Israel-Palestine truce must be made meaningful – for the long term
Citizen groups all over the world should intensify their campaign for
a ceasefire mediated and supervised by the United Nations
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An
Israeli army self-propelled howitzer fires rounds near the border with
Gaza in southern Israel in October 2023. Image: Youtube Screengrab
After an uneasy seven-day truce, Israel and Hamas are once again
locked in violent combat. Each side has accused the other of violating
the truce. What is really important is the consequence of this
resumption of conflict.
Thousands more Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are going to be
killed. According to various sources, within 24 hours of the end of the
truce December 1, 184 Palestinians were wiped out as a result of
Israeli bombardments.
This brings the total number of dead Palestinians at the hands of
Israeli firepower since the present phase of fighting broke out on
October 7 to 15,500. In contrast, 1,332 Israelis and others have been
killed by Hamas and its allies.
Of the Palestinians killed, it is estimated that more than 6,000 are
children. That more than a third are children is a matter of great
significance, especially when we consider the figures for past conflicts
between the two sides.
During Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, for instance, from December 27,
2008, to January 18, 2009, children accounted for a quarter of the dead.
In another clash between November 1, 2021, and January 18, 2022, 840
Palestinian children died.
To this statistic we should add the number of women killed by Israel
in the current tussle between the two protagonists. It is estimated that
2,700 of them have perished.
The massacre of children and women is part of a pattern of
annihilation closely related to Israel’s overall goal of eliminating
Palestinians from their ancestral land. In other words, it is central to
ethnic cleansing. In 1948 when Israel was established on Palestinian
land, something like 750,000 indigenous Palestinians were expelled or
evicted from their homes and villages.
Global outcry
This time, unlike 1948, voices have been raised against the Israeli
government’s carnage of largely defenseless, unarmed Palestinians. In
villages and cities across the continents, millions of people of all
shades and hues are demanding that Israel’s relentless bombardment of
Gaza ends immediately.
Citizen groups all over the world should intensify their campaign for
a ceasefire mediated and supervised by the United Nations. It is worth
noting that Qatar, one of the countries that arranged the earlier truce
between Israel and Hamas, is also committed to an immediate ceasefire.
Global citizens demanding a ceasefire should reinforce their call
with two other critical concerns. They should request that the UN
establish immediately an International Protection Force to ensure the
safety of the residents of both Gaza and the West Bank.
Such a protection force under the auspices of the UN would, it is
hoped, not only save human beings, especially children, but also offer
some protection to hospitals, schools and other public amenities.
The other concern relates to water, fuel, food, medicines and the
other essentials of life. The UN through such agencies as the World
Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization should step in
to ensure that there is uninterrupted and adequate flow of essentials
to the people. This is an urgent task.
An equally urgent challenge facing the UN is addressing the root
causes of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Unless this is done
immediately, the conflict will recur over and over again, as it has for
many decades.
This is why the pressure upon the Israeli elite and Israeli society
to act justly toward the Palestinians will have to come from outside
Israeli society. People’s pressure could be directed toward three
targets: one, the Israeli elite; two, the elite in the United States and
Britain, Israel’s staunchest supporters in the West; and three, the
elite in the Arab countries and the larger Muslim world.
In targeting elites, there is a critical resource the people can
harness. This is the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The movement initiated by Palestinians in July 2005 directed against
Israel can play a vital role at this moment. It has already achieved
some success. Now is the time to enhance and expand the BDS movement.
Citizens all over the world should give a huge push to the movement by
persuading more and more institutions, organizations and companies to
join the movement.
Under the BDS rubric, three other measures could be given some
consideration. One, a worldwide movement to get those nations that
recognize Israel to withdraw their ambassadors from Israel as a way of
isolating the country diplomatically. This would be a temporary measure
aimed at changing Israel’s behavior vis-à-vis the Palestinians.
Two, an arms embargo imposed by the UN that prohibits any state or
entity from engaging in the arms trade with Israel. The prohibition will
also extend to joint ventures in the manufacture of arms and military
equipment with Israel or enterprises associated with it. Under this
proposal, the US, as a case in point, will have to suspend its military
ties with Israel.
Three, the UN must ensure that no country supplies oil to Israel as long as it pulverizes Gaza and the West Bank.