The world is responding to the devastating news of the murder of six Israeli hostages, including American Hersh Goldberg-Polin whose parents recently addressed the DNC Convention in a moving speech advocating for a ceasefire and peace.
While President Biden and VP Harris are solely blaming Hamas for the deaths, an enraged Israeli public is out on the streets protesting Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu and accusing him of sabotaging ceasefire talks and failing to bring the hostages home. There are now planned worker strikes tomorrow.
In Gaza, Palestinians continue to suffer and die. Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in the past 11 months. There is now man-made famine and a polio crisis. Israel has expanded raids in the West Bank, where settlers have become more violent and over 600 Palestinians have died in the yast pear. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is now casually using Palestinian as a slur.
Unfortunately, the war is ongoing. Palestinians are still dying. Israeli hostages are still waiting to go home. The cycle seems unlikely to break.
It is clear to the international community that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s end goal is to stay in power no matter the cost, but a question that has rarely been asked is what’s his plan for the Palestinian people? What’s the end game for Palestinians who are currently living in occupied territory? Where will the people of Gaza go? What about the 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank?
I recorded this interview two days ago with political scholar Khaled Elgindy, who is a senior fellow and director of program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs at Middle East Institute. He is also author of the book Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump, which I strongly recommend to understand the current crisis.
Later this week, hopefully by tomorrow, I’ll publish an interview with an Israeli journalist about what is Bibi’s endgame for Israel - another question rarely asked in US media.
What is Netanyahu's Endgame for Palestinians?