Stark choices in attack on Gaza

After the attacks of Hamas on Israel, the world has been divided into two parts: those who criticize Israel, and those who criticize both Israel and Hamas for their barbarism. No one criticizes Palestinians. Before delving into moral equivalence and other critical questions, a short background of the ongoing war is imperative.

Since the Balfour Declaration in 1917, Jews had been brought to Palestine on unfounded claims of its being the “promised land”. With the genocide at the hands of Hitler, the Jews were encouraged to move to Palestine, who in turn migrated to this Arab land in droves. Fast forward to 1948; much like other criminal acts, the UN accepted a Jewish state at the heart of Palestine that was never acceptable to the Arabs and Palestinians. The powerful do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must; this became true, and against the will of the local people, the colonizers did what they had done with the indigenous people in the USA, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Arab nationalism coupled with Islamic fundamentalism ruled the roost in those days. The Arabs fought many wars, especially 1948 and 1973, but to no avail. These wars strengthened Israel more than ever. The initial land gift from the international community, of less than half of Palestine to the Jews, increased with each passing year. Most significantly, after the Yom Kippur War, illegal annexation, encroachment, and occupation by Israel was in full swing. While of late the total area under Israel was around 80 percent, Benjamin Netanyahu showed a map of Israel without any sign of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It was a recipe for renewed struggle for self-determination.

From the Abraham Accord to the Saudi-Israel normalization, the Middle East was poised for a paradigm shift without the primary victims even being mentioned, let alone made part of the conversation. While this euphoria was doomed before it reached any fruition, it had to see the end in a catastrophic way. It is quite easy to put blame on Hamas for the obvious brutalities, but the fact is that this blowback had been accumulating for decades due to inhumane treatment of the indigenous people.

There are predictable consequences for the war that has been waged against an already dispossessed, weak, and poverty-stricken people. The most visible is the spillover. The USA, a godfather of Israel, doesn’t rule the roost, and the unipolar moment has long gone past us. Three heads of states refused to meet US President Joe Biden, which is unprecedented yet understandable. Owing to this, the USA seems in no position to fight on three fronts— against Russia, China, and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Although the USA may not directly involve itself in the Middle Eastern conflict, arming Israel, which is by all means the most powerful military power in the region, is tantamount to flaring up deep resentments in the Islamic world.

The US’s waning power, coupled with the rise of the Global South, has created polarization. The US doesn’t hold the power it used to from 1991 to 2017; now, the world has radically changed with new global powers internationally. Rather than carrying out retaliation against the suppressed and innocuous people, sense should prevail and there should be a peaceful settlement with the involvement of Palestinians. The US can do it because it has a huge influence on Israel.

Russia seems to be gaining too much from this conflict. Apart from getting an upper hand in Ukraine, Russia and Iran may come closer and give tough times to US interests in the region. There is no doubt about the inevitable participation of Hezbollah from Lebanon and Syrian forces if Israel continues its ground invasion of Gaza, or if it doesn’t stop bombing the open-air prison.

The most prominent player at the international level is China, which has put to the test the whole foundation of the US-led world order. China won’t be engaging in the war directly, but it is observing the turn of events very closely. For China, the Taiwan question may seem foreseeable, yet it would think a thousand times before calling the shots.

Whatever happens, it is a foregone conclusion that the Middle East has changed significantly since October 7. Israel says it is fighting for its survival— an irony because it has been the aggressor for more than seven decades. If Israel does launch a ground attack on Palestine, it would be the last nail in the coffin of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

While the USA is in a position to defuse the situation, up until now, it has actively blocked two UN Resolutions for de-escalation owing to its long-term illegal support of the occupier. One, when Russia brought the idea of de-escalation, the US said there was no condemnation of Hamas. Second, when Brazil presented another resolution, the US came up with the excuse of Israel’s right to self-defense. However, it is important to avoid the same mistakes the USA committed in the aftermath of the 9/11 incident.

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