed with his cabinet to send the Israel Defence Force into a full-scale operation against Hamas in Gaza City that he wants to lead to taking over the whole enclave – but not actually occupying it. What happens next is an obvious question and it will be a long wait for the answer – Israel doesn’t even admit it’s an occupation force on the West Bank, which it captured in 1967. The immediate Israeli objection to a new campaign in Gaza is that it will risk the lives of the hostages that remain held there.