In his book, “The New Silk Roads,” Peter Frankopan calls the Middle East the world’s central nervous system. His words resonate with recent events. Indeed, we can see change ripping through the region. On the one hand, there are whispers of a thawing in ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The situation looks promising, and if things go smoothly, will lead to peace in a region where the two are involved in proxy warfare.
On the other hand, we see escalating violence in Palestine, which has become a flashpoint for an ongoing war between a party that has access to rocks and one that has the best defence system in the world. Caught between the sons of soils and a brute colonial force; a battle between the powerless and powerful.
There is no single trigger that led to recent developments. Rather, it was a series of events, including the expulsion of Palestinians from Sheik Jarrah, restricting the Palestinians from entering Al-Aqsa mosque and the march of Zionists and extreme right-wing Israeli nationalists as they chanted “Death to Arabs.” This was followed by Israeli forces storming the mosque; Islam’s third holiest site that also holds religious significance for the Jews as Temple Mount. These unnecessary acts of provocation by Israel led to Hamas responding with fire rockets. This, you should keep in mind, did not cause much harm thanks to Israel’s air defence system. What happened, however, was that the Hamas attack gave Israel a much-needed excuse to retaliate and launch full-scale bombing and destruction.
The UN does have power. It can send its peacekeeping missions to Africa to protect French interests. Yet, in Palestine, it is doing the same for the US by doing nothing at all
What has been happening in Gaza for the last 70 years is systematically enforced ethnic displacement. People have been forced out of their homes and land by Israeli settlers. In cases of natural disasters, like floods and earthquakes, people have a way out: to an escape route, the chance to build a new life. The people of Gaza do not even have that option. The 2005 Gaza blockade restricted movement by land, air and sea. Gaza is now referred to as an open-air prison and the people are economically deprived as Israel has taken control over their resources.
Under international law, Gaza and the West Bank comprise Palestinian land. Yet Israel that monitors all movement, in and out. Palestinians need permits from to move within their own land. Israeli occupation forces fully surround their cities, complete with massive and heavily guarded walls and watchtowers.
All these details are similar to the Jewish peoples’ own past. It would tell us how the once persecuted have now become the persecutors. The trauma they once went through is what they are inflicting on others now. It was the Jews themselves who had suffered the same ethnic cleansing, at the hands of Nazi soldiers. They languished in ghettos, were banned from moving anywhere and were kicked out of their own homes. They were also forced to leave behind their property. Their children were murdered in the same manner that they are massacring Palestinian children today. The victims of fascism have become fascists themselves. The oppressed are now the oppressors.
The question therefore remains: where are the world superpowers that keep advocating human rights? What do they think? Well, let us talk about the US, the self-proclaimed champion of human rights. Wasn’t it the US, along with the EU, that protested the deteriorating heath of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison and declared it a human rights violation? Why was that? Because he is a critic of Putin. Yet the US prevents the UN from investigating Israeli atrocities.
The UN has also failed Palestinian hopes. So, should we think that the UN does not have any power and is just an innocent bystander? No. The UN does have power. It can send its peacekeeping missions to Africa. But then, why has it failed to take some practical measures in Palestine? The answer is that in Africa, it has to protect French interests. Yet, in Palestine, it is doing the same for the US by doing nothing at all.
But the massive protests within the Muslim world and the international community did lead to a ceasefire on May 21 between Hamas and Israel. Sadly, it was violated only within a few hours, after Friday prayers, at Al-Aqsa mosque. So, what now? How futile was the ceasefire? And how honest? Was it just for show? All these questions hang heavy in the air, but one thing is clear: this brutality, forced ethnic displacement, colonisation, and genocide must end. The only way to do this is to bring the matter to the table via two-state negotiations and a dedicated intervention by the US and an unbiased international community.
The writer is a post-graduate student of international relations