The unprecedented five times Isreali Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyaho, buoyed by US President Trump’s so called ‘Deal of the Century’ for the final settlement of the Palestinian issue has announced unilateral annexation of West Bank by July 1, 2020. As the deadline for the unilateral annexation of the West Bank is around the corner, the world, in general, and the Arab capitals, in particular, anxiously watch the moves of the Israeli prime minister. Arab countries that have in the recent past as well as earlier forged diplomatic and economic relations with Israel are especially concerned about the future of their tenaciously nurtured “diplomatic flirt” with Israel.
Benjamin Natanyaho, five-time prime minister of Israel, who is part of a coalition with his political rival Mr Benny Ganrz, leader of a center left party and who would take over as the PM in 2021, is the son of a Zionist historian and is believed to have intertaining the notion of making history by annexning rest of the promised land of Judia and Samria, thus leaving behind a hstorical legacy.
US President Trump’s Middle East Peace Plan was announced on January 28. The plan, prepared by a team, led by president’s son-in-law, and senior adviser Jared Kashner, no Palestinian representatve was involved in the preparation of the plan. Both West Bank settlers and the Palestinian loeadership rejected the plan, the former because it envisages a Palestinian state, and later because it is too biased in favour of Isreal. The plan has two components – an economic titled “Peace to Prosperity” and a political component. The political plan proposes Jewish settlements, Jordan Valley, and 30% of the West Bank and nearly all of the 427,000 Jewish residents there being incorporated in Israel. A handfull of Isreali settlements would remain as enclaves with in the Palestinian state and Isreal would have to observe a building freez in these areas. As per the Trump plan, Israel would swap Isreali Arab towns adjacent to the West Bank as well as portions of the Negev Desert.
Will the world allow the creation of enclaves of aparthide in Palestine and India-held Kashmir?
The critiques of Mr Natanyaho’s unilateral annexation plan argue that the unilateral annexation will be rejected by the Palestinians and would preclude formation of a Paletinian state on remaining land, and would create one state in reality between the Jordan River and the Meditarian. Thus, Isreal would be forced to chose between offering citizenship to 2.7 million Palestinians which would constitite 25% of Isreali population, which can bring an unacceptable demographic transformation for the zionist state .
In 2019, India unilaterally annexed India-held Kashmir by abrogating Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which guaranteed special status to the Valley in the Indian Union and also abrogated Article 35A of the Indian Constitution which defines citizenship and was a constitutional safety against any demographic change and “preservation of the distinct Socio- Cultural identity ” of the Kashmiri people.
The people of Kashmir as well as the world at large have rejected illegal and unconstitutional steps taken by the BJP government. New Delhi has resorted to draconian measures in the occupied Kashmir, which include communication blockade, media outage, indefinite curfew, mass arrests and arrest of mainstream political leaders. India has built special internment camps outside Kashmir where thousands of Kashmiri, as young as eight years, are being kept in inhumane conditions. Over 600,000 strong security personnel have enforced the longest lockdown with use of brutal force and indefinite curfew.
After revocation of Article 370 and 35A, India has declared Ladakh as a union territory. India has prepared grounds for a demographic genocide of Kashmiris by altering the demagraphy of the region.
India has established a reign of terror and suspended fundamental rights of Kashimri people and the region is fast degenerating into “an enclave of apparthide”. Will the world allow the creation of enclaves of aparthide in Palestine and India-held Kashmir? The UN Security Council should take notice and delegitimize the creation of enclaves of apathide in any form or fashion in Palestine and Kashmir.
The writer is former Ambassador of Pakistan to Vietnam