Barack Obama: “An Israeli military strategy that ignores the cost of human life could be counterproductive”
After being criticized by some sectors for not issuing a quick statement following the Hamas attack on Israeli territory, former US President Barack Obama published this Monday a long statement with some thoughts on the conflict in the Middle East.
Obama seized on part of a speech by Joe Biden, his vice president, about self-criticism of the United States’ role after 9/11. “Now, after the systematic slaughter of Israeli citizens, a slaughter that brings back some of the Jewish people’s darkest memories of persecution, it is understandable that many Israelis are demanding their government do what is necessary to eliminate Hamas , and that this is never the case.” this repeats itself,” writes the politician on Medium.
But Obama warns that “an Israeli military strategy that ignores the cost of human life could be counterproductive” because it would increase the death toll in Gaza, where many of the victims are children and minors. “The Israeli government’s decision to prevent food shipments and cut off water and electricity to civilians threatens to deepen the humanitarian crisis and could harden Palestinian attitudes for generations and undermine support for Israel,” he added.
The former president believes the recent access of humanitarian aid from Egypt, partly negotiated by Biden, is a good but insufficient sign. The next step for the international community is to speed up the delivery of aid to the desperate population. “Although the prospect of future peace now seems very distant, we must call on all actors in the region to make commitments to the Palestinian authorities that recognize Israel’s right to exist while setting out a viable path to peace. Palestinians on the path to self-determination,” says the politician who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.