'What Colonialist Powers Do': Israel Eying Mid East 'Hegemony' Post-Gaza Conflict

Speaking to Sputnik’s Political Misfits on Tuesday, scientist, author and activist for Palestinian Human Rights, Mazin Qumsiyeh said Israel’s actions in Gaza are a genocide that has been ignored by the world, and that Zionists in Israel want to dominate the Middle East and potentially beyond.

Asked what comes next in the conflict, Qumsiyeh said that soon disease, malnutrition and a lack of water and medicine will lead to a civilian death toll that will "quickly overtake the number of civilians killed by bombings."

He then moved onto discussing what he believes to be Israel's plans after Gaza.

“That is the long-term plan of Israel, a newly dominated Middle East, in which Israel holds hegemony. But I don’t think they will stop with the Middle East, they will continue because that is what colonialist powers do,” Qumsiyeh warned. “I think China and Russia and other countries need to pay attention very closely to what Israeli plans have been.”

Israel started heavily bombing Gaza days after a surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, which killed around 1,200 Israelis according to official numbers. It has since launched a ground campaign in Gaza, promising to eliminate Hamas. More than 16,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, including over 7,000 children.

Multiple human rights organizations have described Israel’s actions as genocidal. Israel has targeted UN schools, refugee camps and hospitals, claiming that Hamas militants are hiding in those areas or using them as a base of operation.

“For the life of me, I don’t understand why so many countries are silent on this, on an ongoing holocaust, an ongoing genocide,” Qumsiyeh said, adding that he believes it is “not [just] a Palestinian problem, it’s a global problem.”

“The State Department now basically works 95% of its time for Israel,” Qumsiyeh said, pointing to a recent resignation by State Department official Josh Paul, who said in media interviews that there “has been no space allowed for debate” on the transfer of arms to Israel.

“... since Washington is a superpower, with the tails of Washington being the UK and many other countries like Canada and Australia follow suit. So we have a major global problem that could lead to world war,” Qumsiyeh said. “It also already led to the destruction of international law and order and already the UN has become a totally useless organization.”

Political Misfits co-host John Kiriakou asked Qumsiyeh if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could lose his position and if it would matter if he did.

“They need to be stopped as a collective, not as Netanyahu, let’s not make it personal about Netanyahu,” he added.

Israel has maintained that it is doing all that it can to protect civilians in Gaza while attempting to eliminate Hamas. It has repeatedly dismissed claims that has committed war crimes in Gaza.