As a hawkish president reigns supreme in Israel, the Tel Aviv government now appears poised to extend its orbit of brutalities to the West Bank in Palestine while carrying on barbarism in the Gaza Strip. The nearly three-week-long offensive in Gaza has so far claimed about 900 lives - mostly women and children.
But the international community largely remains onlooker instead of acting to halt the massacre although talk of peace is uttered half-heartedly by the powerful nations and the organisations. The devastations in Gaza due to unabated Israeli brutality are definitely being condemned all round, but little is done in practice to halt the heinous crimes.
The United Nations said the Israeli actions are likely to be treated as war crime against humanity as its human rights commission chief, Navi Pillay, has accused the Jewish state of unleashing inhuman actions in the Gaza area in defiance of all international norms. She has also disapproved of the firing of rockets from Gaza towards Israel, but it is the Israeli measures that are being considered war crimes.
Nevertheless, the UN has not been able to halt the Israeli broadside involving both air and ground attacks. Some international organisations have come up with certain peace proposals that clearly favour the Tel Aviv authorities in the crisis.
Quite naturally, the Hamas - the Palestinian organisation that controls the Gaza Strip--has rejected such proposals. Unfortunately, what is disturbing is the role of some Arab nations - particularly Egypt as it is being thought that Cairo is tactfully seeking to protect the Israeli interests while the role of Saudi Arabia is also questionable. Both the powerful nations are known to be anti-Hamas and this could be a reason for such roles of theirs in the present Israeli offensive that began on July 8.
Earlier, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rushed to explore a ceasefire between the rival sides and the Arab League finally adopted a tough stance against Tel Aviv. However, the fact remains that no effective measures were taken to contain the Israeli onslaughts, which continued to pound the civilian population in utter disregard to international norms and ethics.
On the contrary, some big powers found some kind of rationale in Tel Aviv's actions as they felt these were designed for 'self-defence'. What an argument in favour of the aggressor! The Israeli actions, of late, also affected the West Bank area, which is controlled by Fatah - the Palestinian organisation relatively less hostile to Tel Aviv. It is believed that Israel is extending its actions to that area of the pacifists, too, because both the hitherto rival Palestinian organizations have now come under a "Unity government" that is jointly facing the Israeli blitzkrieg.
The big powers are playing the role of bystanders while occasionally speaking of 'peace' or the need for 'brokering the peace' in the Middle East in the aftermath of the latest attacks by the Tel Aviv government. It is really a disappointing spectacle that Israel is going scot-free, as even such organizations like the OIC and the Arab League appear to have reduced themselves to lame- duck bodies to react adequately, let alone take effective measures to halt the aggression.
In the meantime, the number of casualties is swelling - mostly women and children being the victims. News and photographs of the inhuman conditions are galore in the media. The United States, a close ally of Tel Aviv, has of late mooted a ceasefire, but the Israeli cabinet rejected that, too, considering that its actions should remain unaltered. Some other allies of Israel too are showing less support for the Jewish state because of its unrelenting inhuman actions.
 Britain's new foreign secretary Philip Hammonds warned that the West is becoming less sympathetic to Israel's cause. However, fact remains that the Jewish state is hardly paying any heed to growing international condemnation of its brutality as it is the civilians who are bearing the brunt of the atrocities.
The hawkish Tel Aviv government's belligerence seems to have further soared following the takeover by far-right Reuven Rivlin as the president of the country last Thursday. He was sworn in as the tenth president, replacing elder statesman Shimon Peres, who is the last of Israel's founding fathers and a hawk-turned dove whose international aura will be sorely missed by many Israelis. Now at 90, Peres stood at the forefront of Israeli politics for 65 years, demonstrating resilience in fact of numerous challenges.
The presidency, although largely ceremonial with the real power resting with the prime minister, influences the nation's policies. Rivlin is a champion of democracy and civil rights, but his political outlook, so far as the Palestine issue is concerned, is diametrically opposite since he opposes an independent Palestine state and favours Israeli settlement in the Arab territories.
It appears that Israel has taken advantage from three factors in weighing its current aggression in Gaza. The fighting among the Shia-Sunni Muslims in Iraq, the weakening of Tel Aviv's arch-foe Syria over the current civil war that has robbed Damascus of chemical weapons and emergence of Field Marshal Abdul Fatah al-Sisi - a relatively Tel Aviv-friendly president in Egypt, the nation that wields considerable influence in the region.
Israel has been emboldened by these factors while pro-Israel powerful western nations will hardly come out against the Tel Aviv authorities because of close ties. But Israel is also feeling the heat of the situation as at least 35 of its soldiers have died in the fighting. This has further infuriated Tel Aviv, but has also sent the message that the Palestinian fighters would not take down everything lying despite the huge difference in the military strength of the two sides.
However, the bottom line is that brutalities by any country because of sheer muscle power must not be condoned in these days of civilization, and Israel must be brought to its knees sooner than it is too late.
zaglulchowdhury@yahoo.com
No respite from barbarism as Israel extends offensive to West Bank
Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury | Published: July 27, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
Share if you like