The spilling of blood of over 120 Palestinians in Gaza in past few days is too much to bear for anyone with eyes to see and a hearts that beat. It is simply disgusting to witness the inaction by the so-called international community. Unfortunately, humanitarian laws, conventions, treaties and international bodies are seemingly powerless in the face of Israel’s inhumane aggression. Almost entire Muslim leadership barring a few louder voices have shied away from taking any practical action such as expelling Israeli ambassadors or cutting communications with the Jewish state – the very least they should have done.
Therefore, the brave heroic souls who lost their lives in 1948, 1967 and 1973 defending Arab lands and honor must be turning in their graves. This gory drama of blood and tears unleashed by Israeli Government is a massive humanitarian crisis and it certainly goes beyond politics. There is a far greater moral imperative that must be heeded. If you came across a burning house filled with women and children would you ask their political affiliation or dissect their worthiness before you tried to save them? Every sane person can make out the obvious hypocrisy as to how the US-led West is so intolerant and hostile to Iran when it comes to its nuclear file, while it is pretending to be deaf, dumb and blind to the massacre in Gaza. These double standards are simply deplorable. Every hour the death toll and misery in Gaza is rising. But in such a tiny, densely populated enclave there is no place to run; no mountains or caves, no bomb shelters and few basements. People in Gaza especially children are traumatized and unable to sleep wondering if the next missile will bring their homes over their heads.
Thanks to the hypocrisy and heartlessness in world politics, those who matter have turned their deaf ears to this human misery of colossal magnitude.
It is the crying need of time that the US, UN, and EU should step forward and treat this as a humanitarian crisis in the making, acting beyond political considerations or any other expediency. Similarly, OIC, Arab League and political leadership in Middle East, UAE and Saudi Arabia too have a role to play
The unbridled Israel is on the killing spree yet again. Indiscriminate heavy bombardment on the Gaza Strip has become a regular feature, almost on the similar pattern as it happened the last time in 2014 and prior to that on many occasions earlier. Israeli forces have launched intensive raids on various locations across the besieged coastal territory.
Though Israel claims that its fighter jets bombed sites belonging to Palestinian armed groups and police buildings, local sources from Gaza City have confirmed that most of the targets were the civilians. In some gruesome incidents, entire families have been killed including innocent children and helpless women in their homes. Nearly 130 Palestinians have been killed including two dozen children and ten women whereas nearly 600 have been badly wounded. On the other side, six Israelis have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza. It is about time that the Arab and other Muslim countries broke the fear barrier and started speaking up for Palestine.
The Western world is as equivocal as it could be. Rather than condemning Israel for its brutalities and ruthless annexation of Palestinian lands and eviction of families from their homes, most countries have been calling for both Israel and Palestinians to step back from brink and thus show restraint. The growing violence and civilian casualties should be a cause of concern for the whole world and an urgent de-escalation of tensions is needed immediately. In its characteristic arrogance and defiance of humanitarian or any kind of law, Israel is refusing to give any specific date to end its offensive on the Gaza strip. The images of destruction of residential towers and destruction of factories present an utterly barbaric onslaught against the hapless people of Palestine. If this one-sided assault is allowed to further intensify, there will be a need for international peacekeepers to help safeguard Palestinians. Otherwise, successive raids like these will result in mass massacre and huge destruction. There remains no doubt that the crimes committed by Israeli forces sanctioned by the government are war crimes and the Zionist state is indulging in an apartheid of the worst manifestation.
It is the crying need of time that the US, UN, and EU should step forward and treat this as a humanitarian crisis in the making, acting beyond political considerations or any other expediency. Similarly, OIC, Arab League and political leadership in Middle East, UAE and Saudi Arabia too have a role to play. It is imperative that the International Criminal Court does constitute a commission to probe into the matter and highlight the most serious nature of Israeli atrocities. At the moment, the language the international community is using is very soft which indeed tantamount to condoning these war crimes by treating both parties equally. To stem the Israeli violations and violence, only verbal condemnation is not enough as it belittles the magnitude of Israeli bombardments.
Noam Chomsky in one his articles did explain the predicament of Palestinians in simple yet categorical terms, “you take my water, burn my olive trees, destroy my house, take my job, steal my land, imprison my father, kill my mother, bombard my country, starve us all, humiliate us all but I am to blame. I shot a rocket back.” Gaza’s courageous people are bearing the brunt of this inhumanity but they don’t want pretty words, fancy speeches or even well-meant posters on social media.
They want an end to their pain and an immediate action on the ground. Can the Muslim leadership forge a united front against Israel and speak in one voice for the people in Gaza? History hasn’t got any good news on this account, so far!
The writer is a civil servant by profession, a writer by choice and a motivational speaker by passion!
