JERUSALEM

An Israeli prominent academic accused his country's government of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, and that it works to extend it in the occupied West Bank, stressing that the government does not care for the fate of the Israeli captives in Gaza.

Speaking to Anadolu, Israeli anthropologist Jeff Halper said what the Israeli government is doing is beyond the security calculation and is related to maintaining "the right-wing extremist government in power under any price."

The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing nearly 800 people and injuring over 1,600 others despite a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

Netanyahu seeks only to stay in power

Halper, who is also the head of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, argued that the decision to resume attacks on Gaza is "directly tied to Netanyahu’s desire to cling to power," noting that he "relies on the support of extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and far-right Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben-Gvir to maintain his coalition."

"Netanyahu is willing to entirely destroy Gaza to appease his government allies. Everyone in Israel knows this, especially the captives’ families, who are now furious," he said.

Commenting on the ceasefire agreement that Netanyahu reneged on, Halper said Netanyahu exploited US President Donald Trump's statement that "the gates of hell would open on Hamas if all hostages weren’t released" to relaunch attacks under the pretext of rescuing them.

He considered that the escalation in Gaza which Tel Aviv says it is fully coordinated with Washington, "marks the gravest violation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement that took effect on Jan. 19."

Halper stressed that the belief "that military pressure will free hostages is a false belief," noting that such an approach has already gotten some captives killed and risks repeating itself."

"If Netanyahu truly cared, he’d have moved to Phase Two. The hostages would be free. But ending the war means losing far-right support and therefore his government’s collapse."

He added that the real question is: "Do we save the hostages or the government? For Netanyahu, the answer is clear, he seeks to maintain his government."

Palestinians left without protection

Halper condemned global silence on the Palestinian suffering, saying that "the Israelis are indifferent, Netanyahu is unchecked, and the international community is complicit."

"Every nation has its interests; no one dares to challenge the US now," the Israeli academician said, adding that "even Europe, which is known to be pro-Palestinian, doesn't anymore take strong positions."

"We live in an era of global silence," Halper said.

Zionism aims to Judaize Palestine

Israeli anthropologist Halper went on to say that the genocide acts are part of the Zionist settler-colonial project in Palestine.

"Zionism seeks total control and Judaization of Palestine. This cannot happen without genocide, because Palestinians won’t simply surrender their land," he said.

He stressed that "the Palestinian resistance is natural. Israel can’t expel them, so it terrorizes them through massacres," adding that "international law permits armed resistance against oppression."

He, however, described these laws as "meaningless without enforcement, everything is politicized and vetoed by the US in the Security Council. That’s why Israel acts with impunity."

Halper concluded by warning that "Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and exporting it to the West Bank, and despite global public outrage, governments still fail to act."

"My fear is that this tragedy becomes normalized, where Palestinian rights are entirely erased," Jeff Halper also warned.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 939 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In Gaza, more than 50,100 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 113,700 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.