[News] Trump takes support for Israel to new extremes

[Anti-Imperialist News]

electronicintifada.net
<https://electronicintifada.net/content/trump-takes-support-israel-new-extremes/50538>
Trump takes support for Israel to new extremes

Hassan Abo Qamar <https://electronicintifada.net/people/hassan-abo-qamar> The
Electronic Intifada
<https://electronicintifada.net/people/electronic-intifada> 27 March 2025
------------------------------

Donald Trump has told Israel it may unleash hell on Gaza’s people.
CNP / Polaris

When the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza ended, Israel stepped up its
use of starvation and psychological warfare. These measures created immense
suffering for more than 2 million Palestinians, living under conditions
that have long been catastrophic.

The resumption
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/least-830-killed-more-aggressive-israeli-offensive>
of Israel’s full-scale bombardment has now made it even harder to survive.

The real objective of Israel’s war on Gaza is not to rescue captives, as is
so often claimed. Israel’s captives could have been returned had Israel
adhered to the ceasefire agreement from January, which it repeatedly
violated
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/11/did-israel-violate-the-gaza-ceasefire-what-to-know-about-hamass-pause>
.

There is ample reason to believe that Israel never intended to end the war.
Instead, Israel is using the captives as a pretext to advance its true
goals: the destruction of Gaza and of anyone who opposes Israel’s
occupation.

Even if the captives were released tomorrow, nothing would change. Israel’s
real objective has always been the elimination of Palestinian resistance in
any form.

This does not only apply to armed resistance. Israel regards the very
presence of Palestinians in their homeland as an act of defiance.

Israel does not only destroy buildings but seeks to destroy the dreams,
aspirations and pride of all Palestinians.

Far from caring about captives, Israel is attempting to empty Gaza of its
entire population.
Direct partner

The enormous US support for Israel illustrates that this strategy has not
been drawn up by the Israeli government on its own. Rather, it is part of a
broader political and military framework, endorsed by Washington.

Basic human rights – such as the rights to food and medical care – have
been weaponized. Not only are they systematically denied, they are used as
tools to exert pressure on Palestinians.

Palestinians are either pushed to the brink of survival by Israel or beyond
the brink. Vast numbers have already died
<https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext>
of diseases that are exacerbated by malnutrition.

Israel’s strategy has been reinforced by direct calls from members of the
ruling coalition to force Palestinians out of Gaza.

Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister, has expressed a desire
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-can-empty-half-gaza-bezalel-smotrich-says>
for “voluntary migration” – a euphemism for expulsion. Smotrich has talked
about reducing the number of inhabitants in Gaza by more than 50 percent
within a two-year period.

The chief enabler of the Gaza genocide was Joe Biden, until recently the US
president. His successor Donald Trump is now taking support for Israel to
new extremes.

Trump declared
<https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/10/politics/trump-palestinians-no-right-return-gaza/index.html>
in February that Israel could unleash “all hell” on Gaza. The Israelis have
subsequently done exactly that.

Through his comments, Trump gave Israel a green light to continue bombing
and destroying Gaza without fear of accountability. Trump has reinforced
the idea that Palestinians are viewed as expendable, as burdens rather than
as people with legitimate rights.

And, of course, US support for Israel goes beyond political rhetoric.
Washington is continuing to supply
<https://il.usembassy.gov/military-assistance-to-israel/> Israel with
weapons and other forms of military assistance, making the US a direct
partner in the ongoing destruction.

Israel does not only want to claim a military victory in Gaza but to
subjugate Palestinians.

Airstrikes are not just military operations. They are political messages,
whereby Palestinians are told that they must not defy Israel’s occupation.

Starvation is not an unintended consequence of war. It is a deliberate
policy, aimed at making life in Gaza unbearable.

Backed by the US, Israel faces little pressure to change course.

However, the resilience of Palestinians in Gaza highlights a reality. This
war – despite its extreme brutality – has failed to extinguish Palestinian
resistance or Palestinian identity.

There are questions that nonetheless remain.

How much longer can Palestinians endure destruction and suffering?

How much longer can Palestinians go to sleep at night without hope for a
better tomorrow?

For how much longer will the world’s most powerful governments refuse to
enforce international law?

Why will they not stop a genocide against a people who love life but are
not allowed to live it?

*Hassan Abo Qamar is a writer based in Gaza.*
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