Gaza Under Siege: Israel's Asymmetric Punishment and Petro-Politics

Asymmetric warfare has decimated the Gaza Strip, destroying 90% of its buildings and claiming over 40,000 Palestinian civilian casualties, prompting warnings of a potential genocide from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. Israel's real objective appears to be to force the Palestinian population into a "second Nakba," rendering it impossible for displaced people to return and for Palestinians to remain confined in an open-air concentration camp. Meanwhile, Israel has plans to declare sovereignty over Gaza and its maritime areas, establishing itself as a key gas node in the region.

Key Takeaways:

• Israel's military campaign in Gaza has destroyed 90% of its buildings, leaving over 40,000 Palestinian civilians casualties.
• The real objective of the campaign is to provoke a second Nakba, forcing 1.5 million Palestinians to leave Gaza, which would be impossible for them to return to.
• The Gaza Strip has significant gas reserves, estimated at 1.4 trillion cubic meters, with 60% owned by Palestinians and 40% by Israel.
• Israel has taken control of the gas reserves and plans to exploit them, establishing itself as a key node for fossil fuel supply through pipelines connecting the European continent.
• The construction of the Ben Gurion Canal, named after the founder of the Israeli regime, David Ben Gurion, would create an alternative route to the Suez Canal and come under Jewish-American control.
• The two-state theory is impossible to achieve due to Israel's intransigence and the United States' failure to negotiate a lasting peace.

Statistics:

• 90% of buildings in Gaza were destroyed by Israel's military campaign.
• Over 40,000 Palestinian civilians were killed in the campaign.
• Gaza has 1.4 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves, with 60% owned by Palestinians.
• Lebanon has granted 12 licenses to six companies to explore and discover additional offshore natural gas fields.

Sources:

• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.
• Oslo peace agreements.
• Agreement between the Palestinian National Authority and British Gas Group (1999).
• Ben Gurion Canal project.