Plans have emerged for the forced displacement of all inhabitants of Gaza into a camp built on the ruins of Rafah. The proposal, which is supported by US president Trump as a step towards forced deportation of Palestinians in Gaza to surrounding countries, has raised tensions even within the Israeli right wing and highlighted the fragility of the current Israeli government.
Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, who spent most of his political career vehemently rejecting withdrawal from the settlements, referred to the so-called ‘humanitarian city’ as a concentration camp, resulting in calls for his imprisonment from Israeli defence minister Israel Katz. Olmert’s words were echoed by current opposition leader Yair Lapid, who described it as ‘a bad idea from every possible perspective’.
The project, which is estimated to cost $4 billion, would initially see 600,000 Palestinians forcibly relocated to the heavily guarded camp in the south of the enclave, where they would not be permitted to leave. Northern Gaza is seen as prime real estate by the Israeli ruling class and Israeli forces have been clearing areas for development and settlement by Israelis since the start of the war. Israel’s military forces have clashed with the government over the plans, highlighting that current resources would be spread too thin and reflecting the disquiet of army reservists, who have previously raised concerns they were being ordered to commit war crimes in Palestine.
The news comes as reports of settler violence rise dramatically in the region. Recently two Palestinians, one a US citizen visiting from Florida, were beaten to death by settlers in Sinjil, which has been attacked repeatedly over recent months as part of an ongoing land grab by Israeli settlers. Referred to as a ‘prevailing crime of impunity’ by the UK embassy in Jerusalem, Palestinians in the West Bank live their lives in fear of violence and – in many cases – death at the hands of Israel’s armed settler militias.
Netanyahu has, in the past, curried favour with religious groups by funnelling money into illegal settlements. But he has met with dissent in recent days as the United Torah Judaism and Shas (ultra-orthodox) parties threaten to leave his fragile coalition over his introduction of conscription for Yeshiva students, that were previously exempt, in a bid to boost troops. In tandem, his far-right security minister, Ben Gvir, has threatened to leave the current coalition if a ceasefire and hostage return deal is signed with Hamas. Netanyahu has spent the majority of his tenure in the current government carefully walking a tightrope that will reveal, with a gentle shake, the precarity of his power.
In fear that Gaza is being ethnically cleansed, 60 Labour MPs in Britain have called for the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state in a letter to foreign secretary David Lammy. The letter also calls for a trade blockade on settlements in the West Bank. The weak and deeply unpopular Labour government, however, has proven they cannot be trusted to act in the interests of the Palestinian people and Labour’s previous sanctions on some members of the Israeli government have done nothing to stop the onslaught.
Only the unionised working class has the power to stop goods and arms from reaching Israel through organised withdrawal of labour; in factories, transport, border control and beyond.
Palestinians and the Israeli working class will never find peace under the bloodied thumb of capitalism.
Gaza: Doctors Under Attack – film the BBC doesn’t want you to see
This harrowing and very powerful documentary, which is described as a “forensic investigation of Israeli attacks on Gaza’s hospitals”, is an important testament about the brutal way that the Israeli government has systematically destroyed the healthcare system in Gaza.
It lays bare the brutal assaults on the hospital infrastructure in Gaza and more importantly, the deliberate targeting of medical staff and their families, particularly the highly trained and dedicated doctors. As one contributor explains, you can set up a hospital quite quickly but to replace the skilled surgeons takes many years.
The documentary was originally commissioned by the BBC, but their controversial decision to refuse to show it has caused much anger and criticism.
It’s only been possible to see it, because the BBC gave the film back to the production company, Basement Films, and Channel 4 agreed to broadcast it.
The film clearly goes to great lengths to avoid any accusations similar to those made against the BBC documentary about children in Gaza, which was controversially withdrawn as one of the children was a relative of a Hamas official. A voiceover tells us on a number of occasions that some doctors interviewed have expressed support for Hamas.
The United Nations has reported that over the period covered in the documentary, they found that there were at least 136 strikes on at least 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, claiming significant casualties among doctors, nurses, medics and other civilians, and causing significant damage, if not complete destruction of civilian healthcare infrastructure. That, it said, was a war crime!
This film graphically shows what the impact of these attacks are, not just for the medical personnel and their families, but for the Gazan people as a whole left without a functioning healthcare system, causing needless deaths and lifelong misery.
Doctors are shown being forced to leave one hospital by the IDF and marched to the south of Gaza. Evading soldiers, they find another hospital in the north to work in and save lives. They repeated that until they are captured again and sent to detention centres where they suffer the most horrendous conditions and systematic torture, only to return to what little healthcare is left in Gaza – if they survive!
The film also focuses on the Israeli ‘Black Sites’ set up in Gaza to hold prisoners with no oversight, brutally interrogating those held for any information they may have about the hostages held by Hamas.
In another section of the film, an anonymous Israeli medic recalls seeing a Palestinian detainee being forced to undergo an operation with no anaesthetic. Compare that to the courage of these doctors and medical staff who have suffered and lost family members, sacrificing so much to support their communities and save lives.
I would urge anyone to watch this film, it’s the least we can do to bear testament to these crimes.
For me as a socialist, the only answer to this barbarity is to redouble your efforts to fight for a better socialist world!
Jane Nellist, Socialist Party (CWI England & Wales)
- Watch now at channel4.com/programmes/gaza-doctors-under-attack