THE NEVER ENDING TRAGEDY
October 7th 2023 is blazoned on my memory, the day that Hamas brutally massacred 1300 Israeli civilians and underpinned their brutality by violating women. Israel’s reaction was justified in going after Hamas and its leadership. What started as defending itself against terrorism, supported by almost all of the international community, is now being seen as a series of war crimes against Palestinian civilians whose causalities run into tens of thousands, deaths over 20000, which include 9000 women and children. Though the current Israeli government dispute these figures, as reported by the Hamas health agency, the UN does not.
Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself from terrorism has moved on. The IDF use terms such as targeted airstrikes. These bombings and missile strikes are taking place in an area of 140 sq. miles with a population of 2.3 million people and in one of the most densely populated places on earth. “Safe Places “for Palestinian families, is just another location where you go to die and the death of women and children is simply collateral damage or unintentional causalities. The ground offensive by the Israeli armed forces has turned Gaza into an uninhabitable wasteland where an entire population is on the verge of starvation and a healthcare system is on the verge of complete collapse. This is no longer a legitimate defence but vengeance, on a Biblical scale. The non-biblical term is collective punishment, which is illegal under international law. In addition, though I am loathed to say it, it now is clear that the Israeli forces with the blessing of the current Israeli regime are engaged in systematic ethnic cleansing both in Gaza and more covertly in the Westbank. The death and destruction currently being rained down on Palestinians will create another Israel-hating generation. The 1982 conflict in Lebanon, particularly in Beirut saw Israel inflict civilian deaths and destruction on a huge scale. Then, Israeli generals and politicians used the rationale that civilian deaths and destruction were down to those who wanted to see the destruction of Israel. Today, Netanyahu is using the same failed political rhetoric and rationale. The international community know Israel is breaking international law but has refused to unequivocally, call for a ceasefire (particularly the US).
The only way to stop yet another generation of violence and give Israelis the security they want and are entitled to is to create a viable Palestinian state where Palestinian families can have hopes, dreams and build a future. War crimes are currently being perpetrated by the IDF, despite the BS from Israeli government spokespersons. This does not make Jews who live outside Israel feel safe. This can be seen in the rise of unjustifiable antisemitism. Maybe, Netanyahu and his far-right religious zealots don’t care, Jews out of sight are clearly out of mind.
The Israeli people must now know that this is no longer a battle for their security or to eliminate Hamas and even no longer about the safe return of the remaining hostages, but a campaign by those who failed them, to resurrect their political legacy and bury their security failures, highlighted on October 7th. In addition, there are those in Netanyahu’s cabinet like Simcha Rothman and Ben Gavir who have their agenda, which is trying to fulfil their dream, “From the river to the sea, not a Palestinian will be seen”. The Israeli people must rise and say stop to this carnage and then elect a government that will show that peaceful coexistence with their Palestinian neighbours in a neighbouring Palestinian State is not just possible but essential in the interests of coming generations. Remember, this will be done under the unwavering security umbrella of the US. When the conflict stops and when a new government is elected, what will help, is for all Palestinian factions to recognise Israel’s right to exist. The new Israeli government must reciprocate by pledging to stop all illegal settlements and enter dialogue to remove all (95%) illegal settlements in an acceptable timescale as part of early-stage negotiations. If the Israeli people can make peace with those, whose forefathers tried to eliminate the Jewish people, surely making peace with those who want a piece of land to call their own, a piece of land in which both Jews and Arabs have a shared history as members of the Abrahamic tribe, is not beyond the realms of possibility. Finally, it was reported by a BBC journalist in Jerusalem that when a Palestinian girl was asked what she hoped for in the new year she replied, “Just someone to wake me up and say the war is over”. So, I ask in complete exasperation, to those in the global community and ordinary Israelis, is that a lot to ask for?
Suneil Sharma
4th January 2024
The Gob 
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