What has been going on in the Gaza Strip for the past 21 months cannot be described as a mere military conflict. Also, it is not a military operation against those who pose a serious security threat to Israel (as claimed by Tel Aviv). This is, basically, a well-planned move to destroy a population and uproot them from their own territory.

As per statistics, Israel has already dropped more than 100,000 tonnes of explosives across Gaza since October 7, 2023, destroying and damaging around 88% of infrastructure and buildings in this territory. More than 56,000 people have been killed during this period, and most of them are women and children. There is hardly a family in Gaza that has not suffered the horrors of war. While some have lost their loved ones, some have been paralysed and others are suffering from mental trauma. The war has left permanent scars on the adolescent mind. Residential buildings, schools, hospitals, shops, offices and places of worship turned into ruins. Even hungry children, women and the elderly people standing in queues for food items and relief materials have not been spared by the Israelis. This sort of massacre is undoubtedly a crime against humanity and also an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in recent history.

In such a scenario, the role of the international community stuns thinking personalities. Although the global community talks about humanity, it has not yet taken any positive steps to stop the Israeli aggression. Instead, the world stays silent when Zionist Regime is committing the worst Human Rights violation in Palestine. The UN Security Council has passed multiple Gaza Ceasefire Resolutions in recent times. However, the World Body has failed to implement them because of factionalism among World Powers. Serving their respective geopolitical, as well as diplomatic, interests has become more important to them than protecting human lives.

The Arab World‘s silence on the Israeli aggression in Gaza and Iran is quite shocking. The Arab nations are more interested in safeguarding their geopolitical and economic interests at this moment. One may recall that Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq jointly fought the First Arab-Israeli War (May 15, 1948 – March 10, 1949) on behalf of Palestine immediately after the birth of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. In fact, Palestine stood as a symbol of Arab resistance against foreign hegemony and domination, be it British, French or American, at that period of time. Unfortunately, the idea of Arab Unity or Pan-Arabism, just like humanity, has disappeared in the 21st Century.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan have established diplomatic ties with Israel only to receive military and economic support from the US. On the other hand, several Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, consider the Jewish nation as a part of an anti-Iranian axis. They are not willing to jeopardise their diplomatic stand by supporting the Palestinian cause. Egypt and Jordan are desperately trying to prevent the influx of Palestinian refugees!

Israel is the US’ closest ally and strategic base in West Asia, serving as a tool for US oil policy, anti-Iran military operations and regional dominance. It may be noted that the US made a serious attempt to portray itself as a neutral mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict after the Cold War. The 1991 Madrid Conference and the 1993 Oslo Accords adopted the concept of a Two-State Solution as the basic framework to ensure peace. On the basis of the Oslo Accords, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel recognised each other. The basic framework of the Two-State Policy remained in place until Barack Obama‘s tenure as the US President.

However, the Donald Trump Administration has pursued a Middle East Peace Plan that differed from the traditional Two-State Solution. The Peace to Prosperity Plan, presented by President Trump in 2020, mentions financial investment and infrastructure development in Palestine (Gaza and the West Bank). However, it strategically ignores the issue of Palestinian Statehood (in an attempt to legalise illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories). Trump recently expressed desire to turn Gaza into the Riviera of Middle East, advising the Palestinians to move elsewhere. No wonder, his stance has encouraged Israel to become more aggressive.

The role of Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China, too, is quite biased. Attempts have also been made to indirectly legitimise the Israeli atrocities in Gaza (and West Bank) by blaming the Palestinian Hamas Movement for triggering the conflict. However, the European Union (EU) is still officially committed to a Two-State Solution, with Israel and a Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security.

The global community has started concentrating on national interests, trade ties and geopolitical strategies, instead of humanity or morality, in the 21st Century. Perhaps, it does not matter anymore if a particular region, along with its population, gets destroyed.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das