Gaza faces hell or hell 

It has become clear that the choice that Netanyahu and his government are giving the resistance and the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is either hell or hell. In fact, it is a choice that he is giving all Arabs, not just the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu has gone against the agreement that is supposed to start the second phase of negotiations that should culminate in the return of all prisoners and hostages, the declaration of a ceasefire, and the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu’s turn against the agreement did not surprise anyone, as he is planning to recover the hostages and prisoners by extending the first phase, in order to free himself from the internal pressure of the captives’ families and the voices supporting them. He then plans to make any excuse to resume the war to achieve his goals of eliminating the rule of Hamas and disarming it, as well as displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza as a prelude to his plan to empty the Gaza Strip of most of its residents. This is based on Trump’s vision, who dreams of investing in Gaza’s beaches and geography to establish what he calls a “Riviera”.

If Hamas complies with Israel’s demands and completes the exchange deal as an extension of the first stage, it will have cancelled the second phase and will not have any pressure cards to use to achieve a permanent ceasefire agreement.

If it refuses and keeps the captives, Netanyahu and his government will use it as a pretext to unleash hell on them under the pretext of military pressure to release the captives. Trump is also hinting at this and is opening the weapons stores for Netanyahu.

READ: US approves $3 billion military sales to Israel amid ceasefire talks

By closing the crossings and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, which he has already declared, Netanyahu is taking the war back to square one and threatening tens of thousands more martyrs and victims, more destruction and the displacement of people once again to “safe areas” until the final displacement is completed.

The Arab and international response to the displacement project is not firm enough to deter him.

There is talk of an Egyptian-Arab plan to manage the Gaza Strip while disarming the resistance movements and removing their leaders from the Gaza Strip.

The resistance, which has paid a very high price in the form of its members and Gazans, will fight to the end, and this end will not be near, and it threatens to turn into a long war of attrition.

The feeling among Netanyahu’s government and large groups of the people in Israel is that this is a historic opportunity that may not be repeated to liquidate the Palestinian cause, because the president of the greatest country in the world seeks a world free of international laws that have been in effect since the end of World War II until today. These laws include respecting the right of peoples to self-determination.

Realistically, all that remains is the logic of force that governs international relations between peoples and countries.

Trump has threatened to withdraw from the UN and from the NATO Treaty, as he says he does not need these expensive allies.

This means that the world is facing a new era in the history of international relations, which, even though it lacked justice, had a minimum level of commitment to international norms.

Trump is now promoting America’s interests above all others, meaning that any international relationship or issue that does not bring profit to the American treasury is rejected. He seeks to achieve the strongest American empire of all time.

READ: Israel’s Smotrich calls for ‘opening gates of hell’ on Gaza after halt of humanitarian aid

There are weak and oppressed peoples who will pay the price of the law of the jungle. The strong decide how the world’s wealth is distributed, and how the borders between countries are drawn.

What encourages Netanyahu now is the weakness of the Lebanese front, or rather, its disappearance from the equation, after the blows Hezbollah received. Likewise, Netanyahu’s ambition in Syria did not stop at the borders of the occupied Golan Heights. He is betting on sectarian differences in Syria, trying to incite them, and branding Ahmed Al-Sharaa as a Daesh member. He is also betting on Jordan’s weakness and its dependence on American support.

Netanyahu and those around him feel that the opportunity is ripe to achieve the dream of completing the Zionist project by displacing the people of Palestine to Egypt and Jordan, expanding the area of ​​the occupying state, and nibbling away at Syrian and Lebanese lands.

The resistance movement in the Gaza Strip is facing a major predicament, as resuming the war means more destruction and victims without any Arab or other support for the resistance that has been under siege for years.

That is why it is clinging to the last card, to prevent the resumption of war by insisting on starting the second phase of negotiations that is supposed to lead to the completion of the exchange of all captives, the declaration of a permanent ceasefire agreement and the start of the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Egypt, Jordan and the Arab countries have announced their rejection of displacement, but this does not prevent displacement.

The entire Arab world must realise the seriousness of the coming stage for everyone and must act responsibly and courageously, not only towards Palestine, as the danger that is sweeping Palestine also threatens Lebanon and Syria, and will spare Egypt, Jordan or countries. The Arabs must now choose between hell or hell.

This article first appeared in Arabic in Arab48 on 2 March 2025

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