Stop Israel, now
Israeli officials must, at least, be introspective before opening their mouths. Israel’s Minister for National Security Ben-Gvir believes that his countrymen’s right to life overrides the Palestinians’ freedom of movement. He had this audacity to say after the Zionist state committed a genocide in the enclave of Gaza, and has – within a span of 138 days, since October 7 – killed more than 29,600 non-combatant Palestinians. Still there is no halt to aggression from Tel Aviv as ground and aerial invasion continues unabated. Likewise, the new narrative from Israel that it plans to aid ‘humanitarian pockets’ that are free from any kind of Hamas presence is simply an extension of apartheid, and reflects squarely on the deadly plans to exterminate each and every colonised citizen of the world’s largest ghetto.
Gaza has been destroyed beyond recognition as the apathy of the international community continues. The WHO has confirmed the enclave is a death zone, and the health and humanitarian situation is worsening with each passing day. To recall the least, both the major hospitals have been bombed, and there is no succour whatsoever for the injured, and no food and water for a million plus inhabitants, who have no recourse to survival but await their annihilation. A similar SOS has been issued by the Red Crescent which has warned that continued siege is taking a heavier toll, and that Al-Aman Hospital in Khan Younis is on the receiving end for almost a month now.
This won’t stop here. This crisis is graduating into a bigger fissure and non-state actors will sooner than later be calling the shots. The responsibility for such a collapse would be on state-centric leaders who have failed to protect a nation from Israeli barbarism. Houthis marshalling of Red Sea and attacks on any vessel that is either owned or abetted by Israel is a case in point – something that goes on to establish that maritime warfare is round the corner. The onus is on the US and its allies, both in Europe and the Mideast, to prevail over Israel and stop it before it’s too late.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2024.
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