Israel does not see any possibility of a two-state solution, proclaimed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, January 18 even as his forces killed more than 150 Palestinians in less than 24 hours in various air and ground offensives across Gaza and other occupied territories. Gazans are also facing an unprecedented days-long communications blackout.
As of Friday, January 19, day 105 of the war, over 24,760 Palestinians have been killed and over 62,000 have been wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza which began on October 7.
In one Israeli attack, at least 15 civilians, most of them children and women, were killed near the Al-Shifa hospital on Friday morning and massive Israeli attacks are taking place in Khan Younis.
Al-Shifa and other hospitals in Gaza have been repeatedly attacked by the Israeli forces since the early days of the war despite condemnations and allegations of war crimes.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued their raid in Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank for the second consecutive day on Thursday. At least eight Palestinians have been killed in the raids with over a hundred injuries.
During the raid, Israeli forces shot and left Abdul Rahman Othman on the ground, preventing any medical aid from reaching him. They also tied his leg with rope and dragged his body on the ground. Othman died of his wounds later, Wafa reported.
Israeli forces also bombed several houses inside the refugee camp which has been attacked several times since October 7 and detained hundreds of Palestinians.
The total number of Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7 is now close to 370. At least 95 of these were children.
Unprecedented communication blackout in Gaza
In yet another attempt to prevent the flow of information about humanitarian suffering in Gaza caused by its war, Israeli forces have maintained a near total communication blockade in the territory for eight straight days now. This is the longest communication blackout imposed on Gaza since October 7.
Palestinian telecommunication companies PalTel and Ooredoo had announced a halt in their operation last week claiming their lines and infrastructure were completely damaged due to Israeli aggression. They have not been able to restore their services due to lack of equipment and repair work prevented due to Israeli blockade and attacks on the staff carrying out the repair work.
Ihab Sbeih, undersecretary of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology claimed on Thursday that, “the communication sector has been continuously targeted during the Israeli aggression on Gaza with the extent of damage exceeding 80%. He also claimed that the technical crew has been constantly targeted by Israel, preventing them from carrying out repair work,” Wafa news reported.
At least two crew members of PalTel were killed last Saturday when their vehicle was attacked by Israeli forces in Khan Younis.
Israel says no to a two-state solution
In a press conference on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly denied any possibility of a Palestinian state now or in future in what is seen as a direct rebuttal to Joe Biden administration’s proposals earlier this week for a post-war scenario in the region.
“In any future arrangement, or in the absence of an arrangement Israel must maintain security control of all territory west of the Jordan River. That is the vital condition” Netanyahu said.
Facing widespread criticism for its total support to the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, the Joe Biden administration has paid lip service to the proposal for a Palestinian state as a way forward for peace in the region.
As a compensation to Israel the US promised increased normalization with the Arab countries including Saudi Arabia. The proposals were worked out during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s fourth visit to the region since October 7 last week.
Speaking in Davos during the World Economic Forum, Blinken claimed on Wednesday that a two-state solution would bring “genuine security” to Israel as it will bring it closer to Arab states and isolate Iran.
Perhaps to pre-empt the Israeli rejection, Blinken emphasized that no future Palestinian government would be allowed to work “in active opposition to Israel.”
