The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has taken a turn with the flagrant recognition of a Palestinian State without a word on the Hostages’ fate, leaving Benjamin Netanyahu fuming.
Report by Kingsley Abagana, from Lagos
It is puzzling, the kind of news emanating from Western Countries concerning the State of Israel, the Palestinian cause, and the fate of trapped Israeli hostages in Gaza. Ever since the Hamas militants shockingly overran southern Israel and abducted 250 Israelis, the Western world has been mute, perhaps watching with bated breath at the fallout of that ill-fated assault. Now that the war has reached its summit with Gaza encircled and thousands of both Israeli and innocent Palestinians murdered, they have issued a declaration “recognizing” the state of Palestine, forgetting to utter a word about the fate of those still in the hands of the militants. Quite understandably, Benjamin Netanyahu responded sharply, criticizing the declaration.
But several factors may have emboldened the Western Countries, namely Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, Andorra, and many others, to venture this path. First, opposition leaders inside Israel have been too vocal, calling Netanyahu all sorts of names and branding the performance of the IDF in Gaza as closer to “genocide”; secondly, the Hostage Forum added fuel by staging massive demonstrations giving the impression of disapproval of the ongoing war. Thirdly, writers within the State of Israel have been strident in lampooning the political class and demonizing the activities of the IDF. These critics apparently forget that soldiers were paying the supreme sacrifice on the battlefields; this attitude exposed the rot in the underbelly of Israeli society.
These obvious divisions are bound to be exploited by Hamas militants and the Islamic Jihad combatants. But the crucial point appears to be lost in the denizen of the deep, and that is: the conflict has dragged to this point because Palestinian extremists are vehement that the “whole” of what they call the occupied lands belongs to them; they want the Jews out! This is the root cause of the debacle. For this reason, the Israelis have been insisting on a caveat: recognize our existence, and only then can we live together. And the response from the other side has been the same: no way; you must be destroyed! This is why Hamas dug tunnels and actually launched rockets, 4,500 at the Jewish State; this is why Hezbollah followed with several thousand Kalyusha rockets, not to mention Iran and Yemen that have jointly launched nearly 4,000 ballistic missiles!
All this while, the same Western Countries lost their voices, perhaps hoping for the annihilation of the State of Israel, like they did in the days of the holocaust. Now that they survived, the next step is to drop their trump card, and that is the lame recognition gamble! If this step had been taken after proper mediation leading to cessation of hostilities and formal recognition of both warring parties’ right to existence, the move would have been heavily applauded. But here we are with the mess created by this belated one-sided move. The immediate lesson here is that of hypocrisy. Western countries cannot claim to cry more than the bereaved. How can a two-state solution be born with the seething hatred of the Jews by Palestinians? How did Egypt and Jordan do it? Saudi Arabia is quiet; Syria is nearing an enduring peace era with Israel. Hamas’ violent approach is the result of this intractable conflict. The region was quiet until that ill-advised invasion.
And now see where violence has led the Palestinians; those who have not been killed are hiding in the caves, others are moving underground; even to use mobile phones is an abomination for fear of being tracked down. For how long, the question must be asked? What the Western countries have done is no more than a diplomatic disaster. At best, they have exposed themselves as nothing but fearful democrats. Vladimir Putin is running riot, firing missiles daily at Ukraine; Kim Jong Un of North Korea is breathing down on their neighbors without restraint; their response has been vacuous and toothless. Only Donald Trump has been lashing out at evil. If Hamas has resisted the plea by the United States president to release the Israeli hostages, nothing else can deter them from pursuing this destructive path.
Given another opportunity, what proponents of this Palestinian state forgot is that Hamas will destroy the Jews. This is their avowed mission, and that is why chants of “death to the Jews”, “death to America” rent the air on any given gathering. The hatred is thick, palpable in the air. Watch the video on the October 7 massacre, and the implacable hatred exhibited! These same actors are yet to condemn Yemen for taking the law into their own hands. This is why Iran has no iota of regard for the United Nations. They have consigned resolutions from this body as nothing short of tissue paper! They understand the game, and so does Israel. While the war was festering, the International Criminal Court (ICC) only showed interest in condemning Israel. In Gaza, UNRWA exhibited partiality and got whacked several times. Had Hamas toed the path of non-violence, there would have been peace in that region.
Calling on their Arab brothers all the time to join the fray portrays them more as decadent and retrogressive in nature. A Palestinian State existing side by side with Israel is not likely to work unless they renounce violence and agree to co-exist. Hamas, which took over the reins of power in the tiny strip, has spent the last fifteen years building tunnels, storing weapons and ammunition instead of building schools and education; this misadventure has now produced a generation of young militants with their sights trained on the subjugation of their neighbors! This is what Western Countries have given vent instead of emphasizing dialogue and extending humanitarian support unconditionally. Israel wants peace, and they have shown this by advancing the course of their country; they are highly advanced technologically and have spent billions in building the capacity of their children.
They are known all over the world for their resilience and perhaps for diligence. For nearly seventy-five years, the Palestinians have been at their throat devising strategies to humiliate them. We have heard of the Munich massacre, the Entebbe Raid, and in the past several Plane hijacks. Under Ariel Sharon, they unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, and look at what Hamas has turned the place into. Arafat was handed a golden opportunity by Yitzhak Rabin, the assassinated Israeli Prime Minister, to sign a peace Accord with borders clearly defined. He excused himself to go and discuss with his more tempestuous brothers. Although Rabin insisted, Arafat had his way, and that peace accord never saw the light of day! Today, Gaza is in ruins for the same cause that ought to have been averted decades earlier! So now, where lies the muscle behind this lame declaration? The months and the years ahead will tell hopefully.
