Media coverage
La Onda Digital (Uruguay) · 2025-05-23
A column by Carlos Decker-Molina relaying the views of “the Gazan economist Omar Shaban, founder of the Pal Think centre”, now living in Egypt: that Israel kept control of Gaza’s air, sea and land after 2005, that there is a “leadership crisis on both sides”, and that a way out needs Palestinian recognition of Israel together with Israeli withdrawal.
A column by Carlos Decker-Molina relaying the views of “the Gazan economist Omar Shaban, founder of the Pal Think centre”, now living in Egypt: that Israel kept control of Gaza’s air, sea and land after 2005, that there is a “leadership crisis on both sides”, and that a way out needs Palestinian re…
Complicit Silence Too
“Every piece of land (Gaza) that Israel takes will remain in our hands,” declared Israel Katz, Defense Minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The Gaza Strip, with an area of 362 square kilometers, was inhabited by some 2.2 million people, not all of them linked to Hamas. After 18 months of military offensive, the figures are devastating: more than 15,000 orphaned children and 85% of homes destroyed.
Although Israel formally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it continued to exercise control over its airspace, maritime space, and land crossings. This is affirmed by the Gazan economist Omar Shaban, founder of the think tank Pal Think, who currently resides in Egypt and is considered one of the most balanced Palestinian voices. In a recent interview with a European media outlet, he warned: “There is a leadership crisis on both sides.”
In Netanyahu’s Israel, there are no longer figures like Shimon Peres or Yitzhak Rabin, former winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. The current prime minister governs with representatives of the most extreme wing of the political-religious spectrum, such as Itamar Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich, and Israel Katz, who unambiguously defend ethnic cleansing as part of their ideological and religious vision.
On the Palestinian side, there are likewise no leaders comparable to those who accompanied Yasser Arafat in the Oslo Accords. The conflict is not limited to Hamas, but includes other factions, even the military wing of Fatah.
According to Shaban, a viable way out must begin with Palestinian recognition of the State of Israel, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied territories. In his view, both Israeli militarists and Palestinian armed groups use the occupation as justification to sustain themselves as “liberators” of a land historically inhabited by a diversity of ethnicities and creeds.
“We cannot lose faith in the international community,” he says, “because silence is also complicity.”
In Israel, Yair Lapid, leader of the Israeli opposition, has warned that prolonging the war will only strengthen the most radical sectors: “Those who seek to annex Gaza must be stopped.”
In one of the most controversial operations of recent months, the bombing of a European hospital in Khan Younis, where Hamas leader Mohammad Sinwar and spokesman Abu Obeida were allegedly hiding, caused the deaths of 60 Gazan civilians and left dozens wounded. Both leaders were killed by Israeli forces, according to the Shin Bet intelligence service.
The Netanyahu government’s refusal to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, on the grounds that it strengthens Hamas “by making them appear humanitarian,” has been criticized by various sectors as an excuse to advance a policy of ethnic cleansing. Official figures indicate more than 53,000 Palestinians killed—2.4% of the population—and more than 120,000 wounded since the beginning of the offensive.
The newspaper Haaretz was categorical: “The issue of humanitarian aid to Gaza reveals the government’s negligence, which has marched straight toward a diplomatic catastrophe, squandering the achievements of the security agencies.”
The question echoes forcefully in multiple international forums: who can stop Netanyahu? The answers, several analysts agree, are not in Brussels, but in Washington.
The hardening of the rhetoric by France, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which have warned of possible sanctions if the offensive continues, could have a greater impact on Israeli public opinion than on the government in Tel Aviv, where Netanyahu still feels backed by Donald Trump.
According to Arab sources, the United States has reportedly begun talks with Libya to relocate part of Gaza’s displaced population. The scenario is complex: Libya has two governments—one in Tripoli, backed by Turkey, and another in Benghazi, controlled by General Khalifa Haftar and supported by Egypt—both interested in gaining access to Libyan funds frozen in U.S. banks since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. In exchange, they would be willing to accept agreements with Washington, despite their historical closeness to the Palestinian cause.
However, those same sources warn that Libya, with a population of only seven million inhabitants and severe supply problems, is not in a position to receive one million Gazans without a major humanitarian crisis.
On the other hand, a French diplomatic source suggests that a rift has emerged between Trump and Netanyahu. The reason: the dialogue opened by the former U.S. president with Iran, a gesture that did not go down well in the Israeli prime minister’s circle.
According to that same source, Netanyahu had in mind a more ambitious expansion that included the annexation of southern Syria and a possible confrontation with Iran. “Trump began to distinguish between Netanyahu’s personal interests and those of the State of Israel,” the source says. As an example, it mentions the recent agreement negotiated by Trump with Ansar Allah, the Yemeni movement that attacked Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.
Trump, the source concludes, is determined to go down in history as the president who ended all wars, regardless of whether they were just or not.
By Carlos Decker-Molina
Text © La Onda Digital (Uruguay) — archived here with attribution to the source. — Machine translation for archival reference. — Original source