Ramadan, Gaza and anti-Islam sentiment

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Friday marked the fifth day of Ramadan. Unfortunately, there is still no cease-fire in Gaza, …
  • U.S. President Joe Biden recently said that they are working on a six-week emergency cease-fire, describing Rafah as a red line. Yet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to conduct military operations in that area. The Israeli army perpetrating atrocities in Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians have been starving during Ramadan, would be a new source of shame for the world and the Muslim community. Since the U.S. exerts greater influence over Israel than any other nation, one cannot help but keep an eye on the Biden administration's (in)action.
  • President Biden publicly revealed his disagreement with Netanyahu over the Gaza issue in his 'red line' statement over the weekend. Biden stated that a military operation into Gaza was a red line for the Rafah that Netanyahu had planned. Facing heavy criticism from his own base for not calling for a ceasefire for a long time, Biden finally started to mention a ceasefire. On the other hand, by stating that he would never abandon Israel, Biden showed that his red line was not that strict. He also said that Netanyahu's policies were harming Israel. While expressing his intention to continue financing defense systems like Iron Dome, which protect Israel, Biden also mentioned that they could not tolerate the deaths of another 30,000 Palestinians and urged Netanyahu to be careful about the deaths of innocent civilians. It is no coincidence that Biden is making such statements at this stage of his presidential campaign, as the message of the Democratic electorate in Palestine was clear after the primary results.
  • For the past five months, Israel has been targeting the innocent people of Gaza, with the United States and most Western governments continuing to mobilize their resources to support Israel’s brutal attacks against Gaza. By now, the attacks have become Israel’s longest intensive military operation against the Palestinians. On the one hand, while the Palestinian people are at their most vulnerable position and facing genocide, hundreds of millions of people around the world are chanting their just cause. On the other hand, as Israel continues its longest and most brutal attacks against the Palestinians, it has lost legitimacy not only in the eyes of the international community but also in the eyes of most of its supporters. It seems that this is the main paradox of post-Oct. 7.

Bu Konuda Daha Fazla

  • The effect of Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and tensions in the Middle East were discussed Friday at the Hope or Deception? Imagining a New Ground in the Middle East panel at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

  • In the recent primary elections held in Michigan, a state where Arab and Muslim voters could have a critical impact on the November 2024 presidential race, a clear message was sent to Biden regarding Palestine. Michigan, known as a swing state, saw Trump win over Clinton by a narrow margin of 11,000 votes in 2016. In this week's Democratic Party primary elections, the fact that over 100,000 voters opted for the 'uncommitted' option against Biden constitutes a critical warning to the President. The highly effective 'Dump Biden' campaign launched before the primaries was evidently impactful. Despite Biden's attempts to address the Palestinian backlash with some statements to the press before the primaries, it was revealed that these remarks did not suffice to appease the Palestinian sentiment within the party. So far, Biden has been gauging the reactions of young people, African Americans, and Muslims within the party through polls, but the results of the Michigan primaries indicate a shift in voting behavior among these demographics.

  • The current international system, which was already quite vulnerable, has totally collapsed after Israel's genocidal policies and the unconditional support of Western governments for the ongoing genocide committed by Israel. Despite the intensifying global rivalry, there was still some hope for the consolidation of the norms-based international system. At least, many states have declared their determination to take effective measures against the rising unconventional global threats such as climate change, environmental problems, irregular and illegal migration, food and water shortage, drought, failed states, cyber threats and violent nonstate actors.

  • President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Egypt marked the completion of yet another stage in Türkiye's normalization policy. The two countries thus agreed to brush aside their 12-year disagreement in an attempt to join forces anew. There is little sense in bringing up past statements to talk about concessions and U-turns.

  • Donald Trump, who seeks reelection in the United States, made headlines with his most recent comments on NATO. It is a well-known fact that he had previously described NATO as “obsolete” and condemned NATO allies that did not meet the 2% defense spending target. This time around, the former U.S. president told a crowd in South Carolina that he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO country that does not meet its financial obligations. He made those remarks shortly after the Republicans blocked military aid to Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the war on NATO’s fifth enlargement in an interview.