Blinken pushing for a failed agenda

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on Sunday after getting his car doused with red paint by pro-Palestinian protesters waiting outside his Virginia residence. 

Chanting “shame on you” and “war criminal”, people asked the diplomat to stop his unquestioning support for the Israeli regime.

Given the current circumstances, it's puzzling why Blinken is discussing his post-war Gaza strategies. What is evident though is that the diplomat, along with the majority in the Biden administration, is likely to be remembered in history as a vociferous supporter of a widespread genocide against the Palestinian people.

The diplomat spoke to Turkish officials about how Ankara, whose shipments of oil and food have kept Israel on its feet in the past three months, would be able to play a crucial role in Gaza once Israel is done destroying the entire strip.  

Blinken’s vision for a post-war Gaza requires that Israel first grabs full control over the Palestinian territory.

Some reports suggest that the US would like to establish a government in Gaza similar to the unpopular Palestinian state of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, a shell of a government that helps Tel Aviv further suppress Palestinians by arresting the citizens wanted by Israel itself.

Blinken's most recent journey to West Asia follows a series of unsuccessful attempts to implement American initiatives during his last three visits to the region.

Previously, the US dispatched the diplomat to engage with Arab leaders in an endeavor to facilitate the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. He has also tried to press regional nations into forming a coalition to confront Yemeni armed forces in the Red Sea, who have been impeding vessel access to Israeli ports in response to the regime’s genocidal attacks on Gaza.

It appears that once again, the American official has traversed over 250,000 miles, leaving a significant carbon footprint with his private jet, all to no avail.

Military pundits are of a mind that Israel is losing to Hamas. Despite the devastating toll of nearly 23,000 Palestinian casualties, the displacement of 90% of Gaza's population, and pushing a quarter of Gazans to the brink of famine, Israel has little to show in terms of tangible achievements.

Apart from the prisoners that were exchanged between Hamas and Israel as a part of a Qatari-mediated ceasefire in November, the regime has not managed to secure the release of any of its captives held in Gaza.

It did “free” some of them by sending them to the afterlife, but has so far been unable to find any Israeli captives on its own. The regime has also been unsuccessful in eliminating any high-ranking members of the group in the Gaza Strip, despite causing extensive damage to its infrastructure.

Israel did claim recently that it had dismantled Hamas' "military framework" in northern Gaza and plans to extend this to central and southern areas. However, recent and ongoing events challenge the credibility of Israel's proclaimed military gains in northern Gaza.

Despite Israel's claims of uprooting Hamas' military presence, rockets continue to target Tel Aviv after being launched from northern Gaza.

Furthermore, the area that the regime purports to have brought under significant control recently inflicted heavy losses on Israel's most elite forces, the Golani brigade, compelling their retreat to the occupied territories.

"In one of the battlefields in Gaza, we were surprised by heavy gunfire towards us. We did not know the source of the gunfire. Many among us were killed and injured. I ordered the soldiers not to advance further until the dead and wounded were evacuated.

The fighting in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood [in northern Gaza] was very harsh and a battle of minds. We had to be cautious of explosive devices.

The fighters were just tens of meters away from our forces, waiting for us, eating dates and drinking water, and they waited for us to enter so that they could eliminate us," recalled a Golani Brigade commander while speaking to Israeli media.

Blinken might think that Israel would somehow be able to change the equations and emerge victorious in Gaza after he allegedly forced US President Joe Biden to fast-track two shipments of lethal weaponry to the regime. However, the sustainability of continuing the war appears to be in question, even for the most warmongering lunatics in Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet.

The settlements in the vicinity of Gaza and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have now turned into ghost towns, with inhabitants vowing never to return to the illegal structures.

Over 500,000 Israelis have left the occupied territories following the successful October 07, 2023 operation by Hamas, and more are lining outside European embassies to leave as they grapple with tremendous economic pressure.

High-tech companies, typically a source of pride for Israel, are in shambles, and at least 220,000 reservists working in different sectors have been called up.

Israel’s agricultural sector also teeters on the edge of a crisis as a significant number of foreign workers, predominantly from countries like Thailand, have opted to depart the occupied territories.

Courtesy: Tehran Times