Israel violates ceasefire, sets impossible conditions, closes Gaza to preserve coalition.

By Elijah J. Magnier –

While March 2 was supposed to mark the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, Israel has systematically violated and even defied its humanitarian obligations and actively obstructed progress towards the second phase. Instead of honouring the terms of the agreement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unilaterally extended the first phase and ordered the complete closure of all entry and exit points to and from Gaza in order to pressure the population and force the Palestinian resistance to submit to his new conditions. Netanyahu is also demanding the release of 30 of the remaining 59 Israeli prisoners before moving on to phase two (without guarantee), effectively using hostages as bargaining chips to prolong the ceasefire phase that best serves his political agenda.

By maintaining the ceasefire in phase one, Israel retains military leverage and avoids the obligations that phase two would have entailed, including a possible Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and further prisoner exchanges. This unilateral decision sidelines Palestinian voices and reinforces the pattern of Israel dictating the terms of engagement while bypassing diplomatic agreements that require mutual consent.