Bombarded Palestinians hope for truce
-: R. Muthu Kumar :-
West Asia is in flux, well with what started as a direct military confrontation between Israel and Hamas has snowballed into a regional security crisis. Hezbollah, Kataib Hezbollah, Hashad al-Shabi, Houthis, Iran, Pakistan and the United States are all now part of an expanding conflict.
On Monday this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and with that he starts his Middle East tour, as Washington sought to forge a Saudi normalisation deal with Israel.
In Gaza Strip, Palestinians huddling under Israeli bombardment said they hoped Blinken’s visit to the region would finally deliver truce, on time to head off a threatened new Israeli assault on the last refuge campe at the enclave’s edge.
India, expressing concern for regional peace, has consistently called for the de-escalation of violence and emphasized the importance of negotiations.
Blinken is also set to visit Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank this week and push to advance the Egyptian and Qatari-mediated conversations with Palestinian Hamas militants on a deal to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
The conflict has escalated as Iranian-backed groups have entered the fray and fired on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, while Yemen’s Houthis attacked shipping routes in the Red Sea.
India advocates for peaceful coexistence by respecting Israel’s security needs while fostering an international environment for Palestine to exist independently and securely.
The United States is also apprehensive about the rising tensions in the region. However, recent trends indicate the difficulty in persuading Hamas to abandon its plans for further strikes on Israel, considering its history of attacks, including the ruthless assault on October 7, 2023, which claimed over 1,200 Israeli lives.
Various initiatives have been undertaken to quell the long-standing regional conflict. The President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Joan E. Donoghue, called on Israel to halt its strikes across Gaza, assuring the peace lovers a glimmer of hope!
However, the situation remains dire, with the West Asian Conflict having already claimed over 26,000 lives and caused substantial devastation in recent months.
The conflict between Israel and Palestine has deep historical roots, with both sides gradually realizing the necessity of a two-state solution for survival. While initial agreements, such as the Oslo Peace Accord in 2007, provided a ray of hope, subsequent developments, including ongoing Israeli attacks, have jeopardized the peace process. The existence of separate Governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has complicated matters.
The global leaders must initiate efforts for negotiations and peace talks to address complex issues, including settlement disputes, security concerns, education, water, refugees, and other vital aspects.
The current escalation of tensions in West Asia demands careful handling and diplomatic efforts to navigate the intricate landscape. As the world watches these critical developments, the need for comprehensive and nuanced approaches to peace remains paramount. The global community must work towards establishing a permanent link between Israel and Palestine, fostering an environment where negotiations can address underlying issues.
The international community, especially Islamic nations, must carefully navigate the delicate situation to prevent the region from turning into a battlefield.
The US veto for a ceasefire in Gaza at the United Nations Security Council laid further ground for debate on the future of UN and its veracity.
Now a rising Global South views these West-centric institutions and watching closely the US–China competition fermenting globally.
The Palestinian cause does raise significant support in the Global South, specifically when seen from a ‘de-colonisation’ perspective. However, again, like the Arab world, the ‘Global South’ is not a monolith. Countries such as India seek reforms of the UNSC and place themselves in leadership roles to represent the Global South. Thus the war in Gaza is snowballing to become a big challenge to global order.
Meanwhile, Washington has launched a new bombing campaign against Iranian-backed fighters in Iraq and Syria.The bombings come nearly one week after a drone packed with explosives struck Tower 22, a US base in Jordan located near the Syrian and Iraqi borders. The attack, which the US blamed on the Iranian-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq, marked the first deaths of American troops in a wave of assaults triggered by the Israel-Hamas war.
Jake Morland of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said he had never before been confronted with “such extreme suffering” as witnessed in Gaza City. In a video interview, Morland recounts a mission to Gaza City in December to evacuate 12 critically injured patients from the Ahli Hospital.
“As we entered the hospital, we saw wagons driven by five, six-year-old children, donkey carts, being driven into the hospital compound with their dying parents on the wagon behind,” Morland recounts in the video, released on social media by the UN. Meanwhile, Israel has said that half of Hamas fighters strength were taken out and the rest will be eliminated very soon.
