Two months after the mass slaughter perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli civilians near Gaza, Israeli authorities have decided to turn their attention to the south of this narrow strip of land. This is where displaced people have flocked, driven out by fighting in the north. They were given an orange light by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken: yes to continuing the offensive, no to costing too many Palestinian lives.
In the short term, this orange light guarantees the extension of the strategy to crush Gaza, which has been justified in the name of eradicating the Islamist movement. This is one of the Israeli army's two objectives, along with the release of the Israelis and foreigners captured on October 7 and still held hostage. Even when these releases are hardly compatible with bombardments similar to those that have already ravaged northern Gaza.
US President Joe Biden has taken his chances, letting the Jewish state have its way in order to better influence the course of the war and its outcome. But the moment of truth is not far off. For the moment, there is no question of an ambitious political approach: the Israeli Prime Minister strongly rejects the two-state solution. One of Benjamin Netanyahu's possible successors, former chief of staff Benny Gantz – presented as a pragmatist – is not resigned to it either.
American vision
The first already-crucial deadline concerns Gaza. In an op-ed published by the Washington Post on November 18, the US president set out his vision for "our future," guaranteeing a head-on clash with the current Israeli government. There was only one element that might suit Netanyahu: "Gaza must never again be used as a platform for terrorism," wrote Biden.
Not so, however, with the American president's idea of ruling out any continuation of a "blockade" and any "reduction in territory" by Israel, not to mention his plea for the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank "under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority." These proposals could only be perceived by Israel as a form of interference in its management of the Palestinian question.
The Israeli PM, however, is not in the best of positions to oppose this American vision. Despite the weeks that have passed since the start of military operations, Netanyahu remains unable to formulate his own vision.
This is a matter of urgency, given the humanitarian catastrophe now unfolding and the scale of destruction already affecting more than half the homes in one of the most densely populated areas on the planet. A form of internationalization of the current conflict is therefore imperative. Given the errors of their authorities, this is in the interests of both Palestinians and Israelis, as tragically demonstrated on October 7. Nevertheless, this internationalization promises to be an arduous task.
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