Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
04 March 2024 | 12:38 p.m. SAST
3 minute read

Hamas envoys arrived in Cairo over the weekend to attend truce negotiations with Qatari and US officials.

Reports indicate a sudden urgency in the United States’ encouragement of a temporary ceasefire deal before Ramadan. This political manoeuvre is being used to paint the United States in a more positive light, as Moulana Ebrahim Moosa points out in this week’s Palestine Report.

The Israeli government is facing mounting pressure as it continues its gruesome attack on Gaza, exemplified by the flour massacre last week, in which over a hundred Palestinians were killed. Despite continued air and ground attacks, Israel’s failing war effort has not achieved any major goals, Moulana Moosa notes.

“The Americans and Israel would not want the optics of continuing this war in Ramadan,” Moulana Moosa says. He adds, “Because this is going to put Masjid Al-Aqsa at the centre of the battle, and its also going to inflame not only the existing fronts in Lebanon as well as Gaza, but also extending this into the West Bank.”

Israel is demanding that Hamas release information about the exact number of Israeli prisoners who are still alive in Gaza, as well as outline expected prisoner exchange ratios, as preconditions of a ceasefire.

Hamas has listed three of their own preconditions: a permanent ceasefire, a total withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the return of displaced people in the south of the enclave to the north.

“What we need as the starting point of these negotiations is a[n] absolute end to the war in Gaza, and that has been consistent from Hamas for the last few weeks,” Moulana Moosa reports.

On Saturday, 2 March 2024, United States Military C130 cargo aircraft airdropped food in pellets over Gaza. The airdrop, which consisted of 38 000 meals, was reportedly coordinated by the US Central Command and the Jordanian Air Force.

“This is no act of defiance,” Moulana Moosa says, reiterating the general sentiment that the aid drop is indicative of blatant hypocrisy.

The United States, which ironically supplies Israel with the arms to continue its onslaught on Gaza, could only execute the operation with prior consent from the Israeli government. The US’ apparent sway could well have been used to leverage Israel to allow the kilometres-long queue of aid trucks to cross the Rafah border into Gaza.

“And lastly, you’ve got Jordan, who is involved in these stunts. They’re doing this for domestic consumption to pacify their own populations… It’s been revealed that Jordan has an Instagram influencer to be part of some of these troops and also an American filmmaker. They’ve also invited the US radio network, the National Public Radio (NPR) to be part of some of these air drops, keen to work the publicity around this,” Moulana Moosa reports.

In a blatant disregard for international law, Israel has flouted every single provisional measure that was ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 26 January 2024.

Among the measures instituted by the court was that Israel make concerted efforts to prevent killing Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and yet the death toll continues to rise.

Despite being ordered to prevent bodily harm to Gazan people, independent reports indicate that Palestinian detainees are being subjected to sexual assault.

The world is witnessing the increasingly disturbing famine in Palestine, which is heavily affecting women and children. One in five pregnant women is being treated for malnourishment in the enclave, going directly against the ICJ provisional measures.

There has been a drastic decrease of 90 aid trucks into Gaza, despite the ICJ’s order to take immediate measures to enable basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

Israel has also flouted the ICJ order to prevent and punish the incitement to commit genocide in Gaza, with reports of genocidal statements made at a conference held just two days after the ICJ announced the provisional measures.

Moulana Moosa emphasises the need for an effective enforcement mechanism to halt Israel in its tracks.

Listen to the Palestine Report on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.