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
Showing posts with label palestine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label palestine. Show all posts
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Cutting off our nose to spite the other guy's face
Jan 13 – The invasion by Israel into Gaza has led to many calls by political parties, NGOs and Islamic consumer associations to take political and economic action against the United States.
The public tends to blame the US for anything and everything that Israel does.
The posturing of the outgoing Bush administration in siding with Israel does not help to dispel the perception that the US plays guardian angel to Israel.
Any resolutions that the United Nations Security Council or the General Assembly intends to push to reprimand Israel will almost definitely be blocked by the US.
Acts of aggression or ethnic cleansing or assassination attempts by Israel or its agents will go unpunished due to the gargantuan shadow of the US.
There are many other reasons why the US is being blamed for all the ills that originate from Israel.
To many, the US is the actual cause of the uncontrolled and unbridled Israel's disregard for international law and human decency.
Hence, it is not rocket science that the public, especially Muslims vent their anger on the Americans whenever there is any news of Israeli actions against the Palestinians.
However, the conflict between in Palestine is not merely an Islam versus Jews issue. It is a humanitarian crisis that requires international intervention.
Closer to home, the hatred towards Israel and the US bind together political rivals.
Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat led a protest in Kota Baru and even burned effigies of US President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is leading the calls to boycott products from American brands like McDonald's, Coca Cola, Starbucks and even KFC.
Some of the business tycoons known to be close to the former premier might not be too enthusiastic about the boycott idea as their investments in McDonald's and Starbucks may be affected.
Big corporations like Kulim-QSR, which owns a chain of KFC restaurants in Malaysia and is helmed by a Bumiputra corporate leader, may also be affected if the calls for boycott resonate with the public.
Dr Mahathir is familiar with international actions of this sort, using economic sanction as a potent tool.
In his early tenure as PM, a disagreement with the United Kingdom over university tuition fees sparked off a boycott of all British goods, led by Mahathir himself, in what became known as the "Buy British Last" campaign.
However, the proposed boycott US goods may not strike its intended target and, worse still, it could backfire.
Boycotts of this ilk rarely work because most of the products mentioned are made, produced, sold and purchased by Malaysians.
The government realises that it is not rational option for them to make this boycott of US products an official government policy.
With the US being Malaysia's second biggest trading partner, and against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, a general boycott may lead to economic tit-for-tat retaliation.
It also makes less sense in international diplomacy for the country to be embroiled in this boycott.
Malaysia would not want a repeat of the embarrassing moments when the aloof but supposedly eloquent Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Utama Rais Yatim praised the shoe-throwing insult against US President George Bush in Iraq as "remarkable".
Hence, any measure with international repercussions or consequences should be considered from all possible angles.
Boycotting US goods will achieve very little of the desired effects and, indeed, may cause hurt only to ourselves. It's akin to cutting off our own nose to spite the other guy's face.
The escalation of violence in Gaza is a political issue that is turning out into a humanitarian crisis.
Multilateral efforts and relentless pressure by the international community on Israel will hopefully compel the US to coax Israel to stop heaping suffering of the Palestinians.
Egypt President Hosni Mubarak and French Premier Nicolas Sarkozy took the lead to try and broker a ceasefire between the warring parties. This is only a stop-gap measure before confidence building measures between the two parties is revived.
However, the listless and Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) have not done anything to pressure, mediate or broker any international deal of that sort.
Any chance for peace require determined political will on both Palestinian and Israeli sides with wholehearted support by the international community and key organisations like the Arab League, OIC, European Union (EU) and the UN.
Only then will we see some light at the end of the tunnel for long lasting peace in the Middle East.
- published in The Malaysian Insider : Jan 13, 2009
The public tends to blame the US for anything and everything that Israel does.
The posturing of the outgoing Bush administration in siding with Israel does not help to dispel the perception that the US plays guardian angel to Israel.
Any resolutions that the United Nations Security Council or the General Assembly intends to push to reprimand Israel will almost definitely be blocked by the US.
Acts of aggression or ethnic cleansing or assassination attempts by Israel or its agents will go unpunished due to the gargantuan shadow of the US.
There are many other reasons why the US is being blamed for all the ills that originate from Israel.
To many, the US is the actual cause of the uncontrolled and unbridled Israel's disregard for international law and human decency.
Hence, it is not rocket science that the public, especially Muslims vent their anger on the Americans whenever there is any news of Israeli actions against the Palestinians.
However, the conflict between in Palestine is not merely an Islam versus Jews issue. It is a humanitarian crisis that requires international intervention.
Closer to home, the hatred towards Israel and the US bind together political rivals.
Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat led a protest in Kota Baru and even burned effigies of US President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is leading the calls to boycott products from American brands like McDonald's, Coca Cola, Starbucks and even KFC.
Some of the business tycoons known to be close to the former premier might not be too enthusiastic about the boycott idea as their investments in McDonald's and Starbucks may be affected.
Big corporations like Kulim-QSR, which owns a chain of KFC restaurants in Malaysia and is helmed by a Bumiputra corporate leader, may also be affected if the calls for boycott resonate with the public.
Dr Mahathir is familiar with international actions of this sort, using economic sanction as a potent tool.
In his early tenure as PM, a disagreement with the United Kingdom over university tuition fees sparked off a boycott of all British goods, led by Mahathir himself, in what became known as the "Buy British Last" campaign.
However, the proposed boycott US goods may not strike its intended target and, worse still, it could backfire.
Boycotts of this ilk rarely work because most of the products mentioned are made, produced, sold and purchased by Malaysians.
The government realises that it is not rational option for them to make this boycott of US products an official government policy.
With the US being Malaysia's second biggest trading partner, and against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, a general boycott may lead to economic tit-for-tat retaliation.
It also makes less sense in international diplomacy for the country to be embroiled in this boycott.
Malaysia would not want a repeat of the embarrassing moments when the aloof but supposedly eloquent Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Utama Rais Yatim praised the shoe-throwing insult against US President George Bush in Iraq as "remarkable".
Hence, any measure with international repercussions or consequences should be considered from all possible angles.
Boycotting US goods will achieve very little of the desired effects and, indeed, may cause hurt only to ourselves. It's akin to cutting off our own nose to spite the other guy's face.
The escalation of violence in Gaza is a political issue that is turning out into a humanitarian crisis.
Multilateral efforts and relentless pressure by the international community on Israel will hopefully compel the US to coax Israel to stop heaping suffering of the Palestinians.
Egypt President Hosni Mubarak and French Premier Nicolas Sarkozy took the lead to try and broker a ceasefire between the warring parties. This is only a stop-gap measure before confidence building measures between the two parties is revived.
However, the listless and Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) have not done anything to pressure, mediate or broker any international deal of that sort.
Any chance for peace require determined political will on both Palestinian and Israeli sides with wholehearted support by the international community and key organisations like the Arab League, OIC, European Union (EU) and the UN.
Only then will we see some light at the end of the tunnel for long lasting peace in the Middle East.
- published in The Malaysian Insider : Jan 13, 2009
In search of the promised land
JAN 7, 2009 — The latest escalation in the Israel-Palestine conflict is most worrying to the international community but one that is not unexpected.
Israel insists on wiping out Hamas with all its sophisticated arsenal and armoury; the Palestinians, on the other hand, with light arms and pebbles are determined as ever in defending their sovereignty.
Israelis cower whenever Kayutsha rockets come flying into their homes and at the same time, innocent Palestinian civilians especially women and children are turned into refugees if they ever manage to survive the carnage in Gaza.
The United Nations, with its hands tied and mouth shut, looks on in despair, unable to undertake any peacekeeping mission, what more broker any ceasefire between the warring parties.
The world body cannot even pass a resolution condemning the Israeli aggression due to the veto by the United States.
The mighty US has demonstrated time and again that any attempt to twist Israel's hand in the face of the international community's anger will come to nought.
The conspicuously silent US President-elect Barack Obama on this dire issue is certainly putting off hopes for a more sensible US President in dealing with international conflicts.
The cost on human lives due to this conflict is unbearable.
For every Israeli shell that destroys homes and schools, all peace-loving people around the world shed a tear.
Hamas, on the other hand, is putting on a brave face, trying in vain to stop the incursion by the Israel Defence Forces into Gaza.
Try as it may, the Kayutsha rockets that it sends flying into residential areas in Israel are causing no more than tarnished egos on the Israel military.
At the time of writing, 555 Palestinians have been killed with only handful of casualties on the Israeli side.
This has caused a displacement of innocent victims in large numbers towards the border with Egypt.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is brewing into a tragedy and all parties, especially the UN, the European Union and the OIC, have to be decisive to prevent the loss of more innocent lives.
On the other hand, the inaction of the OIC and Arab League is most despicable, being unable to answer their Muslim and Arab brother's cry for help.
It is shameful that Muslim countries are unable to even raise a finger, what more send peacekeepers to protect their brothers and sisters who have been turned into refugees in their own backyard.
Furthermore, there is not even any hint of talk among the OIC and Arab League countries to even consider sending troops to defend the sovereignty of Gaza and Palestine.
Ordinary Muslims blame these leaders as the cause of Palestine (under Hamas or Fatah administration) being treated as a pariah and humiliated time and again.
The Palestinians have never been able to call Gaza and the West Bank their home or their land.
Israel, on the other hand, has spent much effort and cash in creating instability in the region by its antagonising posture and attitude towards Palestine.
This latest acts of aggression began when the Palestinians put Hamas into office in the last election and by kicking out the corrupt Fatah government.
Following this, Israel with the support from US has been doing everything possible to ensure that the Hamas administration is crippled and sidelined in the international arena.
It is to everyone's benefit that the Middle East is peaceful and this can only be achieved if Palestine is a sovereign state and Israel feels secure surrounded by its Arab neighbours.
One after another the peace accords in Oslo, Madrid, Camp David, etc have passed without any lasting solution in sight.
Most Palestinians and Israelis wish for the land they reside in — and which is considered holy to Islam, Christianity and Judaism — will achieve peace and tranquility for their children's future.
The promised land for both Palestine and Israel remains elusive for as long as they are unable to reduce hostilities and break down barriers between them.
We certainly cannot depend on the US, not even their new President, to correct this wrong and return the promised land, peace and harmony back to where they belong — for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side with each other.
- published in The Malaysian Insider : Jan 7, 2009
Israel insists on wiping out Hamas with all its sophisticated arsenal and armoury; the Palestinians, on the other hand, with light arms and pebbles are determined as ever in defending their sovereignty.
Israelis cower whenever Kayutsha rockets come flying into their homes and at the same time, innocent Palestinian civilians especially women and children are turned into refugees if they ever manage to survive the carnage in Gaza.
The United Nations, with its hands tied and mouth shut, looks on in despair, unable to undertake any peacekeeping mission, what more broker any ceasefire between the warring parties.
The world body cannot even pass a resolution condemning the Israeli aggression due to the veto by the United States.
The mighty US has demonstrated time and again that any attempt to twist Israel's hand in the face of the international community's anger will come to nought.
The conspicuously silent US President-elect Barack Obama on this dire issue is certainly putting off hopes for a more sensible US President in dealing with international conflicts.
The cost on human lives due to this conflict is unbearable.
For every Israeli shell that destroys homes and schools, all peace-loving people around the world shed a tear.
Hamas, on the other hand, is putting on a brave face, trying in vain to stop the incursion by the Israel Defence Forces into Gaza.
Try as it may, the Kayutsha rockets that it sends flying into residential areas in Israel are causing no more than tarnished egos on the Israel military.
At the time of writing, 555 Palestinians have been killed with only handful of casualties on the Israeli side.
This has caused a displacement of innocent victims in large numbers towards the border with Egypt.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is brewing into a tragedy and all parties, especially the UN, the European Union and the OIC, have to be decisive to prevent the loss of more innocent lives.
On the other hand, the inaction of the OIC and Arab League is most despicable, being unable to answer their Muslim and Arab brother's cry for help.
It is shameful that Muslim countries are unable to even raise a finger, what more send peacekeepers to protect their brothers and sisters who have been turned into refugees in their own backyard.
Furthermore, there is not even any hint of talk among the OIC and Arab League countries to even consider sending troops to defend the sovereignty of Gaza and Palestine.
Ordinary Muslims blame these leaders as the cause of Palestine (under Hamas or Fatah administration) being treated as a pariah and humiliated time and again.
The Palestinians have never been able to call Gaza and the West Bank their home or their land.
Israel, on the other hand, has spent much effort and cash in creating instability in the region by its antagonising posture and attitude towards Palestine.
This latest acts of aggression began when the Palestinians put Hamas into office in the last election and by kicking out the corrupt Fatah government.
Following this, Israel with the support from US has been doing everything possible to ensure that the Hamas administration is crippled and sidelined in the international arena.
It is to everyone's benefit that the Middle East is peaceful and this can only be achieved if Palestine is a sovereign state and Israel feels secure surrounded by its Arab neighbours.
One after another the peace accords in Oslo, Madrid, Camp David, etc have passed without any lasting solution in sight.
Most Palestinians and Israelis wish for the land they reside in — and which is considered holy to Islam, Christianity and Judaism — will achieve peace and tranquility for their children's future.
The promised land for both Palestine and Israel remains elusive for as long as they are unable to reduce hostilities and break down barriers between them.
We certainly cannot depend on the US, not even their new President, to correct this wrong and return the promised land, peace and harmony back to where they belong — for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side with each other.
- published in The Malaysian Insider : Jan 7, 2009
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