Daily Times

For quite a long time, the Palestinians have been asking themselves when the world would attentively listen to their pleas of being subjugated to ethnic cleansing by an apartheid Israeli regime. That moment of reckoning is finally here when people across the world came out to support them in a singular voice on the streets and social media.

What was noteworthy this time was the role played by prominent global celebrities who reshaped the opinion in favour of the Palestinians. Whether it was the Hadid sisters, Riz Ahmed, Mark Ruffalo or The Weeknd; public perception amongst western citizens was influenced in an unprecedented manner. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement notably provided much-needed endorsement for the Palestinians which again proved impactful in great proportions.

Apart from this, America’s leading console/pc gaming review companies such as IGN and Gamespot also jumped in to provide support. Yet the former had to scale back its support under immense pressure from its Israeli subsidiary which is nothing short of being bullied.

But how much did the big tech companies and mainstream western media assist in telling the truth about the grave atrocities being committed by the Israeli military? Perhaps, little to none given how they tried to censor voices on their platforms through subtle means and played down the gravity of the situation. For example, Instagram was limiting the number of viewerships for stories highlighting the ground reality in Gaza and the West Bank. Moreover, when international media offices were deliberately destroyed in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), there was confusion amongst western journalist community with some of them not giving it too much importance despite the fact that it was a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. Though countless journalists did condemn in their personal capacity on social media platforms, it wasn’t really enough in light of how some newspapers and TV channels could have used the opportunity to take corrective measures when it came to covering Israel and Palestine. East Jerusalem-based Palestinian writer Mohammed el-Kurd’s iconic interview with CNN is one such case where the host failed to be sympathetic to his neighbourhood’s plight at the hands of Israeli security. He had to counter her with facts throughout the course which was supposed to be her primary responsibility.

Netanyahu misused his authority to protect himself from being ousted in the next couple of weeks. Hence, the systematic genocide of the Palestinians is mere politics

How about western governments? Were they balanced in their stance or just playing with words? To answer this, let’s take a look at the role by the Biden Administration over the last two weeks since America is the leader of the Free World in true sense. The initial signalling was in full support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with terms like ‘Israel has the right to self-defence’ being used repeatedly. State Department spokesperson Ned Price was adamant in this regard but was schooled by reporters who were blunt in their take on how Palestinian children were deliberately targeted and whether the Palestinians have the same right to defend themselves. Of course, Price had no answer and was flip flopping.

His boss Antony Blinken also refused to acknowledge the plight of the people in Gaza and so did Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III. When it came to US President Joe Biden, his stance was more or less similar.

It seemed as if they were tone deaf and not reading the room given how the global perception about the crisis was drastically changing. Only when the likes of Senator Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib stepped in, did the White House water down its bizarre take. But that wasn’t the only reason why it had to insist on the now-accepted ceasefire agreement (in name only) brokered by Egypt. Globally, key states such as China, Russia, Turkey and Pakistan were lobbying against the Israeli onslaught and were pretty much successful especially after initiating an emergency session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) hours before the ceasefire occurred.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s directions, played a pivotal role in pointing out Israel’s oppressive and shameful measures. While joining the Turkish, Palestinian and Tunisian foreign ministers on the same aircraft for the historic trip to New York City, his no holds barred stance at the UNGA session remained one of the key highlights.

Notably, his interview with CNN’s Bianna Golodryga became a subject of huge controversy in American and Pakistani circles after it was claimed that he was being antisemitic when implying that Israel controls Western media. After assessing the interview, I came to the conclusion that the interview was balanced although the minister could’ve avoided using terms like ‘deep pockets’ since it is considered an offensive term. Nevertheless, if the full interview is taken into consideration, Foreign Minister Qureshi was only focusing on what was being asked specifically and he did not condone antisemitism in any way while publicly stating it near the end.

In fact, no religion or state should be singled out in its entirety and focus should remain on those elements who are a blight to their respective communities. I, for one, am a strong believer in interfaith harmony and when talking about Israel and Palestine, I’ve remained vocal about the two-state solution as the road to lasting peace in the region. But is the current Israeli regime serious about it? Absolutely not.

As for America, it was high-time for a reality check being given to the Biden Administration whose unflinching support to an apartheid Israeli regime was damaging its reputation as an administration which promised a foreign policy based on human rights and justice. If it wished to set itself apart from the Trump Administration, it should not have vetoed the UN Security Council (UNSC) thrice just to favour Israel. Allies should not blindly support each other and always make a room for friendly advise and lessons to learn from. Hence, as the world’s leading power, America should avoid being dictated by fascist regimes by acting independently and justly.

Palestine had been ignored for far too long and its grievances should be addressed before its too late. At the time of writing this piece, Israeli security has once again attacked worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem which implies that the ceasefire means nothing. In real sense, Netanyahu misused his authority to protect himself from being ousted in the next couple of weeks. Hence, the systematic genocide and one-sided onslaught against the Palestinians is mere politics for hawkish elements like him.

The writer is Associate Editor (Diplomatic Affairs), Daily Times. He tweets @mhassankhan06