VIDEO: Trump’s latest statements on Gaza are a “recipe for permanent war.”
President Trump’s announcement that the United States should take over the Gaza Strip has further compromised the Gaza ceasefire deal, which Phyllis Bennis called “fragile from the beginning” in a series of recent interviews with Al Jazeera.
Trump recently took a private meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “From what we understand, there was nothing discussed in the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu about the ceasefire,” Phyllis notes.
“There was certainly no pressure brought by President Trump to urge his erstwhile ally to continue with the ceasefire,” she adds, despite Netanyahu’s clear indication that he does not plan to abide by the requirements in the second and third phases of the ceasefire. “I think that it’s a very significant question right now: whether there will be the possibility of finishing the first stage and getting into discussion about the second stage, which is ultimately about ending the war.”
“The ceasefire is very delicate, and I don’t know that we’re even going to make it through the six weeks of phase one,” she said. “It’s not at all clear if that’s going to survive.”
So far, Phyllis explained, there’s no evidence that this current administration or Congress is willing to end the transfer of arms to Israel. Instead, she warned that Trump has thrown his support behind the most extreme elements of the Israeli government, threatening the removal of innocent civilians from Gaza.
Phyllis warned that this should raise alarm bells in the international community.
Watch all of Phyllis’s interviews with Al Jazeera below:
