Israel’s brutality and Ummah’s passivity

The audacity and callousness with which the Israeli military continues to murder Palestinian women and children to take revenge against Hamas is nothing but genocide. It should have jolted the conscience of the world and awakened the Muslim leadership from their deep slumber. In a world which promotes expediency and interests to principles and morality the attitude of the Western nations is not surprising. The indifferent response of majority of Muslim states was not surprising either as support for a group like Hamas could be destabilising for regimes that do not draw power from the will of the people but through clamping on their rights. Hamas too is not strictly adherent to democratic principles but strongly echoes the aspirations for a free and independent homeland for Palestinians. It is a spin-off of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in the late 1980s that took over the Gaza Strip and has been under its strict control ever since.

The Israeli invasion has certainly crushed and tried to decimate its hold on Gaza but it would be naïve to write it off. Organisations and groups with a strong ideological and political base may lose power and administrative control over their lands but do make a comeback in most cases. Hamas itself suffered serious defeat in the past, not once but several times, only to recover with renewed zeal.

This time Israel has declared a state of war, and by far it has been the most significant military escalation since 2006. The conflict also is influenced by the power struggle among regional powers including Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar. Iran has been the most ardent supporter of Hamas whereas Saudi Arabia, Egypt and a few others are wary of Hamas as they think that its policies and ideology could destabilise their regimes. In view of the strong support and sympathy that Hamas enjoys with the broad masses in these countries the regimes are compelled to support it even if it remains confined to financial assistance by a few countries, policy statements by certain nations and resolutions by the Organisation of Islamic Countries and UN General Assembly.

The imposition of the strict blockade of Gaza by Israel is collective punishment which is against all norms of international law. Israel’s brutality and forced evacuation of 1.1 million Gazans to northern Gaza is inhuman and similar to what Nazi Germany did to their community a few decades ago. Its present ground invasion of Gaza Strip, featuring unrelenting and indiscriminate bombing, has been the most brutal with women and children its worst victims. The killing of such a large number of civilians by Israel’s relentless bombing and ground invasion and the displacement of nearly 2 million Palestinians have caused serious short and long-term consequences for more than 75% of Gaza’s population. According to a UN report, 1.5 million Palestinians, constituting over 70% of Gaza’s population, and nearly 200,000 Israelis have been internally displaced. Acute shortage of drinking water, food and fuel and other basic necessities of life in Gaza is making life unbearable for the residents. The health system is failing as hospitals are overburdened, also hit with frequent power breakdowns and acute shortage of medicines.

The tacit, unbridled support of the US has encouraged Israel to defy international opinion and commit crimes against humanity. But Israel rulers will be naïve and short-sighted if they fail to recognise the hard reality that they are surrounded by Muslim majority countries where the broad masses consider Israel the aggressor and usurper of lands. The US and Western support can go that far but eventually justice and human rights will prevail. Already there are widespread global protests and demands for a ceasefire and release of hostages. Recently Pro-Palestinian anti-war protests held in the UK and other places have been the largest since the Iraqi war. There was also a very large demonstration in Pakistan against Israel’s policies and in support of Hamas. A non-binding resolution passed by an overwhelming majority in the United Nations General Assembly called for cessation of the hostilities. It is intriguing as to why Pakistan abstained and failed to support the resolution. This shows to what extent Pakistan’s policies are compromised due to its heavy dependence on foreign aid to sustain its anemic economy and weak political structure.

Karan Thapar, a reputed Indian journalist, has raised some relevant questions that could bring clarity regarding Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly aggressive and sadistic policy in dealing with Hamas. The general belief that PM Netanyahu may have satisfied his instincts by Israeli forces killing 12,000 Palestinian civilians, injuring 30,000 and completely destroying Gaza, making the area unlivable. But it has not broken the spirit and resolve of Hamas, and has rather strengthened it. This is evident from the way they continue to fight from the land they still hold, pushing Israelis on the defensive.

The US narrative that Israel has the right to self-defence is a deliberate distortion and a cover-up of its brazen atrocities against civilians. Moreover, the US and the West intentionally kept their eyes closed to the illegal settlements by Israelis mostly built on Palestinian territories that were in their possession for 56 years. This partisan attitude of the US and other European countries, fully backing Israel and overlooking its brazen human rights violations, is contributing to animosities based on religion, with grave consequences for the global order.

There is a dire need among leaders of Muslim nations to collectively pursue a resolution of the Palestinian problem. Past reminds us that mere resolutions by the OIC or the Arab league have failed to make an impact or forced Israel to change its brutal policies. Nor has it influenced the US and European Union to be evenhanded and play the role of forcing Israel to engage in serious a dialogue with Palestinian leadership and Middle Eastern countries to find a political solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. On the contrary, the Israel’s conflict with Hamas and its extreme hostile policy toward Palestinians has the solid backing of the US that reinforces the impression that Washington wants to control the Middle East countries by supporting Israel.

Israel instead of developing a rational vision of Palestine has preferred the course of perennial war and extermination of Hamas and the other forces that have taken a stand against its discriminatory policies. History testifies that such policies are destined to fail.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2023.

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