In the wake of yet another un-armed body falling in Palestine, we have witnessed massive protests worldwide including in cities like New York, Qatar, Algeria and Washington DC. People around the globe are demanding justice for every drop of blood Palestinians have shed in their defenceless struggle against oppression. Along with that, we have also testified a humanitarian crisis being labelled as a religious conflict by several ignorant people, who have been influenced by media’s manipulative and biased stories.
For a deeper understanding of the crisis, it is crucial for everyone to be aware of the causes of Palestinian suffering, that root back to World War I, when Britain colonised Palestine. The rampant spread of Zionist ideologies, that insisted upon a separate homeland for Jews, led to massive Jewish immigration to Palestine for the sake of taking refuge. Later in 1941, Holocaust substantiated the famous Zionist argument for demanding a secure homeland and paved a way for the creation of Israel.
A very eminent factor in Israel’s establishment was the departure of American Jewry to Palestine in support of the partition and US Jewish population’s vital financial aid as well as assistance in the form of arms. However, none of these causes outweigh the importance of US strategic interests in the Middle East and their need for a pro-western state in the shatter belt region to control Soviet influence. Ultimately, the United States of America recognised the state of Israel in 1948 and till date has maintained its large-scale military, financial and diplomatic support even in the United Nations in spite of international criticism of aiding a government that is involved in widespread human rights violations. Israel’s intelligence service also continues to assist the US in intelligence gathering and covert operations.
Despite the fact that on November 22, 1967, the United Nations Security Council passed the resolution 242, as a framework to implement two state solution, Israel still continued to expand its illegally occupied Palestinian territories and up to the present time has violated 28 UN resolutions. Currently, there are 250 plus illegal Israeli settlements that have been made on entirely of partially private property, displacing the owners. Furthermore, 86% of East Jerusalem has been colonised for settler use resulting in 5,449,552 Palestinians becoming refugees in their own country while West Bank is under military rule.
It is indeed shameful that on May 14, 2021, Israel celebrates the seventy third year of Palestinian mourning, while the world remains silent. Even those who choose to speak on the matter are not articulate enough while condemning the monstrous acts. From the past seventy-three years, Palestinians have been dying from preventable medical conditions because Israel does not allow medical supplies to enter Gaza. They also do not have access to electricity or clean water thus, making it impossible to sustain life. Notwithstanding the evidence, a lot of media houses still have been able to portray this genocide as a conflict although, they should be questioning Israel’s international and regional legitimacy especially after Israel’s recent air raid on Palestinian holy sites and public places including schools and hospitals such as Al-Shifa in Gaza. The sane majority around the globe is further disgruntled after knowing that some people have justified Israel’s military blockade and use of internationally banned weapons as means of country’s self-defence against innocent Palestinians who are either holding stones in their hands or in some cases even toys.
It has been easier for Israel to carry out these atrocities and escape accountability by using Hamas as an excuse. However, this excuse does not stand either, because the Hamas was found in 1987, 20 years after Israel was established, and the sole purpose of their uprising was to counter to illegal occupation of their holy lands by refugees. Moreover, the Hamas are not competent enough to fight Israeli government, which is heavily funded by the west, rules the international market and has an intelligence agency second to none. That being the case, one cannot rationalize the killing of civilians or bombing of press.
Besides that, it is important to acknowledge that deploring violence and ethnic cleansing in Palestine is not meant to disgrace Jews or survivors of Holocaust. Instead, praising Hitler or passing anti-Semitic remarks just damages the movement and diverts attention from the main cause. The state of Israel is trying to convert the memory of Holocaust into an ideological weapon to portray themselves as a victim state, in order to legitimise their colonial settlement and gain global sympathy. It is imperative that we recognise this subversion and call out Israel for settler colonialism, without disrespecting the survivors of Holocaust.
Recently, in an interview with CNN, the foreign minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was accused of passing anti-Semitic remarks when he called out Israel for their inhumane actions and “deep pockets” through which they are able to execute these sinister plans. Although, he only stated facts the journalist said that she was “offended” upon hearing that Israel controls media. It will be highly ignorant to reject this fact, especially after knowing, that a lobbying group, in United States, exclusively exists to advocate for pro-Israel policies known as : American Israel Public Affair Committee (AIPAC). Another time Bianna Golodryga showed poor quality journalism was when she was interviewing Mariam Baghouti, a Palestinian journalist, and had the audacity to suggest her that “the first step would be having a conversation with Israeli neighbour”.
Another news has surfaced the internet, regarding the Palestinian crisis, that eleven days after constant bombardment, the Israeli government agreed to ceasefire, a week ago. However, in Palestinian history there have been 4 massacres since 2008 and Israel always breaks ceasefire but stays persistent in ethnic cleansing and brutally besieging Gaza. A ceasefire is to calm the international community whilst the Palestinians are still deprived of their right to freedom. The impracticality of the ceasefire is quite evident, especially, after the Israeli government launched ‘ Operation law and order’, on May 24, 2021. The operation is an attempt to discipline all those Palestinians, who were involved in two weeks of protests against Israel’s settlement policies. The campaign was a declaration of war and it aims to invade hundreds of homes and arrest people. Irrespective of what they do, Israeli government still claims to be the most ‘democratic’ state in the Middle East.
Lastly, it is pertinent to maintain the international pressure on Israel by spreading awareness and calling them out on social media but most importantly, by stopping our monetary contribution in Palestinian massacre. This could be done by boycotting Israeli products, whose barcodes start with ‘729’.