Bibi Wags The Dog

Facing an increasingly growing bribery and corruption scandal involving payoffs to the media, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is struggling to keep his government afloat as calls for his resignation are getting louder and louder.  As a result, the Israeli military went into Gaza on Friday as Palestinians living there marched to protest the ongoing blockade and opened fire on Palestinians, killing at least 15 and injuring hundreds in the resulting bloodbath.

Israel will target militant groups inside Gaza if violence along the territory’s border with Israel drags on, the chief military spokesman warned on Saturday, a day after 15 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the area’s deadliest violence in four years.

The violence significantly diminished Saturday as just small groups of Palestinians threw stones in several areas near the border fence, drawing Israeli fire that injured 25 people, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

Friday’s mass marches were largely led by Gaza’s ruling Hamas group and touted as the start of a six-week-long protest campaign against a stifling decade-old blockade of the territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel congratulated soldiers Saturday for allowing the rest of the country to celebrate the Passover holiday safely.

“Israel is acting determinedly and decisively to protect its sovereignty and the security of its citizens,” he said.

Palestinian health officials said 15 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and more than 750 hit by live rounds Friday, making it the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 cross-border war between Israel and Hamas.

Naturally, the Trump regime is providing full cover for the attack. CNN reports even higher numbers for the dead and wounded.

The US blocked a United Nations Security Council statement Saturday morning, which called for an independent inquiry into Friday's violence in Gaza that left at least 17 Palestinians dead and more than 1,400 injured, two UN diplomats tell CNN. 

Following Friday's escalated confrontations, Kuwait drafted a statement asking the Security Council to take action. 

It is unclear if other countries would have also objected, UN diplomats tell CNN. If one country objects, then the statement cannot be adopted. 

But Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon lodged a complaint with the United Nations Security Council for holding an emergency session on the first night of Passover -- a major Jewish holiday -- according to a statement released by Israel's UN Mission on Sunday. 

Danon claimed Kuwait intentionally called for the session as Israel's UN Mission was observing Passover, thus barring their participation while they observed a religious holiday. 

He said the move "exploited procedural rules" and is "antithetical to the spirit of the UN," according to the Israeli Mission statement. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had called for an independent inquiry into Friday's violence. 

Guterres made his comments late Friday before the emergency UN Security Council meeting to address the issue. UN spokesman Farhan Haq relayed his statement to the media. 

"This tragedy underlines the urgency of revitalizing the peace process aiming at creating the conditions for a return to meaningful negotiations for a peaceful solution that will allow Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side peacefully and in security," Guterres was reported as saying.

Netanyahu is promising more military action if the protests are not stopped.  It will come anyway, and of course we can't possibly change horses in midstream like this when there's a war going on...

Wag the dog.