Ori Goldberg on Nostr: I've been asked several times recently how Netanyahu's statement that there will be ...

I've been asked several times recently how Netanyahu's statement that there will be no Palestinian state can be reconciled with the Trump 20-point plan which "lays the groundwork" for a Palestinian state. The obvious answer is that both the Trump plan and Netanyahu's statement are not binding in any way. That is, of course, the truth.

Still, I think there is a deeper answer. The Trump plan and the rapid internationalization of Gaza on the ground should not be judged for substantive content just yet, but for the break they represent with the eternal status quo. Essentially, Israel is being rebuffed on two of its most contentious fronts.

Trump is telling Israel what to do. He is also clearly expressing his pro-Israel bias. Still, he is not backing down. True, American weapons are still empowering Israel. And yet, Israel has not been allowed to return to its default genocidal mode. While Israel continues to massacre Palestinians, such massacres now represent a roguish extreme rather than the new normal. Israel knows only killing. This is now seen as an obstacle and not as self-defense. There is no consolation to be found here. There is very little hope. But there is a change to a status quo that once seemed immutable.

The rapid internationalization of Gaza (and make no mistake; despite Israeli resistance, Israel will accept Turkish presence as well as other state contingents in Gaza sooner rather than later) violates what has always been a very basic tenet of Israeli faith with regard to the "conflict". Israel has always radically opposed internationalization and for good reason. Once Israel is denied full and summary discretion, Israel's occupation and oppression will crumble. They are built on maintaining Israel's military dictatorahip as a black hole that sucks in and obliterates any attempt at scrutiny or reassessment of "security considerations".

So, two major changes to a seemingly untouchable status quo. Integrate them with unprecedented events like American politicians returning AIPAC donations (Seth Moulton in Massachusetts, for example) and Israeli football fans being denied entry to a European match, and a pattern begins to present itself. It is morally reprehensible that the line Israel appears to have crossed is one of personal gain and interest and not one of humanity. That said, Israel has crossed a line. It cannot be uncrossed.