Israel, in the foreseeable future, won’t be what it was before October 7, neither politically nor in terms of security. There are internal repercussions which have not yet been revealed. There are extensive investigations which will be conducted to determine responsibilities and hold some accountable. There will be no peace for Israelis until they are completely certain about what has been investigated in regards with what has happened, and internal security is restored as well as the case of southern and northern borders are considered. This is in addition to the inevitability of holding accountable the politicians and leaders who led the country during October 7. Israel is, after all, a democratic state which possesses a strong institutional base. It has the ability to disclose, hold accountable, and take all precautions to safeguard its present and future. Therefore, radical changes in policies and perhaps international alliances can be expected.
It is also almost certain that Israel’s relations with some of its Arab neighbours will be affected. There will also be a crisis of confidence, the level and implications of which will depend on the course the Gaza crisis takes and how it will be dealt with in future and its conclusion. If some believe the peace agreements between Israel and its neighbours are in danger, we do not agree. It is possible that they will face stagnation or freezing, in varying proportions and degrees based on the position and policies of each individual Arab country.
[by Salem Al-Ketbi in Elaph]
It wasn’t an easy year at all, and it was burdened with the deaths and lives lost. The world saw Gaza lost more than twenty thousand of its people, most of them children and women. It is exposed clearly. The toll is likely to be more horrific, as the Israel’s objective for this year and the next year to annihilate Gaza. This is because there are indications that maximum what is being negotiated is the truce. The talk about stopping the war is not on the table. The matter will not be taken up unless the Israeli goal is achieved.
Of course, the price of the war on Gaza was not only paid by the Palestinians, even if it cost them their blood and lives. Israel’s war on Gaza did not have mercy for children. It chased even the sick ones into hospitals. The myth of children’s rights and its international convention signed by all countries are demolished.
The human rights discourse has received a strong blow in the year 2023 by the Israelis. The Israeli war on Gaza is a war against children and women. What distinguished this aggression was that non-Arab and non-Islamic peoples took to the streets to demonstrate against what is happening in Gaza. What happened in Gaza was the truest expression of double standards in discourse and international relations. It also showed evidence of the gap between discourse and positions taken by the countries. The world is facing lots of pressures and challenges.
[by Aamaal Musa in Asharq Al-Awsat]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque