No more aid

President Donald Trump’s decision to cease $200 million in aid to Palestine is a very inhumane step to take at this time. In his frenzy to cut aid to countries which are not ‘friends’ with the US, Palestine is the latest to be hit. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict peaked months ago when the Trump Administration recognised Jerusalem as part of Israel, a state that has practised decades of violence against Palestinians. The conflict, in nature, is perhaps less a struggle between two faith systems and more about affording human rights to safety of and restoring dignity to the Palestinians. Trump’s latest decision to cut funding to the forlorn nation challenges the latter.

Although both sides have been instigators at various points of the conflict, the Isreali army is certainly named to be more powerful, ranking as the world’s 15^th most powerful military. Official statements released by Washington, DC with regard to Hamas’s control over Gaza fail to recognise the other major factor endangering the lives of Gazans and West Bank residents, pointedly maintaining a biased stance. Critical of other Arab countries and their violence in neighbouring nations, such as Saudi Arabia’s destruction in Yemen — using US government supplied material — the White House appears to be playing selectively and strategically. Just as KSA has led several strikes targeting children, Israel has also targeted children physically and psychologically. The cancelling of aid will be detrimental to the rehabilitation of Palestine and the restoration of normalcy for its people.

Doing some self-reflection, even though we discourage the Pakistan government from being dependent on foreign aid as it has been for decades, we are not a war-torn country. While we deal with anti-state elements and terrorism, our requirement for aid has mainly stemmed from corruption and misappropriation of funds. On the other hand, Palestine has remained a war-torn country for decades. A meaningful dialogue with regard to countries lending support and picking up Palestine’s financial deficit is of utmost significance considering the continual suffering of Palestinians who are a victim of circumstances.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2018.

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