Daily Times

That Palestinian blood is cheaper than water can only explain why the entire world turns a blind eye whenever gruesome explosions of violence return to the holy land. As has been a sickening norm, the month of Ramadan comes as a back-breaking ordeal for hapless Muslims made to choose between their faith and their security. Extremist settlers very conveniently decide to snap out of brief periods of normalcy and open fire at unarmed civilians. From those battling the eviction monster in Sheikh Jarrah to the daring few who defied the status quo and entered the Al Aqsa mosque, there is no shortage of targets when it comes to pointing guns in Jerusalem. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid might have fooled the West when he emphatically slid the burden in Hamas’s lap; waving fingers and declaring his government’s “commitment” to maintain order. So what if smoke has engulfed all of the Gaza strip, and a suspicious rocket strike towards Israel has paved the grounds for chaos eerily similar to last year?

The coinciding of religious festivals is often heralded a golden opportunity to foster ties across the fence and there can be no greater misfortune than this overlap fanning the flames of yet another episode of unrest. Despite a victim’s cry echoing on both sides, the powerful nations only seem interested in Mr Naftali Bennett’s version. For decades, major players like the US have shamelessly defended, even actively contributed to, Netanhayu’s agenda in deepening Children of Israel’s occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Changes in the top guard have, however, done little to sort out the priorities. Israel still has its eyes set on Gaza. The boiling cauldron still reeks of plans to bolt the doors of Islam’s holiest mosque on Muslims while the endless saga of Palestinian subjugation (along with an ironic demonisation) continues in full galore.

Though Hamas may claim to fight tooth and nail to secure the rights of Palestinians, its war antics in the past have only served to stretch thin an already fraying balance. No matter how passionately their apologists may point to the dreary prospect of an overwhelming two million people, violence can, and should, never be excused. A single rocket from their side is used to make sense of a long-drawn-out episode of excessive force against young and old; men and women. If this is how they aspire to forcibly snatch the two-state solution out of the ultranationalist Jewish grip, may God help them because seemingly, no one else will. *