The Israel Defense Forces on May 17 said its fighter jets attacked a tunnel belonging to Hamas in southern Gaza overnight, as the escalating violence in the region continued. The IDF said this video shows a tunnel near a kindergarten and a mosque in southern Gaza. Health officials in Gaza said at least 198 people had been killed by May 17. Credit: Israel Defense Forces via Storyful
Israeli airstrikes on a Gaza apartment complex killed more than 42 people as Hamas fired rockets at Israel on Sunday. Despite global calls for a cease-fire, Israel’s prime minister said the country would do whatever it takes to restore order. Photo: Mohammed Saber/Shutterstock
Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer says he is disturbed by silence from the Arab leadership about the violence unfolding in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“There is a fundamental difference between what you’re hearing from the Jewish leadership in the country and the Arab leadership of the country,” he told Fox News.
“That is very disturbing.
“All the Jewish leadership in the country, the religious leadership and the political leadership across the political spectrum, has not only not supported these attacks of Jews against Arabs but have condemned them in the most forceful terms.
“Most of the Arab political leaders, or virtually all of them, have been silent on this – you have had a few religious leaders in the Arab sector that have come out, and it’s very important to hear their voice because we have to have leaders speaking clearly and forcefully condemning this act.”
Mr Dermer said Israel could easily “conquer” Gaza but has “no desire” to attack.
He suggested that as Israel “valued life” it didn’t need to be stopped but needed support for the right to defend itself from around the world.
Since the violence began about a week ago, more than 190 people have reportedly been killed in Gaza and 10 in Israel.
On Monday morning the Israel Defense Forces said Hamas had fired 3,100 rockets from Gaza in a week – the “highest daily rate of rocket fire that Israel has faced in the history of the country”.
Palestinian Ambassador to Australia Izzat Abdulhadi has told Sky News, Australia should put pressure on Israel to cease the “assault on Gaza” and immediately recognise the state of Palestine.
The most recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict has moved into its second week with more than 190 deaths recorded in Gaza compared to 10 in Israel.
Israel engaged in another round of fierce air bombings through Gaza city which killed more than 40 in a single day over the weekend, while Hamas fired over two thousand missiles into Israel.
The ongoing conflict has attracted protests across the globe as multiple human rights organisations have condemned the Israeli treatment of Palestinians as apartheid.
Jewish Israeli human rights NGO B'Tselem along with Human Rights Watch had declared an “apartheid” in the state of Israel against the Palestinian people.
Mr Abdulhadi said Australia must recognise the state of Palestine and should pressure the Israeli government to accept “international protection of the Palestinian people”.
“Israel is now an apartheid system, and I think Australia should have more actions to respect international law,” he said.
“The root cause of the problem is the Israeli occupation. We need to end the Israeli occupation and Israel should recognise the self-determination for the Palestinian people in statehood.”
As the latest war between Hamas and Israel enters its second week, the narrative is following a familiar script. Hamas fires rockets at Israeli cities, Israel retaliates by bombing the source of the rockets in Gaza, Hamas plays up the civilian casualties, and the world leans on Israel to stop defending itself.