Observers who spoke to Sky News Arabia believe that the expansion of Israeli operations in the southern Gaza Strip will have serious consequences at the regional level, especially since residents have no choice but to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing, fueling anger. Egypt and Arab nations refuse to relocate them to the Sinai population.
On Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shogri affirmed that Israel’s forced displacement policy was “a war crime” and that “we have a strong and firm will to reject any form of displacement of Palestinians.”
“The actions carried out in Gaza are a violation of international humanitarian law, and the Palestinian Authority and Arab and Islamic countries have emphasized the need to have mechanisms to investigate these violations, and the Palestinian Authority has also sought the International Criminal Court.”
A strategic target for Israel
Palestinian political analyst Abdul Mahdi Mudawa believes that the expansion of the Israeli ground operation to include the southern Gaza Strip is “a planned goal by Israel since the beginning of the occupation against the Gaza Strip”.
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Mutawa said, “Israel is targeting the south and the center to complete its operations against Hamas, and it is expected that Israel will target Khan Yunis in the south as it is the largest area in the Gaza Strip. (about 12 km wide), its eastern part is densely populated. “Increasingly, Israel plans to separate Khan Younis from Rafah and Al-Wusta to put pressure on the population migrating from the north to the south. The population of the south as well.”
Bombing in the south has so far been selective, as Israel targets specific buildings and not a belt of fire as happened in the north, after huge pressure it faces from the international community and the United States.
What are the regional implications?
Saudi writer and political analyst Saad Abdullah Al-Hamid told Sky News Arabia:
- Since the start of the occupation of the Gaza Strip, Israel has stated that its main goal is to eliminate the Hamas movement and cut off water, electricity and gas to all facilities in the enclave.
- But it has continued to target civilians, killing thousands of children, women, and the sick. Recently, Hamas has expanded its operations by attacking hospitals under the pretext of having corridors or weapons stores, so far without hitting any targets. Israel appears to be very distracted and has no plans to move into Gaza.
- Israel is using the same pretext to relocate residents of the Gaza Strip, claiming access to Hamas members, and today it is talking about displacement from the south of the Gaza Strip, which could raise international unrest and push regional powers into conflict. Directly to Israel.
- What Israel is doing in Gaza today is genocide and forced displacement of the people of the Strip, which will strengthen the regional polarization, as this plan is categorically rejected by Egypt, Jordan and all Arab countries.
- In light of the categorical international rejection of this proposal, Israel promotes a process of forced relocation to Egypt, Jordan, Europe or the United States, which would result in regional conflict and isolation for Israel.
- Expanding ground operations will lead to more killings and casualties of innocent people, and will lead to wider regional and international tensions.
- Today, Israel needs strong international pressure to end its practices of killing and displacing Palestinians and to abide by international agreements on the two-state solution.
Regional tension
Egyptian political science professor Hassan Salama said Israel is applying maximum pressure on the Palestinians to withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip.
Israel is targeting the Gaza Strip’s infrastructure, hospitals and shelters, with the aim of pressuring Gaza’s residents to flee to other countries, the spokesman said.
Salama believes that “Israeli action will raise the level of regional tension”. He noted that the Egyptian position is strict on this matter. “From the first day of the crisis, Egypt announced its categorical rejection of the displacement situation in Sinai. International powers mobilized, all of which supported the Egyptian rejection.”
He says his country “has been working from day one to support the Palestinian cause, to protect its national security in the light of historical conditions, and not to allow the solution of the problem by moving the residents of Gaza out of the territory.”
Palestinian denial
In the same context, the Palestinian ambassador to Cairo, Diab al-Louh, renewed his refusal to relocate residents of Gaza to Sinai or anywhere outside the Palestinian border.
During a joint press conference with the governor of North Sinai, al-Louh rejected all displacement plans and urged Palestinians to flee to Egypt.
The Palestinian ambassador appreciated Egypt’s interest in opening the Rafah crossing and continued aid to the Gaza Strip.
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