- Thinking About It by Zee Feed
- Posts
- This is not partisan.
As you know by now, the ceasefire is off (if it was ever truly ‘on’ to begin with). If you’ve been avoiding the updates on this, I’ve summarised the latest as of Saturday morning. Then, I’ve pulled out two really important points that Australians need to keep front of mind.
Quick catch up – Israel breaks ceasefire:
On March 18, Israel started bombing Gaza again in the very early hours of the morning, breaking the ceasefire agreement that had been signed on January 17. It targeted residential areas across the entire length of Gaza, from north to south. At time of writing, almost 600 people have been killed, including more than 200 children. At the end of the week, Israel began a ground invasion (and has continued airstrikes).
Israel says it broke the ceasefire because: 1) Hamas wasn’t releasing captives, and 2) it believed Hamas was planning a new attack.
However, basically from the moment of signing the ceasefire there were problems in moving through the agreement including many issues with the exchange of captives and suspicion that Israel was stalling entering the second phase of the deal (when it would have to withdraw from Gaza). If you want a refresher on the details of the ceasefire agreement, we have a summary here.
Israel demolishes the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, located near the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza.
— Josep Goded (@josepgoded.bsky.social)2025-03-21T10:58:58.427Z
Complicity & consent
There is one line buried in this very good Al Jazeera explainer about why Israel broke the ceasefire that I want to make sure no one misses: “The White House said Israel consulted the US before resuming the attacks.”
Israel consulted the US before resuming the attacks.
Israel consulted the US before resuming the attacks.
Israel consulted the US before resuming the attacks.
A fair interpretation of this information is that the US gave the OK for Israel to resume its attacks, given the US is largely responsible for funding and arming Israel.
Going forward, should Palestinians trust any ceasefire arrangement or negotiation that the US is involved in? Hamas had already raised concerns about how Israel and the US were watering down previous ceasefire agreements.
Now, to Australia. Despite Trump’s America immediately and aggressively working to destabilise the world, for whatever reason our government insists the US is still our biggest “ally”. Our current leaders are failing to push back against the US for our own national interests, so there is zero chance of them advocating on behalf of Palestinians (despite immediately jumping to Ukraine’s defence). If in power, the Coalition will be even more sycophantic to the Trump administration.
Our complicity – with both the US and Israel’s warmongering – is not only symbolic, it’s direct and financial. Australia just signed an agreement to buy more missiles from the US as part of “future made in Australia” plans. The Pine Gap spy base in the Northern Territory is run on Australia soil for American intelligence agencies, including the CIA. We manufacture parts for the F35s that Israeli uses to drop bombs on Gaza. We fund Israeli weapons manufacturers. We (reportedly) buy the Israeli spyware, developed through being used to surveil Palestinians living under apartheid.
Understand that Israel broke the ceasefire with the US’s consent, and it’s genocide continues to be directly funded by Australia.
Repeat after me: This is not a partisan issue
Israel breaking the ceasefire has nothing to do with the result of the US Presidential election, and will similarly have nothing to do with the result of this year’s Australian election.
Under Biden, they kill. Under Trump, they kill. Under Harris, they would have continued to kill. While Israel enjoys the full support of the US, it is virtually inevitable that they will break ceasefire agreements whenever they feel like it – because they can.
Palestine should not be used as a reason to “not vote for the Coalition” in Australia. Both Labor and Liberal parties are aligned in their loyalty to the US, which, as we’ve established, is support of this genocide and apartheid. We cannot be arguing that Labor will be ‘better’ on Palestine when they have refused to do more than the barest of minimums and introduced dangerous local laws aimed at Palestinian liberation advocates, while Israel killed more than 62,000 Palestinians.
I don’t reiterate this point to make you feel hopeless. But Palestinians do not deserve to be used as a federal election football – please keep this in mind and call it out when you see it.
Smart stuff on the Internet 💭
All the stuff I found on the web that made me think, smile, or have an ‘aha!’ moment. Spend your Sunday reading them – you'll be better off for it:
In Your Face: The Brutal Aesthetics of MAGA on Mother Jones
Fascinating with a capital F. "Although plastic surgery and injectables are enjoyed far beyond conservative circles, what distinguishes Mar-a-Lago face from what you and I might contemplate getting done is the aggressive, overt nature with which MAGA-ites seem to pursue it. ‘Over the top, overdone, ridiculous,’ is how one New York plastic surgeon I spoke with described it … Tweaks seem intended to signal membership with Trump, a man notoriously obsessed with the literal pageantry of beauty, and his broader efforts to force strict gender norms onto the electorate. The aesthetic is, like Trump’s politics, ridiculously blunt.”
The thin-obsessed world is growing more vicious by the minute. But fat people aren’t going anywhere on Guardian Australia
On Vogue’s outrageous Hairspray-inspired video starring Gigi Hadid. “All kinds of people hate fatness. I have been prepared for that; I expect it. What I was less prepared for was a world where normal, nice, thoughtful, politically aware, outspoken people seem to care about inclusivity in all areas – except this one … Flicking through programmes for writers’ festivals, women’s festivals, arts festivals, I notice a consistent distinct lack of opportunities to discuss fatness or body image – in a time when it is increasingly necessary to address.”
The Australian Public Servant Who Helped The Oil Industry Convince The World That Stopping Climate Change Was Too Expensive on Drilled
“And that’s what people don’t see about economics. The job of economics in public debate is to dress up self-interest as national interest. He invented the idea that you could put numbers to how silly it would be to tackle climate change, and he led the world in quantifying the costs of climate action, when we should be obsessed with the cost of climate inaction.”
Vivian Jenna Wilson on Being Elon Musk’s Estranged Daughter, Protecting Trans Youth and Taking on the Right Online on Teen Vogue
“He's a pathetic man-child. Why would I feel scared of him? Ohhh, he has so much power. Nah, nah, nah. I don't give a f**k. Why should I be scared of this man? Because he's rich? Oh, no, I'm trembling. Ooh, shivering in my boots here. I don't give a f**k how much money anyone has. I don't. I really don't. He owns Twitter. Okay. Congratulations.”
Aidan Walker on what you need to know about the billionaire (probably) buying TikTok.