“Netanyahu never intended for a ceasefire”: Dr Mustapha Barghouti denounces ongoing ethnic cleansing in Gaza

President of the Palestinian Medical Relief which he founded, Doctor Mustapha Barghouti also sits on the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as a representative of the Palestinian National Initiative.

A hospital in the northern part of Gaza was destroyed by the Israeli army. What does this mean for you?

This means the continued destruction of all medical facilities in Gaza. The 24th^e hospital was completely destroyed. And the Israelis have just declared that, not content with having demolished it, they intend to close it completely. This is part of the attacks against all medical structures. This resulted in the deaths of 1,100 doctors, nurses and health professionals. Another 3,000 were injured. Around 256 people have been kidnapped and imprisoned, now including hospital director Kamal Adwan. He could be tortured to death, as has happened to several other doctors.

This attack is also part of a strategy of ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza. Israel is razing four towns, Beit Hanoun, Jabaliya, Jabaliya camp and Beit Lahya. Israeli authorities have forced more than 150,000, perhaps 200,000 people to leave their homes by force, bombings and massacres. In this context, I identify two possible risks here. The first is for Israel to annex this area or make it a buffer zone under its total and permanent control. The second is that the Israeli army is now advancing towards Gaza City and launching a new act of ethnic cleansing. Because Netanyahu's ultimate objective is to group the two million Gazans in a very restricted area and drive them out of Gaza. I don't think he gave up on his plans.

However, we are talking about negotiations…

The negotiations are not moving forward because Tel Aviv is blocking them. Every time there is progress, Netanyahu manages to find a way to undermine it. In my opinion, he never intended to obtain a ceasefire. And he doesn't care about Israeli prisoners. He needs the war for his objectives and to carry out his Israeli expansionist policy.

Do you think the arrival of Donald Trump changes anything?

For the worse, that's for sure. I think Trump will give the Israelis the green light to annex the West Bank. Either way, the Biden administration has exerted little pressure. Personally, I don't see much difference between the two camps when it comes to Israel. Joe Biden also made history as a war criminal due to his support for Israel and continued shipment of weapons. I think Trump will continue the same policy only worse. And it is very likely that it will allow Israel to embark on the adventure of annexing the West Bank and completely kill the idea of ​​a Palestinian state.

So what can the Palestinians do?

The priority remains unity. The Palestinian Authority must change course. I think the Palestinian Authority is lost in a big dilemma. She behaves as if the situation was the same as before. I don't think she realizes the scale of the risks and challenges. In my opinion, the two biggest risks are ethnic cleansing and annexation. And what we lack as Palestinians is unity.

It must be carried out as soon as possible. This is why we are working to bring together civil society and different political groups to try to create a congress that will become a functional pressure tool to push for reform of the PLO and to create a unified Palestinian leadership with a clear strategy. . The other decisive factor is our ability to stand firm and remain in Palestine. If we stay in Palestine, Israel's project will fail.

What do you mean ?

I mean we have today 7.3 million Palestinians in the land of historic Palestine compared to 7.1 million Israelis, Israeli Jews. This is why Netanyahu intends to carry out ethnic cleansing. He wants to change this demographic formula by making the Palestinians a minority but also by depriving them of any right of resistance, even the most peaceful.