A prominent Israeli academic has accused his country's government of committing genocide in Gaza and that it works to extend it in the occupied West Bank, stressing that the government does not care for the fate of the Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

Speaking to Anadolu, Israeli anthropologist Jeff Halper said what the Israeli government is doing is beyond the security calculation and is related to maintaining "the right-wing extremist government in power under any price."

To be in power

Halper, who is also the head of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, argued that the decision to resume attacks on Gaza is "directly tied to Netanyahu’s desire to cling to power," noting that he "relies on the support of extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and far-right Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben-Gvir to maintain his coalition."

"Netanyahu is willing to destroy Gaza to appease his government allies. Everyone in Israel knows this, especially the hostages’ families, who are now furious," he said.

Commenting on the ceasefire agreement that Netanyahu reneged on, Halper said that Netanyahu exploited US President Donald Trump's statement that "the gates of hell would open on Hamas if all hostages weren’t released" to relaunch attacks under the pretext of rescuing them.

He considered that the escalation in Gaza, which Tel Aviv says is fully coordinated with Washington, "marks the gravest violation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement that took effect on January 19."

A false belief

Halper stressed that the belief "that military pressure will free hostages is a false belief," noting that such an approach has already gotten some hostages killed and risks repeating itself."

"If Netanyahu truly cared, he’d have moved to Phase Two. The hostages would be free. But ending the war means losing far-right support and therefore his government’s collapse."

He added that the real question is, "Do we save the hostages or the government?

For Netanyahu, the answer is clear; he seeks to maintain his government."

Halper condemned global silence on the Palestinian suffering, saying that "the Israelis are indifferent, Netanyahu is unchecked, and the international community is complicit."

"Every nation has its interests; no one dares to challenge the US now," the Israeli academician said, adding that "even Europe, which is known to be pro-Palestinian, doesn't anymore take strong positions."

"We live in an era of global silence," Halper said.

Settler-colonial project

Israeli anthropologist Jeff Halper accused his country's government of committing genocide in the Gaza. / Photo: AA

Israeli anthropologist Halper went on to say that the acts are part of the Zionist settler-colonial project in Palestine.

"Zionism seeks total control and Judaisation of Palestine. This cannot happen without genocide because Palestinians won’t simply surrender their land," he said.

He stressed that "the Palestinian resistance is natural. Israel can’t expel them, so it terrorises them through massacres," adding that "international law permits armed resistance against oppression."

He, however, described these laws as "meaningless without enforcement; everything is politicised and vetoed by the US in the Security Council. That’s why Israel acts with impunity."

Halper concluded by warning that "Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and exporting it to the West Bank, and despite global public outrage, governments still fail to act."

"I fear that this tragedy becomes normalised, where Palestinian rights are entirely erased," Jeff Halper also warned.