Political strategists might evoke the pottery barn rule: "You break it, you own it." In 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell (1937-2021) used the expression to try to dissuade President George W. Bush from invading Iraq – the operation was part of the United States response to the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Powell warned the president: "You break [the regime], you become the owner [of the country]," meaning he would be responsible for administering 25 million people in a hostile environment. Bush did not listen to his adviser. In March 2003, the US toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, without knowing how to replace him. They took possession of Iraq, provoked a civil war between Iraqis, revived jihadism – in the form of the Islamic State organization – and, in the process, destabilized the area for a generation. The hundreds of thousands of dead and the ruins of these years of misfortune still haunt the region.
Historical comparisons have their limits. However, Benjamin Netanyahu's policies in Gaza seem to align increasingly more with the pottery barn rule daily. As the leader of a coalition held together only by the participation of ultra-right-wing parties, the prime minister is prolonging the war in the Palestinian territory. He is doing so by implicitly refusing the most recent US peace proposal, which was developed in collaboration with Qatar and Egypt and later backed by the United Nations.
Hell on the Mediterranean
Joe Biden proposed an immediate ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages held by Hamas. Washington believes that this extension, apart from a few one-off operations, can only be achieved through negotiation, which is also being called for by a growing number of Israeli demonstrators. The Biden plan calls for a definitive cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of the Israeli army and a five-year reconstruction program for a devastated Gaza Strip.
Whether independent or linked to the UN, local or international, all humanitarian organizations paint the same picture. Hell on the Mediterranean. The 2.3 million Palestinian residents are facing critical challenges in health, food (with thousands of children experiencing malnutrition), and psychological well-being. They cannot flee, as the borders are closed. They have no access to tunnels. They are paying a high price with the type of heavy bombardment chosen by the Israeli army in this conflict triggered by Hamas. According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, 37,000 Palestinians – including many children, women and the elderly – have already been killed in the campaign following the terrorist operation of October 7, 2023 – involving murders, rapes, kidnappings – in which some 1,200 people were killed.
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