JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER

I don't think anything I say about what's happening in Gaza is going to affect Israeli or American policy in that conflict. But I want it on the record so that when historians look back on this moral calamity, they will see that some Americans were on the right side of history.

What Israel is doing in Gaza to the Palestinian civilian population – with the support of the Biden administration – is a crime against humanity that serves no meaningful military purpose. As J-Street, a major Israel lobby organization, says: “The scope of the humanitarian disaster and civilian casualties taking place is almost unfathomable.”

Allow me to expand.

First, Israel is purposely massacring huge numbers of civilians, approximately 70% of whom are children and women. The claim that Israel is doing everything possible to minimize civilian casualties is belied by statements from senior Israeli officials. For example, IDF spokesperson said on October 10, 2023 that “the emphasis is on damage and not accuracy.” That same day, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced: “I have eased all restrictions: we will kill everyone we fight; "We will use all means.".

Furthermore, it is clear from the results of the bombing campaign that Israel is indiscriminately killing civilians. Two detailed studies of the IDF bombing campaign – both published in Israeli media – explain in detail how Israel is murdering huge numbers of civilians. It is worth quoting both articles, which succinctly summarize what each of them says:

“A mass murder factory: Inside the calculated Israeli bombing of Gaza”.

“The Israeli army has abandoned containment in Gaza and the data shows unprecedented carnage”.

Similarly, the New York Times published an article in late November 2023 titled: “Gaza Civilians, Under Israeli Barrage, Are Being Killed at Historic Pace.” Thus, it is not surprising that the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said that “We are witnessing a massacre of civilians that is unparalleled or unprecedented in any conflict since” his appointment in January 2017..

Second, Israel is purposely starving the desperate Palestinian population by greatly limiting the amount of food, fuel, cooking gas, medicine and water that can be brought into Gaza. Additionally, medical care is extremely difficult to obtain for a population that now includes approximately 50.000 wounded civilians. Israel has not only greatly limited the supply of fuel to Gaza, which hospitals need to function, but has attacked hospitals, ambulances and first aid posts.

Defense Minister Gallant's comment on October 9 captures Israeli policy: “I have ordered the total siege of the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. “We are fighting against human animals and we act accordingly.” Israel has been forced to allow minimal supplies into Gaza, but the quantities are so small that a senior UN official reports that “Half of Gaza's population is dying of hunger”. He goes on to report that “nine out of ten families in some areas go 'an entire day and night without any food'.”

Third, Israeli leaders talk about the Palestinians and what they would like to do in Gaza in shocking terms, especially considering that some of these leaders also talk incessantly about the horrors of the Holocaust. In fact, his rhetoric has led Omar Bartov, a prominent Israeli-born Holocaust scholar, to conclude that Israel has “genocidal intentions.” Other Holocaust and genocide scholars have made a similar warning.

To be more specific, it is common for Israeli leaders to refer to Palestinians as “human animals,” “human beasts” and “horrible inhuman animals.” And, as Israeli President Isaac Herzog makes clear, these leaders are referring to all Palestinians, not just Hamas: In their words, “It is an entire nation that is responsible.” Not surprisingly, as the New York Times reports, it is part of normal Israeli discourse to call for Gaza to be “razed”, “erased” or “destroyed”. “A retired IDF general, who proclaimed that “Gaza will become a place where no human being can exist,” also argues that “The serious epidemics in the south of the Gaza Strip will bring victory closer.” Going even further, an Israeli government minister suggested launch a nuclear weapon on Gaza. These statements are not made by isolated extremists, but by senior members of the Israeli government.

Of course, there is also a lot of talk about the ethnic cleansing of Gaza (and the West Bank), effectively producing another Nakba. In the words of the Israeli Agriculture Minister: “Now we are preparing the Nakba of Gaza.” Perhaps the most shocking evidence of the extent to which Israeli society has collapsed is a video of very young children singing a blood-curdling song celebrating Israel's destruction of Gaza: ““In a year we will annihilate everyone and then we will go back to plowing our fields.”.

Fourth, Israel is not only killing, injuring and starving large numbers of Palestinians, it is also systematically destroying their homes as well as critical infrastructure, such as mosques, schools, historical landmarks, libraries, key government buildings and hospitals. As of December 1, 2023, the IDF had damaged or destroyed nearly 100.000 buildings, including entire neighborhoods that have been left reduced to rubble. Consequently, a staggering 90% of Gaza's 2,3 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes. Furthermore, Israel is making a concerted effort to destroy Gaza's cultural heritage; As NPR reports, “more than 100 Gaza heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks”.

Fifth, Israel is not only terrorizing and killing Palestinians, it is also publicly humiliating many of its men who have been detained by the IDF in routine searches. Israeli soldiers strip them to their underwear, blindfold them, and put them on public display in their neighborhoods - sitting them in large groups in the middle of the street, for example, or parading them through the streets - before taking them in trucks to fields. of detention. In most cases, The detainees are later released as they are not Hamas combatants..

Sixth, although the Israelis are carrying out the killing, they could not do it without the support of the Biden administration. The United States was not only the only country that nay of a recent UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but has also been providing Israel with the weapons necessary to carry out this massacre. As an Israeli general (Yitzhak Brick) recently made clear: “All our missiles, ammunition, precision bombs, all planes and bombs, everything comes from the United States. You don't have the capacity... Everyone understands that we cannot fight this war without the United States. Surprisingly, the Biden administration has sought to expedite the shipment of additional ammunition to Israel, bypassing normal shipping procedures. the Arms Export Control Law.

Seventh, while most attention is now focused on Gaza, it is important not to lose sight of what is happening simultaneously in the West Bank. Israeli settlers, in close collaboration with the IDF, continue to kill innocent Palestinians and steal their land. In an excellent article in the New York Review of Books describing these horrors, David Shulman recounts a conversation he had with a settler, which clearly reflects the moral dimension of Israeli behavior towards the Palestinians. “What we are doing to these people is really inhumane,” the settler freely admits, “but if you think about it clearly, it all inevitably stems from the fact that God promised this land to the Jews, and only them.” Along with its assault on Gaza, the Israeli government has markedly increased the number of arbitrary detentions in the West Bank. According to Amnesty International, there is considerable evidence that these prisoners They have been tortured and subjected to degrading treatment.

As I watch this catastrophe unfold for the Palestinians, I am left with one simple question for Israel's leaders, their American defenders, and the Biden administration: Do you have no decency?

John J. Mearsheimer He is one of the most prestigious American thinkers. He is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1982. His latest books are The Great Disillusionment: liberal dreams and international realities (2018) and How States Think: the rationality of Foreign Policy. (2023), in collaboration with Sebastian Rosato.

This article was originally published in English on its Susbstack.