Trump Gets to Claim He Made Peace, Israel Gets Billions, Palestinians Get Death

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Of all of the wars that Donald Trump claims to have ended, the most legitimate accomplishment would be the negotiation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Following the terrorist group’s brutal attack on Israel that claimed more than 1,200 lives, most of them civilians, the regime of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted with an equally brutal attack on the Gaza Strip that killed more than 70,000 people, most of them civilians.

Ending that conflict would be worthy of a FIFA Peace Prize, and maybe more. Of course, the problem is that it hasn’t ended at all; people just don’t talk about it anymore.

On Wednesday, for example, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a “blatant ceasefire violation.”

“An IDF reserve officer was severely injured after terrorists opened fire on IDF troops in northern Gaza, during routine operational activity near the Yellow Line,” the IDF stated. “The injured officer was evacuated to a hospital and his family has been notified. Upon identifying the fire, IDF armored units and IAF aircraft conducted strikes in the area.”

What it failed to mention was that those strikes claimed the lives of 19 Palestinians — including five children (two of them babies), seven women, and a paramedic.

That brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israel since the start of this “ceasefire” three months ago to more than 530, according to the Gaza health ministry. And, if you think that this isn’t a reliable source, you should know that the Netanyahu regime, after casting doubt on the casualty estimates for two years, recently admitted that they are accurate.

Conversely, Israel says that Hamas is violating the terms of that agreement constantly… although less bloodily. Tel Aviv has said that four of its soldiers have died, which means that more than 130 Palestinians have been killed for each Israeli. That is even more than the roughly 100 Palestinians who were killed for every Israeli soldier between the start of hostilities and the “ceasefire.”

Still, in spite of all of that death and mayhem, the conflict has largely disappeared from global headlines, even though UN Secretary General António Guterres sought to draw attention to the death toll, and the humanitarian catastrophe that is still unfolding in Gaza, this week.

“Since the October ceasefire agreement, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza,” he said on Tuesday. “I urge all to implement the agreement in full, comply with international law & allow unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief at scale.”

Guterres later added that the Israeli occupation “must end.” But his call for peace largely went unnoticed.

This is working out great for Israel. In light of the international pressure that several (mostly European) countries put on Tel Aviv, including labeling its war against the Palestinians a “genocide,” the less attention anybody is paying to what is happening in the Gaza Strip, the better it is for Netanyahu.

Of course, he doesn’t have to worry about losing support from the US, which continues unabated.

Just last week, the Trump administration announced it would bypass the congressional review process required for such military aid and prepare to send Israel weapons worth more than $6.5 billion.

In addition, the funding package Congress passed on Tuesday includes billions of dollars in “security assistance” for Tel Aviv.

“Today, Congress sent a powerful message about the strength and vibrancy of the US-Israel alliance, providing more than $4 billion for vital security assistance and cooperative programs,” said AIPAC, Israel’s lobbying arm in the US in a statement. “This funding makes America safer, stronger, and more prosperous, and ensures our democratic ally can defend itself from our shared enemies.”