Alex MdR

The Israeli Ex-Deputy foreign minister gave this incredibly revealing interview explaining Israel's order to 1.1 million inhabitants to move from northern Gaza to the southern half of the tiny strip. Forget the part where he talks about the humanitarian corridor (which had been targeted leading to the death of defenseless civilians who thought they were escaping to safety). What is amazing in revealing the logic of ethnic cleansing is when says: "This is thought out... There is a huge expanse, almost endless space in the Sinai desert, just on the other side of Gaza. ... The idea is for them to leave over for the open areas where we, and the international community, will prepare the infrastructure, ten cities, with food and water... just like for the refugees of Syria that fled the butchering of Asad.... There is a way to receive them all on the other side for temporary time on [sic.] Sinai... and Egypt will have to play ball." What is amazing here is not only explicitly equating what Israel is doing with the "butchering of Asad", but how revealing his language is of the Israeli blueprint of ethnic cleansing: instigate atrocities that would frighten the civilian population; "advise" them to leave their homes in order to avoid being caught in the crossfire; provide "safe" corridors that turn out anything but; promise them that this is only a temporary measure and that they would be allowed to return back to their homes once the hostilities cease; and tell the neighboring countries to "play ball" and effectively tell these countries that this is their responsibility. And once the helpless, frightened civilians move with their meagre belongings, and after they settle in their "temporary" new camps, they find out that there is nothing temporary about their new situation, that they can't go back home, that Israel has sealed the borders, demolished their homes and confiscated their property. This is what happened in 1948 and 1967. To the letter. But now we have it explicitly spelt out by a high ranking Israeli official: we will ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip.