Netanyahu’s order for 70% Israeli control of Gaza is not ‘self-defence’ – it’s ethnic cleansing

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians has commented on Israeli plans to seize control of even more of Gaza:

Benjamin Netanyahu’s order to the IDF [Israel’s name for its military occupation forces] to seize control of at least 70% of the Gaza Strip is an egregious violation of the so-called ‘ceasefire’ that Israel has violated more than 3,000 times since October.

Increasing Israeli occupation of Gaza has gone unchecked and the so-called ‘yellow line’ has continually expanded, with Israeli soldiers operating an open-fire policy on any Palestinians who finds themselves within the no man’s land, most of whom are in their own neighbourhoods.

In moving the ‘yellow line’ forward, Israel is deliberately forcing Palestinians from their homes as part of their ethnic cleansing policies. This will ensure a death sentence for many Palestinians in Gaza who are already faced with extreme overcrowding, food shortages, vermin-infested shelters, and displacement.

‘Unlawful Israeli occupation of Gaza’

Israel’s consistent encroachment of territory in Gaza is an intentional re-occupation plan that will ultimately solidify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the unlawful Israeli occupation of Gaza.

This use of the occupied ‘yellow line’ as a free fire zone for Israeli soldiers is an abhorrent violation of human rights and a further example of Israel rendering Palestinians as human target practice. As the UN Human Rights Commissioner has asserted, Israeli claims of ‘self-defence’ in their operating of the ‘yellow line’ are without any legal basis.

As Israel deepens its assault on Lebanon and annexation of the West Bank, the humanitarian conditions in Gaza are going increasingly un-noticed, with Israel forcing increasingly dire conditions in the overcrowded Strip. Food and medical supplies remain scarce, and diseases and infestation are spreading. Israeli-backed militias are also contributing to worsening conditions.

Israeli forces have systematically destroyed Gaza, and Netanyahu’s order of 70% Israeli occupation would result in the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza living in less than a third of the original territory and lead to ultimately uninhabitable conditions.

Órlaith Roe, public affairs and communications officer at the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, said:

There is no such thing as ‘voluntary emigration’. What Israel is suggesting is the ethnic cleansing of a Palestinian population from an area that has already been systematically destroyed. Netanyahu did not stop at 50% or 60%, and he will not stop at 70%.

Israel has made its intentions very clear: it will not stop until it has forcibly removed every Palestinian from Gaza; and what is truly remarkable is the response of governments such as the UK who remain indifferent to Israel’s open declarations of ethnic cleansing.

Featured image via Erik Marmor / Getty Images