Pro-Palestine protesters at George Washington University, Washington, DC, May 2, 2024 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

From Ireland to the US: Gaza, Protests, and Nancy Pelosi

EA on BBC: Gaza, University Protests, and US Politics

UPDATE 0535 GMT:

I spoke with France 24 English on Saturday about the latest developments in negotiations for a ceasefire to end Israel’s open-ended war on Gaza — and why they are unlikely to succeed.

This statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes the position clear.

“Israel will under no circumstances agree to an end of the war as part of an agreement to release our hostages. The Israel Defense Forces will enjoy Rafah and destroy the remaining Hamas battalions, with or without a respite.”

Would the invasion of Rafah be a red line for the Biden Administration’s political and military support of Israel?

UPDATE, MAY 5:

I joined India’s WION on Saturday to speak further about the slim chance for a ceasefire in Israel’s attacks on Gaza as negotiations continue in Cairo, Egypt.

Watch from 3:03:

The fundamental divide is that Hamas will not accept a deal unless it ends in a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

On the other hand, the office Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not only saying they will not accept such a ceasefire. They are saying they will continue operations to “destroy Hamas”, including the invasion of Rafah.

ORIGINAL ENTRY, MAY 4: I joined The Pat Kenny Show on Dublin NewsTalk on Friday for a 14-minute analysis considering Israel’s open-ended war on Gaza, university protests in the US, and their effect on American politics in an election year.

I explain why — between Hamas in Gaza and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — a ceasefire is still distant, even as the death toll in Gaza nears 35,000 and a humanitarian crisis looms. Instead, the question is whether Netanyahu, desperate for political survival and hoping to avoid trial on bribery charges, gets a ground invasion of Rafah where up to 1.5 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are sheltering.

Before that, I look at the situation in the US, cutting through the spin, propaganda, and politics about the spreading protests on university campuses. And I note that, if both Israel’s war and the demonstrations continue into the autumn, they could be significant in the Presidential election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

When the President made his comments about rule of law on Thursday, I wish he had begun by saying that the rule of law must be upheld in Gaza.

Protest must be peaceful. It must be respectful. But to stigmatize these protests with the word “order” is an attempt to divert from the issues both in Gaza and in the United States.