The death toll in the war Israel unleashed against Hamas on July 08 crossed 1500 on August 01. On the night of July 30, Israel bombed the United Nations school in the northern Gaza Strip which was denounced by the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and works Agency for Palestinians Refugees, Pierre Krahenbuhl, he said: "Killing children in their sleep is an affront to all of us, a source of universal shame. Today the world stands disgraced".
This is the fifth major Israeli assault against Hamas in nine years. Meanwhile, 47 member of UN Human Rights council voted on July 24 to set up a commission to launch an international, independent inquiry, effectively to look at all the violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem and occupied Gaza Strip. Only the United States of America voted against the resolution.
Since Israel is the only powerful country in the Middle East it is not accommodating request of cease fire proposed by the Obama administration of the United States. So far shuttle diplomacy by the Secretary of State John Kerry did not bring any fruitful results to stop fighting between Hamas and Israel. United States is now in the midst of unpalatable position. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives damn to Obama administration because of both houses of US Congress have practically become a satellite of Israel.
Egypt, which has been maintaining political relations with Israel since the signing of a peace treaty in 1979 through the good offices of President Jimmy Carter of the United States of America, has acted against Hamas. Egypt took some measure which included the destruction of dozens of smuggling tunnels along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt while declared Hamas a terrorist organisation.
Israel has been militarised by tax payers' money of the United States of America. The recent construction of an iron dome to intercept any rocket or missile has been completed with financial assistance from the United States of America. A bill is pending in the Senate to approve $ 351 million for the fiscal year of 2015 for defence appropriation bill. If approved, building iron dome would cost almost $ 1.0 billion from the United States over 5 years. It seems protection of Israel has become the responsibility of the United States of America.
Authorities in Israel and its allies describe Israel as "an island of democracy" in the Middle East and condemn Hamas as a "terrorist organisation." But Hamas rose to power in the Gaza Strip through a free and fair election in January, 2006, but Israel refused to recognise elected government. Israel and the Obama administration in the United States now refuse to recognise Palestine's unity government of Fatah and Hamas which was formed on June 02. This is the second time that the two parties joined together to run the Palestinian Auhtority.
While UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon called the Israeli artillery shells on UN-run school in Gaza on 30 July killing 15 Palestinians as "outrageous and unjustifiable which demands accountability and justice", Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu gave a damn to the criticism of the chief of the world body and ordered to continue military operation until the Gaza Strip is demilitarised and destroy Hamas's tunnels are destroyed for the security of Israel. The Secretary-General of the world body is a mere spectator because major world powers, including France and Germany, look the other way in spite of protest demonstrations in their own countries against Israeli aggression.
Meanwhile, Venezuela has denounced Israel as a 'terrorist country' and five Latin American countries, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and El Salvador, have withdrawn their ambassadors from Israel.
The writer is a retired Bangladesh diplomat. amjad.21@gmail.com
Gaza Strip in flame
Mohammad Amjad Hossain from Virginia, USA | Published: August 03, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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