The International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB) has called for enforcing an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and ensuring urgent and unimpeded access to essential humanitarian supplies such as food, water, shelter, medicine, fuel and electricity in the Gaza Strip.
"The physical safety of the civilian population must be guaranteed. The occupation needs to end and there must be restitution and reconstruction of all infrastructure, towards full justice for Palestinians having their own state," the ICCB said in the editorial of its current News Bulletin (Oct-Dec 2023) released on Sunday.
"It is now almost three months that the war broke out between Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist Group that has been controlling Gaza since 2006. Since 7 October 2023, barbaric massacre of the Palestinian, in particular newborn babies & children, women & civilians, have been continuing. So far, a total of 21,822 Palestinians have been killed and 56,451 wounded.
"Hospitals, schools, residential houses, including war shelters, and almost every infrastructure have been destroyed by both air and ground offensive. In a latest statement, the Israeli authorities have announced that the war will continue in 2024!
"Israel has ordered more than one million Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate ahead of a ground invasion that began on October 28. Israeli forces have encircled Gaza City, cutting it off from southern Gaza and squeezing Hamas. The territory is also desperately low on water, fuel, and supplies as Israel has rejected humanitarian pauses and limited the amount of aid that can enter.
"The Israeli government suspended all permits allowing Palestinians living in the West Bank to work in Israel or in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that this move eliminated around 208,000 jobs -- about 24 per cent of all employment in the West Bank. Israel's agriculture and construction sectors are dependent on Palestinian and foreign workers who take on low-paid jobs that Israeli citizens refuse. For tens of thousands of government employees, the situation is equally bleak.
"The conflict in Gaza and Israel is causing immense human suffering and also has consequences for the broader Middle East and North Africa region.
“This comes at a time when economic activity in the region was already expected to slow, falling from 5.6 per cent in 2022 to 2 per cent in 2023. Experts warned that large-scale conflict would constitute a major economic challenge not only for the region but also other parts of the world. It would disrupt the entire supply-chain of basic commodities including oil, gas, food grains supplies and international trade.
"Its containment hinges on the success of international efforts to prevent further escalation to the broader region. What is certain is that forecasts for the most directly exposed economies will be downgraded and that policies to buffer economies against shocks and preserve stability will be critical.
"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. The war ended in 1949 with Israel's victory, but 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, and the territory was divided into 3 parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River), and the Gaza Strip. However, there have been a series of war between Israel and Palestinian including Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.
"The U.S. has offered diplomatic and financial support to Israel to build up its military strength to fight against Palestine. Despite agreement between international human rights organizations that Israel is enforcing apartheid against Palestinians, the U.S. provides $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel every year and the U.S. Government continues to build close ties with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his allies."
The ICCB said, "Israel must be held accountable for its rights violations and the superpower must play minimum balancing role regarding international policies."
"UN Secretary-General António Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter for his first time, triggering a debate at the Security Council on matters the Secretary-General believes threaten "international peace and security". Guterres said the situation in the Gaza Strip has led to "a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system" (Axios). Israel's foreign minister posted that Guterres' action "constitutes support of the Hamas terrorist organisation". With the veto by the U.S., the invoking of Article 99 of the UN Charter did not make any impact on Israel," the editorial added.
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