Israel has killed at least 274 more Palestinian people in strikes on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The IDF bombarded civilian areas including markets and residential buildings before, during and after a rescue operation that saw the release of four Israeli ‘hostages’.
IDF military spokesperson Daniel Hagari admitted to Associated Press that a ceasefire deal would secure more Israeli detainees than military action.
Israel: genocidal assault over negotiation on ‘hostages’
Yet there was a peace deal in early May that provided the release of all Israeli detainees. In its final stage, the deal included an end to Israel’s siege of Gaza, ongoing since 1967. The proposal did not mention Israel’s military occupation of the rest of Palestine. Hamas agreed to the deal, but Israel rejected it.
The Israeli government line is clear here. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that any permanent peace deal is a “non-starter” for Israel. That’s because Netanyahu says he wants the complete “destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities”.
This shows Netanyahu’s government prefers a genocidal assault against occupied Palestinian people over the return of its citizens.
In eight months of assault on Gaza where Israel has killed 15,000 children, Israeli military action has now released a total of seven detainees.
But it was a week long ceasefire in November that secured the return of 105 Israeli detainees in exchange for around 240 Palestinian detainees.
It’s worth noting the numbers in these exchanges are another example of entrenched racism. Israeli detainees are always presented as worth more than Palestinian detainees. This was even clearer in 2006 when Israel exchanged over 1,000 Palestinian detainees for one Israeli soldier.
But now Israel is rejecting any permanent ceasefire and accompanying exchange.
Netanyahu ‘sacrificing’ Israelis: the Hannibal Directive
In the words of a group supporting the Israeli detainees, the Israeli government is ‘sacrificing’ its own citizens. This echoes an Israeli military protocol called the Hannibal Directive.
Accounts from a former Israeli soldier say that the reportedly orally-issued directive states it’s better for a soldier kill a fellow Israeli than let Hamas capture them.
Co-founder of the Israeli organisation Breaking the Silence Yehuda Shaul has said:
we want to prevent [the capture of soldiers] at all costs, even at the cost of the death of the soldier
Israeli military veterans at Breaking the Silence call for an end to the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Israel says the Hannibal Directive is not in use in the ongoing offensive against Gaza. But Israel also claimed that in 2014 until a leaked audio revealed otherwise.
The Israeli government’s outright refusal to negotiate shows a complete disregard for Palestinian human rights and self-determination. It’s clear Netanyahu would rather carry out a genocide, ethnically cleanse Gaza and steal more resources and land. Any civilised person should be against this.
Featured image via Al Jazeera English – YouTube
