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Press TV has conducted an interview with Sarah Flounders, Co-Director of International Action Center from New York, about relentless pounding of Palestinian territory by the Israeli army under orders from Netanyahu.

Press TV: Israel’s Channel Two TV has conducted a poll and has found out that before the war the Israeli Prime Minister’s popularity rating was standing at 82 percent and now it has gone down to 28 percent due to Israel’s war on Gaza.

Why is Israel conducting this war? Why is Prime Minister Netanyahu still relentless in going through with this war?

Flounders: Israel is determined and has always been determined to destroy the Palestinian people, the Palestinian movement and the Palestinian’s determination to resist.

This has been true of every administration; and every US administration has supported Israel completely politically, diplomatically, financially every step of the way in this goal.

The fact that they have failed though is why they are losing support even within Israel and losing support among very important layers, for example, the statement just this weekend from survivors of the Holocaust charactering Israel’s attack on Gaza as genocide, equating it to the Nazi holocaust against the Jewish people in Europe.

These are strong words coming from Holocaust survivors and hundreds of their descendants.

So, the support in Israel, the support of course around the world shows Israel is isolated. Even the support here in the US where the corporate media totally supports Israel and yet in the population that support is eroding.

What is increasingly recognized is the Palestinian peoples’ right to exist as a people, as a nation; right to elect their own leadership; and right and determination to open the borders of Gaza. This is absolutely essential; it is the very first step to lift the siege.

Press TV: I need to find out from you since you’re there in the United States – do Americans realize what is going on? For example, the piece of news right now is that Egypt is trying very hard – although many are not very optimistic – it is trying very hard to bring the two sides back to the negotiation table.

The Palestinian factions have agreed for talks to resume, but they want the border crossings to be lifted because you have at this point over 10,000 injured Palestinians.

And I think out of those 10,000, 240 were allowed back (into Egypt) but only six were given treatment. There is desperation here.

But Israel doesn’t want to come back – they have not responded as yet. Do Americans know the situation as it is regarding this particular point and overall?

Flounders: No of course they don’t know and I don’t think, by the way, Egypt is trying very hard at all for a negotiated settlement.

Egypt is enforcing the closure at Rafah going about helping in the destruction of the tunnels; stopping those who have severe injuries from getting medical attention in Egypt. As you say, 11,000 injuries and about six people have been able to cross into Egypt for medical attention.

Egypt under the General Sisi dictatorship is in every way working with Israel and working with the US. But the very fact that even under Egypt Israel is refusing to take part in ceasefire talks shows just how absolutely one-sided the struggle is and who is absolutely to blame.

Do the people in the US know this? This is not what’s reported in the media; but it’s important the actions that are happening in the US where there have been demonstrations again and again all across the country where the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement has gained great strength.

In the past week really for the first time an Israeli ship was stopped from unloading on the Port of Oakland on the West Coast of California because thousands and thousands of people turned out to block the port and refused to allow the unloading.

From 5 a.m. in the morning coming back again and coming back again and finally the ship had to leave.

So, that is a sign of things to come where Israel is increasingly isolated, where mass sentiment even here in the US where US imperialism is absolutely in lock with Zionism and has been historically - it continues to be today.

The feeling among the people here and we’ve found it in all of the demonstrations in the streets where people applaud, join in, welcome, this has not been in the past. Sometimes in past years you’d feel you were taking your life into your hands because it was so hostile and yet today especially among young people on campuses the support is huge and growing.

So I think there is a real sea change both in how Israel is perceived; how the whole Zionist scheme for the destruction of the Palestinians is seen and understood; and also on a global scale how it’s understood. And so the US is isolated on this; Israel is; and certainly the role of the Egyptian government should also be challenged.

Press TV: The idea of countries that are backing Israel, some have come out obviously condemning this move, but one country in particular said that if Israel resumes this war we’re not going to renew their arms licenses and that was the UK.

They have yet to do that. Why have they rebuffed on that?

Flounders: The British Empire and British imperialism will always back the role of US imperialism and so while they may talk in the labor government because there they face overwhelming opposition to their support for Israel from the broad population and a real sense of solidarity for the Palestinian struggle.

So they’re talking out of both sides of their mouth – they’re saying they are going to stop aid to Israel and yet on the other hand they don’t do it. And of course in the US the arms shipments increase and it’s a non-stop pipeline.

The problem though is not Palestinian rockets. What Israel is trying to defeat is Palestinian unity. And the real crime that the Palestinians committed as far as Israel is concerned was the unity government of Hamas and Fatah. The very idea that the Palestinian people would be united is fearful to Israel and so this war began – this round – of attempting to break the Palestinian resistance and the drive for unity in any form. Israel wants the Palestinian people completely fractured and also completely defenseless.

Yes they want the Palestinian people to disarm and to stop their resistance, but that doesn’t mean that Israel will give an inch – as we’ve seen in the West Bank where despite 20 years of talks the settlements have expanded, have continued; the walls; the roadblocks; dividing into tiny cantons expropriating more and more land.