It is no longer news that Israel has launched an offensive air strike targeting Hamas who they blame for firing hundreds of rockets resulting in killing their soldiers and hundreds of civilians. It also accused Hamas for crossing its border, killing and kidnapping its citizens on October 7. The ongoing Israel /Hamas war has so far claimed thousands of innocent lives from both sides.
No matter what triggered the renewed hostilities leading to humanitarian catastrophy, Israel should be entirely blamed. It has been pursuing expansionist agenda in West Bank, Gaza and many villages, ignoring UN’s laws and conventions barring it from further occupation. In the last 16 years, Palestinians in Gaza have been living in horror and bondage. Israeli blockage in Gaza has made life unbearable for the pauperised Palestinians.
Attempts in 1948 to provide two states solution failed. The effort has not yielded the expected result as Israel refused to agree or commit to the agreement. Instead, what the world continues to witness is Israel’s illegal occupation and killing of armless Palestinian women and children on daily basis.
The economic poverty ravaged Palestine has to resort to guerilla warfare in order to free themselves from the shackles of Israeli domination and illegal occupation. While helpless Palestinians are being subjected to all manner of hardship by its oppressor (Israel), western powers including US, UK, France, etc look the other way.
The Palestinians are allowed to live in squalor in a land that belongs to them. In Ukraine, armed rebels are considered freedom fighters while a group like Hamas, fighting for their rights, is being labelled as terrorists. This amounts to hypocrisy by the west.
The war between Israel and Palestine will not end so long Israel continues its land encroachment and illegal building of houses for its people. The visit by US President Joe Biden to Israel neither helped in immediate cessation of hostilities nor doused tension in the war-torn Gaza. President Biden’s message of sending more weapons to fight Hamas is unfortunate and will aggravate tension in the Middle East countries.
One expected that the Biden’s visit will prevail on Israel to stop air strikes, respect human rights, desist from attacking and killing innocent women and children in Gaza or any other Palestinian territory. One wished President Biden’s visit would provide an avenue for lasting solutions to the Israeli/Palestine war, including the need for UN to summon an emergency meeting aimed at resolving the century long two-states solution.
Also, President Biden met with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed how America and its allies will help his country. But President Biden did not extend such visit to Gaza and see how children and women are being massacred by Israel’s arial bombardment. With the death toll rising to more than 5,000 in Gaza and Israel’s decision to cut off electricity, water and aids, Palestinians are being mercilessly punished or annihilated by Israel while the world leaders’ watch.
Though, many countries have condemned the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine, no doubt, civilian casualties are on the increase. There is the need for the warring parties to drop their arsenal and embrace peace. The war in Gaza can only be resolved through two-state solution as mooted by the United Nations and other conflict resolution experts.
Ibrahim Mustapha,
Pambegua, Kaduna state
08169056963
