While the US and the West have been displaying their satisfaction in the United Nations (UN), where they managed to veto anti-Israel resolutions, the ongoing West-backed Israeli aggression on Palestine isn’t paying rich dividends to Tel Aviv. The diplomatic repercussions of Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip are far-reaching and may isolate Tel Aviv in the Global South.
Following Israel’s refusal to abide by a ceasefire and putting an end to the aerial raids targeting Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip, different countries have either severed their diplomatic ties with Israel, recalled their ambassadors, or threatened Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Despite enjoying unwavering support and incessant funding from the West, the diplomatic repercussions of Israel’s aggression against the Palestinian people are causing severe ignominy for Netanyahu and Tel Aviv’s diplomatic corps. It’s running a propaganda blitzkrieg to undo the damage done to its reputation since the October 7th attack by Hamas militants.
Why the international community is worried about the situation?
Unlike other instances, the October 2023 Israeli aggression on Palestine is of a different magnitude. Bolstered by the unflinching support from the US and the West, Netanyahu’s government is allegedly planning a large-scale displacement of the Palestinian people.
Since the beginning of Israel’s aggression on Gaza last month, the Egyptian government has been vehemently opposing the evacuation of Palestinian civilians to its territories. Cairo remained apprehensive that Tel Aviv may use the opportunity to permanently seal the fate of the Palestinian people by displacing them forever from their land.
Gaza may experience a Naqba in 2023, which Egypt considers a fatal blow to the two-state solution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Certain unconfirmed Israeli intelligence ministry documents had similar proposals for Tel Aviv – to drive the civilians away to the Sinai camp. The permanent occupation of the Gaza Strip will mean the Palestinians can’t return there ever.
For the international community, Israel’s unapologetic advocacy for the ongoing genocide and total disregard for Palestinian lives is a matter of grave concern. Although the West continues to back Israel, the Global South isn’t budging easily in favour of Tel Aviv.
The Global South is viewing the conflict as an attempt by the US-led West to consolidate its weakening hegemony in West Asia. They are sceptical of Israel’s claim that the ongoing aggression is aimed at liquidating the Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip to secure its territory from further attacks like that of October 7th.
Most of the Global South countries, including those in West Asia and Africa, are reportedly apprehensive that Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip may soon spill into a regional conflict as the Iranian proxies like Hezbollah, the Iraqi Shiite militias and the Yemeni rebels have already declared their intention to enter into a large-scale battle with Israel.
Such conflicts with these groups may lead to a regional war, as Israeli attacks on neighbouring Lebanon and Syria have already escalated tensions in the region.
What’s the international community demanding
There has been a strong demand from the countries of the Global South, which are reportedly closer to China and Russia, to immediately put an end to the conflict.
The major demands of the Global South countries, backed by China and Russia, are:
- An immediate ceasefire by Israel to stop the massacre of the Palestinian people.
- Opening of the border crossings with Egypt to ensure hassle-free supply of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.
- Immediate dialogue between the Israeli and Palestinian sides to implement the two-state solution following the Oslo Accords, 1993.
Israel’s major problems
Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip is marred with several problems. Although Netanyahu has been using this aggression on the civilians of the Gaza Strip as a political weapon to reinvigorate his ultra-nationalist support base and to undo a dip in popularity over his alleged involvement in corruption, there have been very few achievements in his kitty.
Firstly, Israel’s aggression on Palestine is opaque, lacking any transparency regarding the clarity of purpose. Although Tel Aviv has been claiming that its goal is to eliminate Hamas, it could neither produce any evidence nor any data regarding its achievements in the last month.
Secondly, Israel’s aggression on Palestine failed to secure the release of civilians taken hostage by Hamas during its Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Israel’s aggression on the civilians of Gaza has endangered the lives of the hostages, which may have further repercussions for Netanyahu.
Thirdly, the much-hyped Israeli ground operations didn’t fetch any results. Rather, the Palestinian resistance has been able to document and prove that it has gained significant victories against the Israeli forces in ground battle.
Finally, Israel’s unapologetic violations of human rights have left it without any friends in the entire region. Most Arab states have distanced themselves from Israel, which will hurt Israeli trade and commerce in the region. It’s not easy for Tel Aviv to regain its friends using the US’s influence anymore, as Washington DC’s unconditional support to Israel has irked most of the latter’s so-called “allies” in the region.
Who supports Israel’s aggression on Palestine?
There are 84 countries, including the US, India, Australia, Germany, Canada, France, Norway, Poland, Spain, the UK and others that sympathised with Israel regarding its victimisation by the Hamas attack last month. Most of these countries have vowed to support Israel’s aggression on Palestine and have undermined the rights of the Palestinian people.
The diplomatic repercussions of Israel’s aggression on Palestine
All Arab League countries along with Iran have opposed Israel’s aggression on Palestine. They have also protested the US-led West’s sympathetic support for Israel in the ongoing conflict. Countries like Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan and the UAE are some of the Arab countries in West Asia and Africa that have either normalised their relationship with the Zionist state or established diplomatic ties in the past.
However, ever since the beginning of the current lease of Israel’s aggression targeting the civilians of the Gaza Strip, most of these countries have taken a hostile stand towards Tel Aviv. Even Saudi Arabia, which was normalising its ties with Israel under the aegis of Washington DC, has opposed the Israeli aggression.
The left-leaning governments in Latin America such as Bolivia, Chile and Colombia have severed their diplomatic ties with Israel over the latest attacks on the Gaza Strip. Israel’s lambasting of China and Russia on different forums has also compelled these two major foes of the US to denounce Israeli aggression and support the Palestinian cause more authoritatively.
Where is Israel heading?
Even though Israel has criticised the Latin American countries for severing diplomatic ties, there is little it can do to justify itself in the rapidly changing world. The eruption of massive protests all over the world against Israel’s aggression on Palestine has forced several governments, which are allegedly close to Tel Aviv, to take a tougher stand on the issue. Although it didn’t help the Palestinian people’s liberation struggle with material resources, the isolation of Israel in the Global South has also hurt the US’s hegemonic quest.
For the time being, the US and the West can support Israel using the printed dollars, which threatens a major economic catastrophe for the world economy, it’s not a sustainable solution in the long run. Even Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden realise the grave danger that lies ahead. Yet, both have shown no signs of retreating.
This obstinate position of the Israeli government shows that the US is eager to drag on the war to profiteer from it. On the one hand, it wants to reinforce its hegemony in West Asia using Israel as a pawn, and on the other hand, it’s keen to use the conflict to drag China and Russia into a war in the region.
However, in the changed geopolitical landscape and due to the upsurge of an anti-Israel sentiment globally, it seems that the West’s ambition in the occupied territory may suffer a serious setback. Israel’s aggression on Palestine has done remarkably more harm to Tel Aviv’s cause than what the Hamas attack did on October 7th.
East Post is an independent geopolitical analysis portal covering South Asia and global power dynamics for international audiences. Views expressed are analytical and do not constitute endorsement of any state or non-state actor.
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