Day 154 of the Israel-Hamas Gaza War
1. PM Netanyahu Ordered Israeli Embassies in Washington and London Not to Help War Cabinet Member Benny Gantz
Benny Gantz, chair of the “New Hope” party, who was in the opposition, joined PM Netanyahu’s cabinet and government at the beginning of the war to help the government gain more trust among the people of Israel and the international community.
Gantz has close connections with the US administration that has lost trust in PM Netanyahu and his extreme right-wing political partners. Gantz decided to travel to Washington and London for official meetings to try and gain more time for the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, due to the increasing calls for an immediate cease-fire. He notified PM Netanyahu about the coming trip. PM Netanyahu opposed the trip, saying that Israel has only one PM. But Gantz decided to go anyway. PM Netanyahu then ordered the embassies of Israel in Washington and London not to help Gantz and his delegation.
It is important to say in this context that, since he was elected to office, more than a year ago, PM Netanyahu has not received an invitation to the White House to meet President Biden. This has never happened before and it reflects the bad relations between the US President and the Israeli PM. In addition, according to public opinion polls in Israel, Gantz has gained much more power in comparison to PM Netanyahu. If elections were held today, Benny Gantz‘s party would be by far the biggest compared to Likud, which is PM Netanyahu’s party. A recent poll conducted by Channel 13 showed, Gantz’s National Unity party would gain 39 seats in the Knesset, compared with 17 for Netanyahu’s Likud party.
Gantz met with senior officials in Washington, including VP Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Blinken. He also met with UK PM Sunak in London. And in all places he heard calls for an immediate ceasefire.
2. A State Commission of Inquiry Published its Report on the Meron Disaster
Almost three years after the most deadly civil disaster in the country, with 45 deaths, the state commission of inquiry finished its work and published the report. On the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer, people of faith go on a pilgrimage to Meron mountain which is believed to be the resting place of one of the most important Rabbis in the Jewish tradition. The religious ritual of this holiday is to light big fires. Unfortunately the place was not designed to safely hold tens of thousands of people jumping and dancing together. Ramps collapsed, causing a disaster and loss of life. The government, led by PM Netanyahu did not want to accept the responsibility of not taking efficient measures to ensure the safety of visitors and pilgrims. The following government, that ruled for just over one year, established the State Commission of Inquiry, and the report was published this week.
The report found that PM Netanyahu, who was PM at the time of the event, is responsible, it assigned blame and responsibility to a series of senior officials. Unfortunately the response of the Likud party, the party of PM Netanyahu was a shameful response. They claim that the commission was a political act. PM Netanyahu still has not made any statements or taken any responsibility. This report corresponds directly with the huge disaster of October 7th, with the same PM, who also again refused to take any responsibility and tries time and again to put the blame on the heads of the army for the failures of October 7.
3. UN Special Envoy Report on October 7th Sexual Violence Published **Trigger Warning**
The report, by the UN special envoy on sexual violence in conflict areas, Pramila Patten, and her team, stipulated that “there are there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred during the October 7 attacks in multiple locations across the Gaza periphery, including rape and gang rape, in at least three locations. With regards to the women still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, the report stated the following: “the mission team found clear and convincing information that some have been subjected to various forms of conflict-related sexual violence including rape and sexualized torture and sexualized cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and it also has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing”.
The report also detailed the challenges faced by the team in collecting and verifying findings; from the lack of proper collection of forensic evidence at the scenes by first respondents, to the small number of surviving victims and eye-witnesses willing to come forward and give testimony, and the lack of trust by survivors and hostages’ families towards national and international institutions.
The painful issue of sexual violence during the Hamas attack became the center of a political controversy, in ways that negatively affect the wellbeing and the process of recovery of survivors. Palestinian sources mostly denied that any sexual violence took place on October 7th, and Israel severely criticized the UN for failing to provide a timely response. At the press conference where the report’s key findings were presented, journalists asked the special envoy Parmila Patten if she was not concerned that her report “is being weaponized as a way to continue violence in Gaza”.
Following the publication of the report earlier this week, Israel's foreign minister Israel Katz said he was recalling Israel's envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, considering what he claimed was a deliberate "suppression" of the special envoy’s report and for not convening the UN security council to discuss the findings immediately. Key findings of the report will be presented Monday afternoon in New York.
4. Schools in Sderot Reopen After More Than Four Months of Displacement
Earlier this week, the schools in Sderot reopened. Sderot was the civil symbol of the violence between Israel and Gaza. The small town on the southern border of Israel with the Gaza Strip, became the main target for rockets and missiles fired from Gaza towards Israel. On October 7th Hamas militants invaded the town, killed people and tried to take over the local police station. All the people of Sderot were evacuated and placed in hotels all over the country. Almost five months later, the state declared that it was safe to go back home and even offered monetary support to the families who decided to go back. Many reported that they and their children are still in trauma, but many decided to return to their homes.
The schools were opened, but a few days later there was a rocket attack alarm for the town. Israeli officials believe that Hamas has lost most of its power and ability to threaten southern Israeli communities.
5. Minister of Homeland Security Cuts Funding to Non-Profit that Protects Victims of Domestic Violence
Itamar Ben Gvir, minister of homeland security (Jewish Power party) has cut funding to the Michal Sela Forum, a non-profit providing cutting-edge protection solutions to women victims of violence, who are threatened by their former partners. Ben Gvir cited financial irregularities as the reason to cut his ministry’s funding, claiming that the non-profit used the funds to pay salaries and other expenses, rather than operating the protection programs. Several years ago, the forum developed an innovative protection program, using dogs that were specifically trained to protect women and children, victims of domestic abuse. The program has protected hundreds of women and children to date.
Lilly Ben-Ami, who founded the Michal Sela forum in memory of her sister who was murdered by her husband, rejected the minister’s claims, and said the forum operates under strict fiscal regulations. Analysts and commentators suggested that the funding was cut in retribution for the forum’s open criticism of the minister’s firearm policy, distributing lethal weapons without proper procedure, thus increasing the danger of femicide.
In a heated discussion at the Knesset committee, MK Limor Sohn Har-Melech, also of the Jewish Power far-right party, launched a verbal attack on the Michal Sela Forum and questioned the inclusiveness and effectiveness of its services. This, even though the forum provided lawmakers with an evaluation report stating high satisfaction rates among enrolled women and children and the high effectiveness score of the protection programs.
This, in a week during which Israel and the world mark international women’s day, and in which two women were murdered within hours in Israel.
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