Together with the majority of his extremist cabinet, he had already defied pressures and pleas to end the genocidal war in Gaza ahead of his visit to Washington to address the US Congress. Several rounds of high-level talks were held in Cairo and Doha in the hope of reaching a deal, but Netanyahu sabotaged all efforts by imposing new conditions while ordering vicious military attacks killing dozens more Palestinians who sought shelter in UN schools or tent camps previously deemed “safe zones” by Israel.
Adding even more fuel to the fire, the Israeli premier also recklessly ordered the Israeli air force on Saturday to launch an attack against the Yemeni port of Hodeida, allegedly in retaliation for a drone attack on Tel Aviv by the Houthi group in control of Sanaa a day earlier, in which one Israeli was killed. This was a blatant attempt to further escalate tensions in the region by opening new war fronts with the aim of drawing attention away from Gaza. Most observers, Israeli, Arab and international, agree that keeping the region in a state of war and tension is the only way for Netanyahu to prolong his stay in office and avoid accountability for the 7 October attacks by Hamas, as well as the clearly failing war against Palestinians in Gaza.
There were scores of similar attacks against Israel by the Houthis over the past nine months, described as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and an attempt to force the Israeli army to end its genocidal war. The Houthis also targeted ships in the Red Sea that were reportedly owned by Israel or heading to Israeli ports, bringing naval activity in that strategic route to a near standstill.
The Houthis were not the only party that decided to carry out solidarity acts with Hamas in Gaza. Lebanon’s Hizbullah as well as groups traditionally linked to Iran in Iraq were involved in similar attacks against Israel. Tensions reached a peak when Israel launched an attack against the headquarters of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus in early April, and both countries exchanged direct attacks for the first time ever. But the real irony in the attack on Hodeida is that Netanyahu would be the first to concede that it will have no appreciable result and will not stop Houthi attacks on Israel.
After the Yemeni group attacked ships in the Red Sea, Washington led a hugely expensive international maritime coalition to halt these attacks with no success. American, British and other European nations have also repeatedly bombed alleged military targets in Sanaa and other cities controlled by the Houthis over the past seven months in vain. In fact most experts on Yemen believe the Israeli attack will only embolden the Houthis, legitimising their claims that they are waging a war against Israel and the United States. This would certainly widen the group’s appeal amid growing anger over the Gaza war in Yemen and all over the Arab world.
While Netanyahu claimed the Israeli jets were aimed at “military targets,” reports from the city noted that the strikes did extensive damage to oil facilities, fuel tanks, and the port’s wharf and cranes, all of which are critical to supplying the civilian population in north Yemen with fuel and food. The strikes also knocked out the central power station supplying the entire city with power. Considering the failure of ongoing US strikes to deter the Houthis, there is no other justification for the Israeli strike except that Netanyahu was, as usual, seeking revenge by purposefully targeting vital civilian infrastructure. This has been Israel’s policy in the Gaza genocide over the past nearly 10 months, killing over 39,000 people and wounding nearly 100,000.
Immediately following the attack against Hodeida, the Houthis launched more attacks on Israel. Considering that Israel is deeply immured in Gaza, with heated fronts in the Occupied West Bank and along the border with Lebanon, the Israeli military cannot sustain a new open front more than 2000 kilometres away. This further confirms that the Israeli strike on Hodeida was only a show of force and an attempt to satisfy Netanyahu’s right-wing supporters.
While most experts believe that US President Biden, has turned into a “lame duck” for the next six months — until the election in November — others have expressed hope that he might use his remaining time in office to bring an end to the Israeli war and restore a level of tranquility in the region. Without the fear that putting pressure on Netanyahu might cost him votes, Biden can leave behind a positive legacy if he admitted that the starting point to end all ongoing tensions in the region is to end the war against Palestinians. Without achieving this goal, the entire region will remain in a state of turmoil and confrontation, and new fronts will keep opening, widening the war and inflicting wider human and material damage.
If Biden wants to end the tension and daily exchange of attacks along the Lebanese-Israeli border, halt the Houthi attacks on shipping and those directed against Israel as well as similar attacks launched from Iraq and Syria, he should put real pressure on the Israeli government to end its genocidal war in Gaza.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 25 July, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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