One Year On: Palestine Awaits For Peace
Ishtiaq Ahmed
Islamabad: It was exactly one year ago that the current Israeli-Gaza war erupted following a surprise attack by Hamas inside Israel, resulting in 1,200 Israeli casualties and the capture of 250 hostages.
Since then, Israel has relentlessly continued its operations in Gaza, leading to what many describe as the mass genocide of over 42,000 people, primarily women and children. In addition, 100,000 have been wounded, and millions displaced.
Israel and its allies continue to justify these large-scale actions as part of the Zionist state’s right to defend itself.
The latest grim development in this ongoing tragedy is the escalation of Israeli airstrikes inside Lebanon, justified as targeting Hezbollah positions, likely as a prelude to a large-scale ground force mobilization.
While there have been consistent attacks on targets in Lebanon throughout the year, these have intensified over the past week. So far, nearly 2,000 Lebanese have lost their lives, and 1.2 million people have been displaced.
As a result, thousands of Lebanese, including Palestinian refugees, continue to flee the widening conflict in the region.
A year into the war, Netanyahu relentlessly defies the UN and international law with arrogance and unmatched brutality. The extreme right-wing Jewish mind-set has long resisted the idea of an independent Muslim Palestinian state.
For them, Israel is sacred Jewish land, and the very existence of a Muslim state is an affront to their religious beliefs and identity.
The vision of an Israeli state, particularly one that includes the holy city of Jerusalem, has existed for centuries, but it began to take concrete shape with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, following World War II, as a safe haven for Jews, underwritten by the USA and Britain
Since its establishment, Israel has pursued a policy of encroaching on Palestinian land with ruthless obsession, particularly through the expansion of Jewish settlements within Palestine along the borders.
This strategy has continued under various successive Israeli governments but has become increasingly belligerent since Benjamin Netanyahu assumed the position of prime minister with the backing of hard-line Zionists.
The encroachment on Palestinian land has involved a two-pronged strategy: driving Palestinians out of their homes and settling Jewish communities in the West Bank. Netanyahu has rigorously pursued this agenda while ignoring the UN and international law.
These sentiments were recently echoed by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister and leader of the Religious Zionist Party, Bezalel Smotrich, who boldly stated, “No anti-Israel or anti-Zionist decision will stop the development of the settlements.”
He went on to add, “We will continue to fight against the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state. He declared “ the is the mission of my life,” on the same day that Israeli military forces raided the West Bank cities of Hebron and Nablus.
Israel has been expanding illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank since 1967 to consolidate its position, despite repeated international condemnation.
The escalation of the Israel-Gaza war occurs against this backdrop. It is important to note that Israeli policy is also intertwined with American foreign policy, which aims to control the Middle East, limit Russian and Chinese influence, and maintain a firm grip on resources such as oil and Arabian wealth.
The obliteration of Libya, Iraq, and Syria was part of this strategy, best expressed by former U.S. President George Bush’s phrase “axis of evil” in the aftermath of 9/11 in 2002. The invasion of Iraq soon followed. Initially directed at Iran, Ba’athist Iraq, and North Korea, this concept expanded to encompass the entire Middle East.
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Israel has engaged in proxy wars for its backers to keep the region unstable and divided. Given the paralysis it helped create in the Muslim world, Israel now sees the current situation as an ideal opportunity to realize its expansionist ambitions. The relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem by the former Trump administration was also an assertion of Israel’s legitimacy over Palestine.
As Israel continues its aggressive actions, the Arab and Muslim world appears confused and lost, struggling to respond to the Israeli game plan.
Recently, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi stated that 57 Arab and Muslim countries were willing to provide security for Israel in exchange for the establishment of a Palestinian state, despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the bombardment of Lebanon. Was he really suggesting that Israel not the Palestinians needed protection?
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his rare Friday sermon, defended Iran’s missile attacks on Israel and praised Hamas’s attack on October 7, calling it “logical and legal.” Khamenei stated that Iran-backed armed groups in the Middle East “will not back down,” even after Israel killed several alleged terrorist leaders.
Iran’s position continues to be a source of consternation for the Arab and Muslim world. Countries that have sought to normalize relations with Israel.
They find themselves trapped in a political conundrum from which they cannot escape. Iran has indeed stirred the pot, complicating the situation further. Nations like Turkey and Saudi Arabia are in particularly difficult positions.
Turkey, despite claiming to pursue an independent foreign policy, is heavily influenced by its NATO membership and its desire to be accepted into the European community while maintaining trade links with Israel.
Saudi Arabia’s position is also compromised due to its historical ties with the U.S. and Britain and its desire to maintain normal trading relations with Israel.
For a country like Pakistan, it finds itself caught in the middle, with its survival linked to IMF and American interests, leaving it in a precarious position of hoping for the best.
Meanwhile, the genocide of Palestinians continues unabated.
The author is a British citizen of Pakistani origin with a keen interest in Pakistani and international affairs.
The article is the writer’s opinion, it may or may not adhere to the organization’s editorial policy.
