JAN 28, 2009 — The end of the Gaza invasion by Israel's Defence Forces has been received with a huge sigh of relief by many especially the Palestinians.
With Egypt agreeing to tighten its border with the Gaza Strip from arms being smuggled in and France taking a mediatory role, Israel pulled back its army from Gaza unilaterally.
However, the aftermath of the invasion left many homeless and killed over a thousand innocent lives.
Egypt's role as a peace mediator for Israel to halt its invasion has also revealed Cairo's hypocrisy.
Egypt's insistence of not opening up its borders to Palestinian refugees during the conflict worsened the humanitarian crisis.
Palestinians tried to flee from Israel's attacks to Egypt only to find that its Arab neighbour was unwilling to open its doors for their safety.
Egypt was worried Ikhwanul Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood) elements from Palestine would enter its territory due to the Ikhwanul's close ties with Hamas.
Due to this worry that this might cause political instability in its own backyard, the Palestinians — women, children and the elderly — were left to fend for themselves.
Palestinians are akin to pariahs in their own land and in the Greater Arabian peninsula.
Palestine is a land full of mystique and theological history with endless conflicts constantly tearing apart its people and causing destruction to the land.
Moses once led his followers in an escape from the vengeance of Pharaoh's army — sketched in the Bible and the Quran.
The Crusades began after the turn of the 11th century with holy wars fought on the command of the Pope to liberate the Christian Church in Jerusalem from Muslim rule.
Scottish philosopher and historian David Hume wrote in 1761 that the Crusades "engrossed the attention of Europe, and have ever since engaged the curiosity of mankind".
This has been depicted in many Hollywood movies with the most recent being "Kingdom of Heaven" where Saladin (Sallahudin Al Ayubi) conquered Jerusalem, allowing Muslims, Jews and Christians to live side by side.
Palestine was also part of the Ottoman Empire and came under the British rule soon after, in the early 20th century.
Periods of peace and harmony in the land of Palestine were few and far between.
With modern-day Palestine divided by the British to absolve the international community's sins that befell the Jews during the Holocaust, the holy land of Palestine was once again in turmoil.
Israel was created and became a sovereign state, while Palestine never achieved independence until today.
By the start of the 21st century, many drew parallels with contemporary politics, from the creation of Israel to accusations that western powers were perpetuating crusading behaviour in their dealings towards the Islamic world.
These accusations are very much the popular sentiment of many Muslims towards the West — before it was the British and now the United States — of being the defenders of the atrocities by Israel towards the Palestinians.
However, the modern-day conflict that is besetting Palestine is one that is not just a religious issue — Islam vs Judaism — but an international, political and a humanitarian one.
The quality of life of the Palestinians is in such a sorry state, lacking in basic amenities what more after the latest acts of aggression by Israel.
Everyone is looking to the stewardship of the newly sworn in US President Barrack Obama to pursue justice for the Palestinian people for a sovereign state to call their own and also for Israel to be secure surrounded by its Arab neighbours.
With Obama impressed by the social justice elements in Zionism and likening the plight of the Jews to the plight of the African Americans epitomised by the civil rights movement in the US, one wonders what kind of just solution is envisioned by Obama to end the suffering of the Palestinians.
However, pessimism creeps in when the newly endorsed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once declared that Jerusalem is innately and wholly an Israel city when Palestinians are demanding for East Jerusalem to be their capital.
To those who believed in the "new era of openness" and the much hyped "politics of hope" created by the bandwagon called Obama-mania, they will almost certainly be disappointed.
Putting high expectations on Obama to deliver a just solution for both parties is being naive and too hopeful.
This is so because of the inability of Obama's administration to face the huge outcry in the US and Israel if Israel is seen to be at the losing end of any deal with the Palestinians.
Obama is in between a rock and a hard place on this highly emotional issue of Palestine-Israel.
While everyone is praying that Obama has the political will to do what is right, the Obama-mania bubble might just burst sooner than you can say "Oh Bummer!".
- published in The Malaysian Insider : Jan 28, 2009
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