This is a story of a great tragedy that had a beginning a little more that seventy years ago but shows no signs of ever having an end. It is the tragedy concerning the Palestinians. There could not be a more unfortunate segment of humankind than the Palestinians, intensified by the eleven day bombardment of Gaza that began on May 10, 2021 during the last days of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan. Not that there is a dearth of sympathy for the misfortune and the injustice done to the Palestinians by an oppressive occupation power, but it is the absence of a unified collective will of the international community to take decisive action to end their sad and tragic plight.
To put it simply, the Palestine saga is like a story that will never have an end and will continue to repeat itself like an endless conveyor belt. It does not take much to keep the fire alive…..Palestinians, whether Muslims or Christians, protesting against the illegal and forceful eviction from a home that the family owned for generations, are met with brutal force by the IDF. This sparks off an angry reaction of the aggrieved community beginning with the pelting of stones from those in the occupied territories in the West Bank, ending in the discharge of rockets from inside Gaza into Israel. The Palestinians can defend the firing of rockets from Gaza as their right to self defense but this plea is rejected by Israel and its supporters and allies in the outside world. The same however, is not true in the case of Israel whose right to self defense by whatever means and degree is endorsed by its powerful allies.
The Israeli retaliation during the eleven days of May 2021 was disproportionate and brutal; an ultra modern sophisticated Israeli air force equipped with the latest state of the art weaponry caused destruction with a vengeance to see the end of the Hamas. Whether the attacks were able to neutralize the Hamas outfits remains vague. But what is stark and clear is the collateral damage of the aerial attacks. Hundreds of innocent Palestinian men, women and children were killed and severely injured, and there was destruction of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and educational institutions. Most of the rockets fired from Gaza by Hamas have either been deflected or destroyed by the superior military technology of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Some that landed caused damage to life and property but significantly less to that caused to the Palestinians.
And as always, the corridors of the UN and across the capitals of the world there was rhetoric of condemnation and call for an end of hostilities but it ended there. Again, as on so many earlier occasions, a cease fire eventually came about and the two sides, Israel and Hamas, agreed to end the hostilities without any pre-conditions.
But the Palestinians know, as do the Israelis and the rest of the world, that the cease fire is fragile and will be in force till such time there is another protest of a Palestinian demanding his or her basic human right to live in his or her home, to offer prayers at places of worship in Old Jerusalem; to move freely in what has been their homeland from Biblical times without being stopped by IDF security check posts set up at different points. All this will be in vain when the Palestinians wanting to exercise their rights would be turned away or told to seek another route so as not to the violate the sanctity of the Israeli Jewish “settlements” or neighborhoods. It should come as no surprise if the denial of the rights of the Palestinians is followed by protests and confrontations the with Israeli security forces, thus setting the endless cycle of the tragedy back into motion.
We learned from the Chinese state run news agency Xinhua of the Chinese government taking a diplomatic initiate of proposing a four point proposal in its capacity of holding the rotating Presidency of the UN Security Council to bring an end to the hostilities that included a reiteration of the implementation of the “two state solution” as soon as possible. While the sincerity of Chinese cannot in any way be doubted, we haven’t heard much of how the proposal was received by the other UNSC members including the P-5. Whatever be the case, it did not impact on de-escalation of the ongoing violence and hostilities.
At the same time the commentaries and deliberations of experts and political analysts were released in the print, electronic and social media have kept a close watch on the developments in the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It appeared to have given up on the “two state solution.” In fact, some have already declared on its demise and speculated on what may ultimately be a “one state solution”, in which the Israelis and Palestinians will live as equal partners. If this is indeed a solution for lasting peace, so be it. But to give the idea immediate credit would be too naïve and simplistic as the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are way too overriding to bet on its viability. Many of the commentaries that are read or watched on the media maintain that a “harmonious” coexistence between the Israelis and the Palestinians will remain elusive with Israel unrelenting on expansion of settlements on Palestinian land and its policy of an “improvised” ethnic cleansing by making life for the Arab Palestinians impossible to live in Jerusalem to an extent that they feel forced on deciding to leave.
If the normalization of relations with Israel by four Arab Muslim countries, namely Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and the Sudan had aroused expectations of peace and Israel adopting a conciliatory position, these have been doused by the eleven day Israeli aerial bombardment of Gaza. I would go a step further to say the former US President Donald Trump’s declaration that many other countries would be forthcoming in normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel has gone into a deep freeze with Israel’s attack on Gaza and the West Bank.
I would conclude with a guarded optimism that might not be entirely compatible with the intricacy of conflict resolution of a seemingly intractable issue. The expressions of anger and defiance in the eyes of the small Palestinian children facing the guns pointed at them by Israeli soldiers in the photographs that have gone viral in social media are very real and powerful indicators that brute force will not bring an end to the struggle of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights to a separate homeland of their own. These kids, many who are orphaned, brutalized and traumatized, will grow up with deep rooted bitterness of their childhood experiences and evermore determined to continue with the struggle. It would seem unlikely for them to be held back by whether or not the international community acts in any decisive manner to resolve the issue or continues with the status quo of letting Israel enjoy the sense of impunity it appears to have taken for granted.
If the Israeli people and their leadership want the future generation of Israelis to live in peace and security, it would be in their best interest to be pragmatic and accept the reality to end the occupation and spare the coming generations of Israelis and Palestinians of having to live in constant fear and uncertainty of violence and bloodshed that is becoming institutionalized as part of their lives. Failing to do so will be a monumental tragedy for both the communities who will have to endure conflicts till kingdom come.
The tragedy of Palestine could be brought to a quick and happy end if the entire international community could come together unanimously for just once and convince Israel by whatever means it takes , to submit to reason and justice and agree to a lasting solution for the Palestinians and Israelis to live and let live. International politics as its stand today, this would be wishful thinking; but it could be well worth a try without waiting for Armageddon.
*The writer is a retired Ambassador of Bangladesh.
May 22, 2021
The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of Aequitas Review.
