Stop the war on Gaza

Under the cover of its “right to self-defence”, emboldened by the knowledge that the US will back it whatever it does anyway, and using the abduction and killing of three Israeli youths as a pretext, Israel launched a relentless war on Gaza, raining bullets, shells and bombs indiscriminately, from land, air and sea, with terrible […]

Under the cover of its “right to self-defence”, emboldened by the knowledge that the US will back it whatever it does anyway, and using the abduction and killing of three Israeli youths as a pretext, Israel launched a relentless war on Gaza, raining bullets, shells and bombs indiscriminately, from land, air and sea, with terrible tolls on people, houses and infrastructure. Gaza, a tiny strip of land detached from, but still part of, Palestine, and which, according to existing international laws, Israel has responsibility to protect as the “occupying” power, had been under its (and Egypt’s) total blockade, prison-like, for over eight years. This is the third war Israel is waging on Gaza in six years.  
In three weeks of attacks, over 1,156 Palestinians have been killed (as of yesterday afternoon), majority of them women, children and the elderly. Another 6,700 had been injured and about 150,000 are now homeless, most of them forced to take shelter in UN facilities and schools. Even these UN facilities and schools have not escaped Israel’s bombs. By current estimates over 1.2 million people have been affected by this deliberate destruction. Hospitals, mosques and churches along with electricity, water and waste management infrastructure, and humanitarian workers were not spared. At least four journalists were also killed.
The Israelis have suffered the death of about 53 soldiers and three civilians even as it insists that its population have been “terrorized” by thousands of rockets which have been mostly intercepted by its “Iron Dome” air defence system. Ironically, Israel believes if they are to stop now Hamas would have “won” the war – if not the battle.
Israel’s objectives, say its leaders, are to stop Hamas rockets, destroy the tunnels, decapitate Hamas and its leadership, and safeguard Israelis. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that other goals, though underplayed, are more important, especially blocking Palestinian unity. Indeed, Israel’s real reason for all these wars is to defend its occupation and settlements.
In the long run, however, relying on the United States’ unconditional support and the acquiescence of western politicians would not be a sustainable fall-back position. Israel, and the western powers backing it, should accept that Palestinians too have rights, especially the right to life, and to live free from occupation and oppression. And that no state is exempt from its obligations under international laws. Impunity is not acceptable in this day and age. It cannot prevent Palestinians from having their own state with East Jerusalem as the capital, no matter how many illegal settlements it builds. Everyone has the right to resist occupation and colonialism, and increasingly Israel is looking like a vestige of a past colonial era.
As the UN Commission on Human Rights points out, the intentional killings of civilians and deliberate destruction of houses and civilian infrastructure are war crimes. Blockading Gaza by sea and air is an act of war under international law. What Israel seems to be simply “protecting” is the occupation and its apartheid policies.
The international community has the legal and moral responsibility to speak out for the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, and to hold Israel accountable. Blind support for Israel and encouraging its impunity and sense of entitlement will continue to fuel its atrocities. President Obama and other western leaders must stop their one-sided “mediation” and become honest peace brokers. The Palestinians have been dispossessed of most of their land, and have lived under occupation for the last 40 years – and all they are being offered are “frameworks” for peace. Those issues must be addressed.
Right now the focus should be on stopping the killings and the immediate lifting of the illegal blockade. The root cause is the occupation. Palestinians had been there before Israel, before “radical Islamist” threats, before Hamas or Fatah. They are not going anywhere. Nigeria must follow the African Union’s example and end our deafening and shameful diplomatic silence over these outrageous killings.