US-Backed 'Peace Plan' Redefines Gaza's Borders, Again
The mainstream media breathlessly details a 'phase two' for Gaza, where 'stabilisation' forces and a 'new border' are being discussed. What they gloss over is that this 'plan' follows Israel's demolition of entire neighborhoods and nearly 40,000 lives. It echoes previous Israeli 'plans' for Gaza, like the 2005 'disengagement' that simply tightened the blockade and turned the Strip into an open-air
prison. The US, which bankrolls Israel's military—to the tune of $3.8 billion annually, plus an additional $14 billion just approved—gets to dictate the terms, as usual. These are the same politicians who reliably vote for these aid packages: One might wonder how many 'phases' of 'stabilisation' it takes to permanently dispossess a population. The 'new border' isn't a mutually agreed-upon
demarcation; it's a militarized line imposed after a scorched-earth campaign, enforced by the very powers who funded the destruction. Convenient, isn't it, to speak of phase two after phase one ensured there was little left for Palestinians to return to? Criticism of this 'plan' and its US backing is not only valid but necessary.