‘Massacre’ in Gaza Driven by Netanyahu’s ‘Humiliation’: Scholar
“His humiliation before the world, and the score he still has to settle with Hamas after the failure of operation “Protective Edge” in 2014, is one reason I believe he is massacring thousands of Palestinian civilians in cold blood,” Emran El-Badawi of University of Houston told IQNA.
His remarks come amid relentless Israeli strikes at the besieged Gaza Strip that has so far killed more than 8,000 people, mostly women and children, since the start of the war with Hamas on October 7. The Israeli attacks have displaced more than one million people in Gaza, known as the largest open-air prison on earth that houses 2.3 million people.
What follows is the full text of IQNA’s interview with professor El-Badawi about the situation in Palestine:
IQNA: After more than two weeks have passed since the start of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, how do you evaluate the situation in the occupied territories of Palestine and Gaza?
El-Badawi: The situation for Palestinians in Gaza today is Hell on earth. International legal groups are describing the now more than three weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment, including now land and sea incursions of Gaza as a genocide. Fuel, water and food have been cut off, much of the buildings, roads and infrastructures north and central strip have been totally destroyed, certain nights all communications were cut off, and the death toll—approaching 9,000 people—also includes UN workers, doctors, journalists, hostages taken by Hamas, and is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian civilians.
IQNA: One of the issues that has attracted attention since the beginning of Israel's invasion of Gaza has been humanitarian issues and the impossibility of providing aid to civilians. What do you think the international community should do in this regard?
El-Badawi: Early in the conflict, the UN Security Council proposed two separate ceasefire resolutions and the opening of a humanitarian corridor for aid to reach injured, displaced and starving Palestinians. The resolutions, proposed by Russia and then Brazil, received support from the majority of permanent members, but were thwarted by the United States veto. Only after President Biden’s visit to Israel, did the US unilaterally agree to a meagre humanitarian corridor from the Rafah crossing in the south, as Israeli bombardment intensified in the north. This process demonstrates the failure of the UN to “maintain international peace and security,” which is its stated mission, and the bad faith of the United States.
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This war accentuates the global problem of perpetual war, neo-imperialism and white supremacy. It is principally the US war machine, and its puppets in the UK, Canadian, Australian and EU governments who insist on fomenting war in the Middle East, dominating its strategic recourses and suppressing the native inhabitants. But the world has changed. There is a global, multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious social justice movement—the majority of planet earth—which seeks peace in the Middle East, and justice for the indigenous people of Palestine.
IQNA: Given the internal tensions in Israel due to so-called judicial reforms before this war, how will the current situation affect Netanyahu's political future?
El-Badawi: According to Israeli analysts, their prime minister’s career is defined by both wide-scale corruption and dividing Israeli society against itself. He has done so by forming the most extremist right-wing government in over seven decades.
On the eve of the October 7 attack by Hamas, Israel was in a state of civil conflict, largely because of prime minister Netanyahu. In this context, his inability to secure Israel’s borders undermines his hawkish reputation, and divulges his incompetence and cruelty. His humiliation before the world, and the score he still has to settle with Hamas after the failure of operation “Protective Edge” in 2014, is one reason I believe he is massacring thousands of Palestinian civilians in cold blood.
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His long political career is nearing its end, marked by his policies of murdering and displacing Palestinians, and sowing hatred and animosity among Israelis.
IQNA: Some believe that the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation showed the fragility and vulnerability of Israel. Do you think there will be a possibility of repeating an operation like the recent operation in the future?
El-Badawi: I hope not. Ultimately Israelis and Palestinians need to coexist with one another, and this is only possible by ending the occupation and establishing a society which grants justice, freedom, human and civil rights to both Arabs and Jews. Failing to reach this simple and logical conclusion after seventy-five years of conflict will surely lead to more conflict.
IQNA: In your opinion, what effect does the Hamas operation have on the process of normalization of ties between Arab countries and the Israeli regime?
El-Badawi: The normalization of relations between Israel and certain Arab states has now been stopped dead in its tracks. The normalization agreements were largely centered around economic development, including desalinization, cybersecurity and other sectors, travel and tourism, and official diplomatic ties. The problem with this arrangement is that it abandoned the Palestinians, leaving them no future in the Middle East.
Today it appears impossible to speak of any future Arab normalizations with Israeli without fully and finally addressing the Palestinian question.
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IQNA: What do you think may happen in the coming days and is it possible for Hamas and the Zionist regime to reach a kind of ceasefire with the mediation of other countries and for humanitarian reasons?
El-Badawi: Neighboring Middle Eastern countries are working around the clock to find a way to stop the bloodshed. Egypt, Qatar and the UAE are attempting to mediating a ceasefire or prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, so far with no success.
Interview By Mohammad Hassan Goodarzi
Dr. Emran El-Badawi is a professor and program director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Houston. He has created and managed various degree programs in the Humanities and Sciences, and has consulted for different industries. He is also the founder and former executive director of the International Qur'anic Studies Association, which aims to foster dialogue between scholars of the Qur'an across the world. He has published and appeared in various media outlets, and his research covers a wide range of topics related to Middle Eastern and Islamic civilization.
The views and opinions expressed in this interview are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the view of the International Quran News Agency.
