Day in and day out, Palestinians are being slaughtered by Israel, it is time that India shoulders more responsibility
Once a bustling city of 2.3 million people, Gaza today stands in ruins today. Almost the entire population of Gaza has been displaced and the living conditions can, at best, be described as dehumanizing.
At the center of this genocidal campaign stands the government of Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, who in a recent Security Cabinet meeting approved a highly controversial plan-Israel will take over Gaza city, one of the most populous areas of the enclave. The plan, according to the Israelis, is to destroy Hamas, establish a security perimeter and hand over the control of the enclave to Arab forces. However, there is little doubt that this plan serves as a prelude to depopulate Gaza in the long run, thereby deepening the crisis in the enclave.
New Modus Operandi
In the war against the Palestinian people, Israel has adopted a new modus operandi that is clearly backed by the United States of America-weaponization of hunger. While hunger as a tool of war-craft is not new, what is new is the way Israel is using hunger as a weapon. Not only has Israel blockaded the enclave for quite some time now, it has disallowed international aid agencies to operate there.
Interestingly, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial humanitarian organization founded by the United States that is supposed to be working to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian masses by providing them much needed aid, has, instead, has become a front for taking away Palestinian lives.
In recent months a pattern has emerged-every single time scores of hungry Palestinians venture out in search of a basic commodity like food, they are gunned down by Israeli troops. Israel resorts to the use of the same strategic playbook-claim that a large ‘hostile’ crowd was moving towards the Israeli troops, they fire warning shots in the air and when the Palestinian people refuse to back off, they fired in self-defense.
But the nature of the self-defense exhibited by the Israeli troops is such that it involves use of heavy weapons and tank fire.
Therefore, the Palestinian people are left with no other choice but to starve. In the 21st century, when human rights are supposed to be sacred, we see a population being systematically deprived of their most basic rights.
Standing Up For What Is Right
Recently, the Ministry of External Affairs of India stated that India stands for the expeditious resolution of the Gaza conflict, return of hostages and advocated support for a two-state solution. However, this isn’t enough.
India-a country which gave birth to renowned personalities like Buddha, Mahavira, Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda has historically stood up for the cause of what is right. It has provided shelter for communities facing persecution throughout history. People of various hues and shades have made India their home.
India has historically preached the message of justice, peace, non-violence and pursuit of truth. It is in accordance with that holy tradition that India must stand up for what is right-it must draw a line that in a world where human rights is sacrosanct, no country can simply get away with wanton violation of human rights.
India must prioritize the rights of the Palestinian people; this requires the Indian foreign policy establishment to develop a multi-pronged strategy to bring peace to Gaza. India must leverage its position as a host to one of the world’s largest Muslim populations to formulate a whole of the society approach.
India must dispatch special envoys to West Asia to assist Egypt, Jordan and Qatar by bringing an Indian perspective and contribution in developing a potential peace deal. This must also involve initiation of Track 2 and Track 3 diplomacy on the Gaza issue.
This is where India must leverage its special relationship with Israel-to remind them that notwithstanding the importance of the Indo-Israeli friendship, a far bigger issue is at stake-the issue of suffering humanity. India must take hard steps to bring Israel to the negotiating table and accept a peace deal; these steps must include rethinking defense deals agreed with Israel and reviewing the burgeoning nature of the economic cooperation in various sectors for the sake of protection of the rights of the Palestinian people.
Apart from this, India must find innovative ways to dispatch more aid to the Palestinian people. Also, the country must also make a commitment-keeping in mind her priorities; she would assist the Arab states in the region to rebuild Gaza.
Conclusion
Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian Independence movement and a leading social philosopher, underlined that pursuit of truth must be the goal of every individual. The most important force in the world is truth-force. Therefore, by standing up for the truth, India would serve as a beacon of hope in a world wracked by social and geopolitical conflicts.
Pranay Kumar Shome, a research analyst who is a PhD candidate at Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar, India
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