Source: The Unz Review
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Good news! Israel has agreed to accept Biden’s ceasefire deal as long as it can keep fighting. This is from CNN:
Israeli statement on Tuesday indicated it was poised to formally sign up to the current ceasefire plan for Gaza, while at the same time maintaining the freedom to keep fighting. CNN
Can you see how absurd this is? It’s like the fat man who agrees to go on a diet as long as he can still eat as much as he wants. It’s nonsense.
A ceasefire is a ceasefire. It is the termination of hostilities and an end to the fighting. Period. Israeli’s lawyerly wordplay does not change the meaning of the word or twist it to fit Israel’s strategic agenda. It is semantical gymnastics intended to hoodwink the public.
We shouldn’t have to point this out, but the media appears to be pressing the issue by carefully rephrasing Israel’s deliberate misunderstanding of what “ceasefire” means. Now –in the last 24 hours– they have slightly modified their approach again to better conceal their trickery. Now, instead of saying that a ceasefire allows them “the freedom to keep fighting”, they’re saying that “the ceasefire plan enables its war goals.”
There’s a subtle difference, but the meaning is the same. Israel wants to continue slaughtering civilians while saying they are in compliance with the ceasefire. It boggles the mind to think they’d put so much effort into finding a benign phrase for ‘continuing the killing’.
So, what’s really going on behind this misleading language?
That’s easy. Israel wants it to look like they’re cooperating with the Biden-backed ceasefire deal while continuing their military operation in Gaza. That’s it in a nutshell. Take a look at this Tuesday article at Newsweek:
Amid conflicting narratives over U.S. President Joe Biden’s latest push for a ceasefire… an Israeli official has told Newsweek that the U.S. proposal aligns with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of inflicting a lasting, decisive defeat against the Palestinian movement.
“Israel will not end the war before achieving all its war objectives: destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, freeing all the hostages and ensuring Gaza doesn’t pose a threat to Israel in the future,” the Israeli official told Newsweek on background.
“The proposal presented enables Israel to achieve these goals and Israel will indeed do so,” the Israeli official said. Israel Official Says Biden Ceasefire Plan Allows IDF to Destroy Hamas, Newsweek
Obviously, the ceasefire proposal does NOT align with Netanyahu’s plan to keep fighting or it wouldn’t be a ceasefire. Right?
But the foofaraw over the meaning of “ceasefire” is just one of many cringe-worthy particulars linked to Biden’s ham-fisted Gaza policy. There’s also the administration’s wacko messaging problem. For example, on Tuesday:
Joe Biden announced that the ceasefire resolution (approved by the Security Council on Monday) was “Israel’s proposal.”
Also, on Tuesday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the ceasefire resolution was “Israel’s proposal.”
U.S. National Security Spokesperson John Kirby repeated the same claim that “This was an Israeli proposal.
And just to round it off, UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the same thing in an interview with Wolf Blitzer adding that “Israel has already accepted this deal.”
Naturally, their claims were uncritically reiterated in all the media: This was an Israeli proposal.
But none of it was true. It was all lies.
And, just hours after Blinken made his case to the media, Netanyahu’s office issued the following statement:
“The claim that Israel agreed to end the war before achieving all its goals is a total lie,” …
As you can see, Netanyahu had no interest in pulling his punches. He basically read Blinken the ‘riot act’ in what-amounts-to a humiliating slapdown.
Now, you’d assume that if you had just been exposed to the world as a liar, you might show a bit of shame or remorse. But not Blinken. Without missing a beat, the mercurial Secretary tweaked his talking-points from “This is Israel’s deal” to ‘it’s all Hamas’ fault’, which is the blame-shifting narrative he is prattling today. Here he is on Twitter:
My message to governments and people throughout the region is this: If you want to alleviate the terrible suffering in Gaza, to get all the hostages home, to put Israelis and Palestinians on the path to durable peace — then press Hamas to say yes to the ceasefire. Anthony Blinken @SecBlinken
Yeah, because Hamas is the obstacle to peace. Got that?
What Blinken fails to mention in his tweet is that Netanyahu never had any intention of accepting a ceasefire, in fact, he has said repeatedly that there will be no permanent ceasefire until Hamas is destroyed and the hostages are freed. There’s no wiggle-room in the Israeli position at all. Netanyahu and his lieutenants are more determined than ever to achieve their maximalist strategic objectives. And Blinken supports those objectives which is why he shifted his attention from Netanyahu (the real problem) to Hamas.
But you got to hand it to him, Blinken’s performance has been a remarkable display of diplomatic choreography. Think about it: He was sent to Israel to persuade the two warring parties to find common ground and end the hostilities. But after just one day of promoting Biden’s deal, he switched into full Zionist-mode by covering-up Netanyahu’s intransigence while scapegoating Hamas for virtually everything.
Whatever happened to the “honest broker” concept? Here’s Blinken again:
Hamas asked for changes in the hostage deal proposal – some are workable and some are unworkable. Hamas could have replied with one word – yes. Instead they presented more changes – some of them go further than their previous positions”@Megatron_ron
What changes?
Hamas has welcomed the Biden-backed ceasefire from the beginning as was reported by CNN, Reuters and many other news agencies. In the words of one Hamas official:
“We want a ceasefire,” (but) the “burden is on the Israeli side to implement this resolution.”
But now that Netanyahu has rejected the ceasefire, the media has to make it look like Hamas is the ‘bad guy’. This is from Axios:
Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Wednesday that Hamas has not accepted the U.S.-backed proposal for a hostage and ceasefire deal and presented “numerous changes” that go beyond its previous positions….
Israeli officials said on Tuesday that Hamas effectively rejected the proposal, which President Biden presented in a speech 12 days ago…. Speaking from Doha after meeting with the Prime Minister of Qatar, Blinken said: “Hamas proposed numerous changes to the proposal that was on the table. Some of the changes are workable and some are not.” Blinken says Hamas didn’t accept ceasefire deal, Axios
This isn’t even remotely true. It’s just more blame-shifting. Of course, Hamas wants a ceasefire. Does anyone seriously think they want to see another 30,000 Palestinians slaughtered by Israel. Of course, not. And their demands are modest and reasonable.
What does Hamas want? This is from NPR:
Hamas wants a guaranteed end to the war, removal of Israeli troops from the Egypt-Gaza border and a say in which Palestinian prisoners get released…. But Israel says it won’t agree to end the war until it ensures Hamas will no longer govern Gaza. NPR
These are not just reasonable demands; they are explicitly required under the Biden ceasefire proposal. And this is what the vast majority of Americans want too. (See chart below) They want an end to the fighting, an end to the killing, and an end to the genocide.
Only Israel opposes these measures. Only Israel sees some advantage to continuing the slaughter and mayhem. Only Israel wants more civilians to suffer and die. And, judging by his performance, Blinken’s sympathies align more with Israel’s than they do with the national security interests of the United States.
What’s clear is that Secretary Blinken is considerably more interested in shielding the intractable Netanyahu from blame and advancing the strategic interests of the Jewish state than he is with ending the butchery of innocent civilians or salvaging what’s left of America’s tattered reputation. Perhaps, he’s playing on the wrong team?
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