Some of Israel's actions in the war against Hamas, such as cutting off water and food supplies to the Gaza Strip, could "harden the Palestinians for generations" and weaken international support for Israel, he estimated yesterday, Monday. former American president Barack Obama in an article on the website Medium.
In a rare comment on a developing foreign policy crisis, Obama pointed out that any Israeli military strategy that ignores the human cost of war "ultimately may backfire."
"The Israeli government's decision to cut off food, water and electricity to a captive civilian population (in Gaza) threatens not only to exacerbate a deepening humanitarian crisis, it may further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, damage the international support for Israel, play the game of Israel's enemies and undermine long-term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region," Obama said.
The former US president condemned Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, which killed more than 1.400 people. He also reiterated his support for Israel's right to self-defense, although he called on the Israeli military to follow strategies that comply "with international law, including laws aimed at avoiding, by any means possible, the death and suffering of civilians populations".
"As we stand by Israel, we should also be clear that how it conducts its battle against Hamas matters," Obama stressed. "Already thousands of Palestinians have been killed by the bombing of Gaza, many of them children."
In addition, the former American president in his article, which extends to about 1.000 words, advocated the establishment of a Palestinian state, asking "to recognize that Palestinians have also lived for generations in disputed territories", while at the same time criticizing Israeli settlers for occupying Palestinian lands areas in the West Bank.
It is not clear whether Obama had any consultation with US President Joe Biden before publishing this article.
His views in the article are consistent with the stance he had taken during his presidency, when he supported the two-state solution. From the first days of his presidency, Obama took a strict stance on the issue of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and had asked Israel to stop all settlement activity in order to be able to advance a peace process.
Besides, in 2013 the Obama administration had tried to mediate for peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, which however failed.
Obama's relations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were also strained.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ- Reuters