Columns

The tragic humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in West Asia continues to take its toll on the people of the region while the leaders of powerful countries turn a blind eye to the suffering and misery of human beings.

While right thinking people the world over condemn the killing of innocent civilians whether they be from Israel or Gaza, the response to the immediate break out of hostilities by some defies all reason and humanitarian norms. 

Last week the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres addressing the Security Council called for a ceasefire in Gaza and said international law was being violated in the current war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

His comments came after Israel’s relentless bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip since October 7, on which day Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing 1,400 people according to Israeli authorities.

After the attack, Israel responded by cutting off supplies of water, food, fuel and electricity to the enclave’s 2.3 million residents, which has been described by the United Nations and others as a form of collective punishment.

The continued bombardment of Gaza by Israel has resulted in the killing of at least 7,000 people and over one million people displaced according to authorities in Gaza.

Speaking before the 15-member UN Security Council on Tuesday, Guterres pleaded for civilians to be protected and warned that the fighting risked a wider conflagration in the region.

Guterres went on to say it was important to also recognise that the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.

“The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” he said.

The UN Chief, however, said the grievances of the Palestinian people could not justify what he described as “the appalling attacks by Hamas” while at the same time pointing out that such appalling attacks “cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

Guterres went on to say “protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than one million people to evacuate to the south, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine and no fuel, and then continuing to bomb the south itself.”

Although he did not name Israel, the Secretary General was clearly referring to the Israeli Government’s call to the population of Gaza to leave the north of Gaza and move to the south as a prelude to any action it wanted to take in respect of Gaza.

The reaction of the Israeli government to the Secretary General’s speech was reflective of the overall sense of entitlement that its powerful allies had given it and the belief they had impunity from criticism.

Despite having ignored and shown indifference to the numerous resolutions passed against it in the past, the statement of the Secretary General angered the Israelis.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan described Guterres’ statement as “shocking” and called for the latter’s resignation. He went on to say: “His statement that “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum” expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder,” Erdan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “It’s truly sad that the head of an organisation that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views.”

What may have incurred Israel’s displeasure was the Secretary General’s statement that the attacks by Hamas, which he described as “horrifying and unprecedented,” did not happen in a vacuum and the Palestinian people had been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.

Instead of responding to the contents of the Secretary General’s statement the Israeli Ambassador referred to the Holocaust, which has earned universal condemnation, and “terrorism and murder” in a bid to deflect the discussion away from Israel’s continued crushing of Palestinian rights, which is currently the subject of discussion.

It is even more unfortunate that the powerful Western nations are lining up besides Israel in a show of solidarity for Israel which has thrived on such unconditional support for years to continually suppress the Palestinian people. The United States President, the British Prime Minister and several Western leaders visited Tel Aviv and extended support, with the United States even moving military deployments into the region.

It is ironic to see the United States warning others of attempts to widen the conflict and attempts at escalation, when that is precisely what it is doing by moving the military into the region.

“We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we won’t hesitate to take the appropriate action,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said. It is difficult to fathom the logic of the US when it is moving into the region of its own volition and opening itself to becoming part of the conflict, and then in the same breadth vowing to defend itself.

Its actions are not only unnecessarily putting the lives of its own citizens at risk but also posing a threat to world peace. Clearly its intrusion into West Asia at this moment is not helpful in the least with Israel having enough military might funded by the US over the years to “defend itself.”

The policy of the powerful nations in the current phase of the crisis is difficult to comprehend. When the need of the hour is for an immediate ceasefire which will bring an end to the killings, these countries are opting for a humanitarian pause rather than a ceasefire. A humanitarian pause can only mean a lull in the fighting to allow limited supplies to reach the victims and then resumed fighting and carnage.

On a more optimistic note it is apparent the tide of public opinion is changing with the world coming around to the need to do justice to the long suffering people of Palestine. When one collates the views expressed in the discussions going on in various forums, it is evident the Palestinian question is being understood more and more with new insights being reflected by political leaders, thinkers and humanists.

It is also becoming increasingly clear there is a strong disconnect between the governments of Western nations and the people of those countries when it comes to understanding the Palestinian question.

A few examples would suffice to reflect such changes of attitudes. Andrew Marr, a longstanding TV host on British Television, recently said 76 percent of the British people want an immediate ceasefire.

The unprecedented huge demonstrations in New York and Washington highlight the growing public support in the United States in support of the call for justice for the Palestinian people. Even President Barack Obama has asked people to put themselves in the shoes of Palestinian people to understand their plight better.

Gaza has been called the largest open air prison in the world by many. But recently this view was challenged by a lady said to be Tony Blair’s sister-in-law (unconfirmed) in a social media post. Irrespective of who she is, her analysis is compelling. She prefers to call Gaza a concentration camp rather than a prison. She argues that a prison is a place where those who have committed crimes are kept.

But in Gaza men, women and children who have committed no crime are incarcerated. In a prison, the inmates have a due date to obtain their freedom and leave the prison but in Gaza there is no such due date to obtain their freedom. In a prison, the authorities in charge guarantee the prisoners three meals a day, water and even visitation rights from relatives. But those in Gaza have no such rights but are instead treated harshly and have been under siege for 16 years, she pointed out.

Mary Lou McDonald, addressing the Irish Parliament, said their hearts bled for the loss of Israeli lives on October 7, 2023 but said the Israeli offences against the Palestinians predated the events of October 7. She lamented the failure of the world leaders to hold Israel accountable for its acts of impunity and violation of international law and described such failure as shameful.

The increasing recognition of the Palestinian peoples’ right to justice is an encouragement for people who are oppressed in different parts of the world and those who uphold and advocate justice for all.

(javidyusuf@gmail.com)