Israel continues its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip, especially the northern areas, raising concerns that the “five-finger plan” first drawn up by the former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, might renewed by the current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel’s five-finger plan dates back to 1971, when it was formulated and implemented by the commander of the southern region in Israel at the time, Ariel Sharon, which aimed to divide the Gaza Strip across five regions that include military bases and settlements.
It sought to impose a new demographic situation in Gaza to reduce Arab population centers and cut off communication between them.
The United Nations warned of a comprehensive war as a result of Israel’s aggression against Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, while Tel Aviv announced its intention to strike Iran in response to the recent missile attack.
Expert warns Netanyahu ‘does whatever he wants’
Strategic expert and thinker Samir Farag said that “Netanyahu does whatever he wants in the world, taking advantage of the approaching US elections and the US administration’s preoccupation with them, in addition to Europe’s weakness in front of the US, which gives him the ability to implement his plan.”
Netanyahu is trying to eliminate the Hamas movement and its infrastructure, Farag noted, especially its tunnels, but thus far Israel has only been able to destroy about 40 percent of them.
He warned that Israel is imposing a large siege on northern Gaza Strip and is continuing to displace nearly 100,000 people there, a severe disaster for the people of Gaza.
Farag said that Netanyahu is also seeking to destroy southern Lebanon, and will continue his operations inside it until November 6 to eliminate Hezbollah’s infrastructure.
UN criticizes Israel targeting peacekeeping forces
The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, said during her speech before the Security Council session to discuss the situation in the Middle East, that the devastating conflict in Lebanon, Israel’s aggression in the occupied Palestinian territories, and the intensive strikes on Syria indicate that the region is on the brink of a comprehensive war.
She called on Israel to stop its aggression on Lebanon and withdraw its ground forces.
International backlash against Israel has continued after Israeli forces targeted the UNIFIL international peacekeeping forces in Lebanon.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said that this act of firing on a site of the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon is a flagrant violation of international law.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
