Who is responsible for the killing fields of Gaza?
The writer is former Dean Faculty of Social Science, University of Karachi and can be reached at amoons@hotmail.com
There is no letup in the Israeli aggression in Gaza where more than 18,000 people, including several thousand women and children, have been killed since the Hamas attack of October 7. Killing fields are not only confined to Gaza, Israeli forces have killed hundreds of unarmed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank also in collaboration with Jewish settlers.
The Jewish state has retaliated by unabated air and ground attacks on Gaza to the Hamas’s attack that resulted in the killing 1400 people and abduction of more than 250. The resumption of hostilities after eight days of ceasefire has led to ceaseless agony to 2.3 million residents of Gaza amid the threat of escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Who is responsible for the killing fields of Gaza and Israel’s unabated attack on the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank? Is the Hamas leadership responsible for plunging millions of people of Gaza in months of Israeli bombardment while living in their comfort zones in Qatar and elsewhere? Will Israel be able to get away with its genocide of Palestinian people? Why have the recent OIC-Arab League meeting in Riyadh and the GCC summit in Doha failed to prevail over the US and Israel for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza? These are the questions that are raised in the prevailing circumstances reflecting the plight the 2.3 million people holed up in Gaza Strip and another couple of million Palestinians facing consistent Israeli attacks on their houses and businesses.
Never before in the contemporary history of Palestine had a systematic genocide in Gaza taken place, which has triggered global protests demanding an end to the killing fields; immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza; and adherence to a two-state solution in which the Palestinians will have their own homeland with East Jerusalem as its capital. Unfortunately, despite the Israeli occupation of West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and the siege of Gaza ongoing since 2006, the dream of an independent Palestinian state remains elusive, with no plausible hope for rendering justice to the people of Palestine who have been living as refugees since 1948 when their lands and houses were grabbed by Jews under the patronage of British authorities after the end of the First World War. The UN partition plan of 1947 and the creation of Israel in 1948 augmented the sufferings of Palestinians as they were displaced by the Jewish state into Gaza and elsewhere.
The steady erosion of dream to have an independent Palestinian state is the outcome of negligence, betrayal and indifference of Arab states who for pursuance of their selfish interests and lack of capability provide space to Israel. Back to back setbacks experienced by Palestinians since the Israeli occupation of West Bank and Gaza in June 1967; the rise of Hamas that divided the Palestinian struggle; and provision of legitimacy to Israel by Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and many Muslim states have enabled the Jewish state to consolidate its hold over the West Bank. Therefore, the major responsibility for the plight of Palestinians rests with Arab states as well as Hamas which challenged the PLO authority and caused disunity.
The continued killing in Gaza and West Bank constitutes the failure of the international community to prevent Israel from going ahead with its brutal attacks and convincing the Biden administration to cease unlimited support to the Jewish state. One needs to examine from three sides why the world has failed to stop the genocide of the Palestinians.
First, more than two months have passed since the Hamas attack on Israel, but Israel — despite international condemnation — is not ready to cease its military operations inside Gaza unless its two-pronged objective is accomplished: release of all hostages and liquidation of Hamas. Despite colossal use of force by Israel in Gaza, Hamas has proved that its command and control system is still intact. By using lethal weapons and artificial intelligence to dismantle Hamas, Israel hopes to achieve its objective but at a heavy human price. With the backing of the US and a handful of Western powers like Britain, France and Germany, Israel is using its military might to make sure that not only Hamas is annihilated but Gaza is not used against the Jewish state in future.
Second, Israel got a free hand for carrying out killings in Gaza and persecuting Palestinians in the West Bank when it got blanket support from the Biden administration in the form of billions of dollars of military assistance. Weapons delivered by Washington to Israel are being used to bring to the ground hospitals, schools, residential units and shops in Gaza. American Senator Bernie Sanders, in his speech delivered in the Senate on December 5, strongly opposed provision of $12.1 billion worth of military assistance to Israel, arguing that the US must not encourage Israel in perpetuating its colossal use of force against the unarmed people of Gaza. Sanders has the courage to oppose Israel’s relentless violation of international law and criticise Biden administration’s unabated support to the Jewish state. Highly disappointed by the Biden administration’s unprincipled stance, a large segment of American Muslims have decided not to support Democratic Party in November 2024 presidential elections. Decease in Joseph Biden’s popular rating due to his support for Israel will definitely have a negative impact on his prospects in the 2024 elections.
Finally, the failure of the Israeli public to rise against Benjamin Netanyahu’s cruelty in dealing with the Gaza crisis is another reason behind the continued Israeli attacks against Palestinians. Unlike in September 1982 when around half a million Israelis demonstrated against the massacre of Palestinians in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila and demanded resignation of then Prime Minister Manheim Begin and then Chief of Staff of Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Ariel Sharon, currently there is silence in Israel despite the massacre of 17,000 Palestinians. Failure of the people of Israel not to raise their voice against the genocide of Palestinians will not go in their favour.
Whosoever is responsible for the killing fields of Gaza, history will not forgive those who remained silent, complacent or sided with the oppressor.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2023.
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