From Mr M. Megawer
So much indifference has been shown for civilian deaths in the Middle East that it seems that life in this part of the world comes cheap! The collective punishment of the Palestinian people has been going on for decades, but ever since they committed the “hideous crime” of voting for a party neither America nor Israel wanted to deal with, it has become more cruel and inhuman. How could any human being justify this cruelty against civilians by one of the strongest military powers in the region? This is indeed a crime against humanity and the international court needs to bring to justice those that are involved.
The world is witnessing the most horrific acts of violence against the Palestinian people in decades, and analysts have confirmed that Saturday 27 December 2008 was the single deadliest day in Gaza since Israel’s occupation of the territory in 1967. The strikes began less than a week after the expiry of a six-month long ceasefire deal with Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza strip since 2007. The Israeli offensive that has killed hundreds and wounded thousands of Palestinians cannot be justified. Israel claims that the number of rockets launched by Hamas on its land has increased, but Hamas’ homemade rockets have killed just 20 Israelis in eight years. On the other hand, a day-long blitz by Israeli aircraft killed almost 300 Palestinians and this is clearly a disproportional use of force. Whenever a ceasefire was broken, various world leaders would call upon both sides to exercise “restraint” – as if the Palestinians and the Israelis both have fighter jets, field artillery and Merkava tanks!
Not once during the past 60 years has Israel shown any intention of complying with the requirements stipulated by the United Nations. If Israel complains about the rocket attacks originating from Gaza, then the sensible thing to do would be to involve the United Nations and to ensure that there is an open communication channel with the Palestinian Authority to launch a formal protest. But in the absence of such a channel and no recognition of the elected authority, then dialogue of any kind is impossible and the result is further disproportionate violence from Israel.
No one in the Middle East with the right frame of mind would wish for anything other than peace to come to the region. Historically, moves towards peace had actually been the result of Arab initiatives and actions rather than Israeli ones. The Jewish State has defeated all threats since 1948, but with its geography and history, will it ever be at peace? In the end it is up to the Israelis themselves to debate and determine where they stand regarding the future of the Middle East.
But if Israel makes no such change, the risks may be even greater. Israel must also find a real solution to the problems of the Middle East while seeking better relations with the Arabs, not worse ones.
In a time like this we expect our world leaders to come together and stand up for peace on both sides of the border.
Instead, most of them are busy wasting precious time playing the blame game and holding Hamas responsible for this latest crisis. The tragedy of the Middle East is that by supporting Israel so uncritically, one expects more bloodshed!
Moustafa Megawer
QAWRA