‘War of unknown proportions’
It is a foregone conclusion that sand is sifting out of hands in the Middle East. The region sits on the verge of a catastrophe, and signs of fissures are in sight. The attack on a US-manned military base inside Iraq in which reportedly few marines were killed has come at a time when conflagration is on the cards. Though played down by either side, the incident is fraught with serious consequences as non-state actors are all around in Iraq and Syria, and it is difficult to lay the blame on any particular group.
The simmering tension, likewise, in the wake of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh killing has put war machinery at high alert, with the State Department predicting a lethal Iranian response in the next 72 hours. This standoff is all because no valve of communication is in vogue. De-escalation has not been put to work and warring sides are perhaps testing the nerves of brinkmanship.
We have been here, as amidst all this volatility the prime victims are the Palestinians. The peace channel that was kick-started by China by regrouping all Palestinian factions has gone on the backburner, and the killing of more than 45 Gazans by Israeli airstrikes the other day is a case in point. Is anyone bothered about the obliteration of the hapless nation, and their plight in the occupied territories? Certainly not because the buck stops at Tel Aviv’s adamant attitude to let loose a reign of terror, and push the region over the brink.
The cavalcade of Jewish intimidation perhaps began with the displaying of a new Middle East map by Prime Minister Netanyahu at the UN last year that showed a more truncated territory as the future of Palestine. The extermination of Haniyeh has simply confirmed the obvious; that that the Zionist state is out to draw new parallels at the peril of the Muslim world.
The Middle East demands an instant ceasefire in Gaza, and scaling down of tensions between Iran and Israel. That cannot happen if Arab states continue to sit idle. EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, is right as he said, “…Middle East is on the brink of a war of unknown proportions.” Is someone listening?