Global pressure does little to stop Israel’s anti-Palestinian policies (www.aljazeera.com)
from HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works to world@lemmy.world on 18 Feb 10:42
https://sh.itjust.works/post/55519609

Defying a chorus of global condemnation and international law, Israel nevertheless proceeded earlier this month with the de facto annexation of the West Bank, home to more than three million Palestinians and a territory it has illegally occupied since 1967.

The international criticism that met the announcement was hardly new. Over the two years of its genocide in Gaza, Israel has set itself on course to become, in the words of some of its own lawmakers, a “pariah state”. Its prime minister and former defence minister are wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, while global revulsion over its actions in Gaza has pushed the boycott of Israeli goods to the forefront of consumers’ minds.

But in Israel, this international isolation – and the killing of more than 72,000 Palestinians – is not significantly changing opinions on how the country should behave. In fact, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still has a strong chance of winning elections set to be held this year, and much of the opposition towards him comes from his domestic policies, rather than disagreement over how he has treated Palestinians, which many remain indifferent to.

“Most people don’t even know we’ve largely annexed the West Bank,” said Orly Noy, the editor of the Hebrew-language news site Local Call. “It just isn’t reported that way.”

“They may be aware that some of the rules of governance have changed, but they probably won’t know that it’s been de facto annexed until there’s an international response that affects them, such as Eurovision,” she said, noting that the withdrawal of the four nations in objection to Israel’s genocide has been framed in Israel as being motivated primarily by anti-Semitism.

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