Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu promises to intensify military and political pressure on Hamas in a message for Passover, after the political leader of the Palestinian terrorists, Haniyeh, negotiated with Turkish President Erdogan so that the Hamas leaders leave exile in Qatar and move their headquarters to Istanbul, under the mantle of the “Sultan”, who wants to become the protagonist of the next developments in the Middle East. At the same time, Israeli Foreign Minister Katz warns that the great maneuverer of the anti-Israel Islamist galaxy – Iran – “must be stopped now”, because it could soon threaten Europe too. Kantz calls for sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program, which can reach up to 3,000 km in range, and against the Revolutionary Guards, the armed wing of the theocracy, asking that they be declared a terrorist organization. The minister posts images of the Colosseum and the Eiffel Tower, warning the USA, France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom to act, because “the Iranian revolution is coming to a city near you”. Foreign Minister Tajani does not believe “there is a hypothesis of an attack on the West from Iran”, he invites us to “avoid creating panic” and to “work for de-escalation”, while Tehran is said to be in contact with the USA to resume nuclear talks.
The geopolitical maneuvers on the war in Gaza now go far beyond the Middle East. Hamas leaders accuse Israel of refusing to accept Turkey and Russia as guarantors of an agreement on Gaza, despite having worked with both Moscow and Ankara – they say – “on every draft presented”. With the movement of the Palestinian group’s offices to Istanbul, things could change, and reserve a central role for Turkey. Hamas also calls into question the United States, which has just launched a 95 billion aid plan in the House for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, and accuses them of having given Israel license to “continue the brutal aggression” in Gaza. The IDF chief, on the other hand, yesterday approved plans to continue the conflict. The Palestinian civil protection announced the discovery of a mass grave with 180 bodies in the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis and a new raid on Rafah killed 22 Palestinians, including 18 children, while in the West Bank 14 died in the operation of 50 hours at Nur Shams refugee camp and two teenagers and a woman killed in Ramallah. An Israeli prosecutor also indicted Sabah al-Salem Haniyeh, sister of the Hamas leader, for inciting terrorism.
Despite Hamas’s accusations against the US, a new bone of contention emerges between Washington and the Jewish state. The US is preparing sanctions against the Israeli Netzah Yehuda battalion, deployed in Gaza and welcoming recruits from ultra-Orthodox and more extremist religious communities, and against other Israeli military and police units, accused of serious human rights violations. They would be the first American sanctions against Israeli army units. They would ban the transfer of military aid and training, as well as American funding. Israeli Minister Gantz asked to reconsider the measures.
Netanyahu admits that he has worked to avoid them, in talks with senior US officials, defines them as “the height of absurdity” and promises that “he will act by all means to stop them”.
Tags: Hamas Turkey sanctions IDF
