An Israeli lawmaker told Al Jazeera on Saturday that his party had been warning that Israeli policies toward Palestinians would “erupt” into the violence that Israel is experiencing in the wake of Hamas’ assault.
The comments were made by Ofer Cassif, a member of the Knesset and the leftist Hadash party, which holds four seats in the 120-seat Knesset.
“We condemn and oppose any assault on innocent civilians. But in contrast to the Israeli government that means that we oppose any assault on Palestinian civilians as well. We must analyze those terrible incidents [the attacks] in the right context – and that is the ongoing occupation,” said Cassif, who is Jewish.
“We have been warning time and time again… everything is going to erupt and everybody is going to pay a price – mainly innocent civilians on both sides. And unfortunately, that is exactly what happened,” he added.
Since the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came into power at the end of December 2022, violence against Palestinians has significantly risen, mainly due to an escalation of Israeli raids in the West Bank. Settler attacks have also been on the rise, and Netanyahu’s governing coalition made expanding settlements a top priority with the ultimate goal of annexing the West Bank.
Gaza has also been under an Israeli-imposed land, sea, and air blockade since 2007, and Israel frequently bombs the besieged enclave. The last major bombing campaign took place in 2021, when over 250 Palestinians were killed.
“The Israeli government, which is a fascist government, supports, encourages, and leads pogroms against the Palestinians. There is an ethnic cleansing going on. It was obvious the writing was on the wall, written in the blood of the Palestinians – and unfortunately now Israelis as well,” Cassif said.
Cassif also urged for de-escalation on X, writing that those calling for the destruction of Gaza “are only encouraging another bloodbath.” He also strongly denounced the Hamas assault, calling the actions “horrific crimes that the mind does not tolerate.”
Do the 25% (about) of the settlers who are Americans ever realize they are being manipulated by political forces about which they have no insight? They go to an idealized homeland about whose actual political and cultural history they are ignorant and somehow expect to benefit from the same rights and legal systems they benefited from in the US.
Israel is the real US.
and ceam cheese is the real cheddar
This voice is absent from Western media generally
He is correct-but contrary to prevailing thought-but he is being allowed to speak-can’t do that in Palestine with Hamas or the PLO.
Did I ever suggest that Hamas was a good government, or that Gaza ia a haven of western liberal thought? War and conflict tends to suppress these notions. Mandela was a terrorist until he wasn’t.
The 15 years of bombings by Netenyahustan probably didn’t help either. . .
This guy would likely be assassinated by Mossad soon…!
As if Hamas,Iran and PLO are social democracts
Right. And that is what was implied. At least in your mind.
Don’t gettcha. Israel is human,hence flawed-but not fascist-but their enemies are a quantum step worse.
Don’t gettcha.
You replied as though netman implied that Hamas, Iran and the PLO were social democrats. He didn’t.
It was quite clear that if you really want to find fascists-they are the gov of Iran,PLO ect.
Not relevant to what I said or what you replied to.
Yes, the poor Israeli citizens have been raided each night, had their movements monitored and stifled, had their electricity,food, water restricted, have had restricted access to work, the city of Tel Aviv and other prosperous cities just put under terrible conditions. What are they to do? Just what are they to do??/s
Israel IS a pogrom.
Zionism is a form of racism.
Russia has a problem Haters.
Netanyahu wanted it to erupt. Hence the attacks on Aqsa, attackers protected by police.
Why? He wants to avoid a second state, and he wants to attack Iran. This is an excuse he can use for both purposes.
If the Israelis were able to essentially liquidate Hamas, that would be the opposite of “avoiding” a second state.
There’s already a state of Palestine, recognized by the majority of other world states and by the UN as an observer state. Having it split between Hamas-run Gaza and the “Palestinian Authority”-run West Bank (and assuming Jordan has no intent of “returning” the largest chuck of Palestine to it) makes it easier for Israel to pretend it doesn’t really exist, and less likely that it will get more international recognition and full UN membership.
The unelected Palestinian Authority (PA) does not run the occupied west bank any more than the Vichy regime ran occupied France. The PA has become nothing more than a tool of the Zionist occupation with which it collaborates in return for financial support. Recognition of the Zionist created PA is only a symbolic gesture recognizing the Palestinian aspiration to self determination. Hamas has won every election it has been permitted to run in. Abbas term of office expired in 2009. The PA and the Zionists wont permit an election because every poll on indicates Hamas would win.
Yes, the PA is a quisling instrument of the Israeli regime.
Are there any credible Palestinian leaders that the UN could recognize as a government of the state of Palestine vis a vis its observer state status, and perhaps offer aid to in implementing that state within UN-defined borders (as codified in UNR 181) with or without the cooperation of Hamas, PA, the Israeli regime, et al.?
You are asking the wrong question. UNR 181, Oslo and probably UNR 242 are dead. The Palestinians believe they are facing extinction and have been abandoned by the international community except perhaps Iran. The Palestinians have chosen armed struggle over slow motion genocide. If they win, and I believe they will win, they will constitute a national leadership that will be recognized by the world. If Hamas survives, I expect they will be a leading part of the emergent Palestinian nation. Fatah can’t win an election, a street fight or a debate against Hamas.
Yes, the Zionist regime initially opportunistically supported Hamas as a counterweight to Fatah and the PLO. But the Zionists miscalculated as the US did when it supported the mujahideen who later formed the core of the Taliban and al-Qaida. Hamas has transitioned from a sectarian religious movement to a legitimate national liberation movement.
As for the UN and the international community, they are behind the curve. For 22 years after the Chinese Communists came to power the UN and most of its members recognized Taiwan as the legitimate representative of China.
It is time to drop the pretense that the PLO represents the Palestinian people. The PLO is part of the occupation, not part of the liberation. Haniyeh, Meschal and their people embody the future of Palestine more than Abbas and his cronies.
“The Palestinians believe they are facing extinction”
I’m sure many of them do.
A lot more of them than used to, since their population now is many times the size it was when the supposed “extinction” attempts began.
Sophistry
So rape gangs will rule Palestine.
Now I know you are full of more sh*t than a Christmas goose. “There’s already a state of Palestine”. BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Wow! Comedy Store stuff.
A pogram is only a pogram if someone else is doing it.
It’s pacification if WE do it. We love to pacify entire nations, especially if they have resources we want to get our hands on.
And some folks wont believe anything that they don’t like.Slaughter of non-combatants because of their ethnicity is a pogrom-that’s what Hamas did. Only this time, severe retribution will be exacted.
Some folks includes you jake.
Iam quite open minded to people with opposing views.