On May 14, 1948, the British Mandate over Palestine expired, the Jewish People’s Council officially approved a proclamation declaring the establishment and independence of the State of Israel.
The United States was the first country to recognize Israel when President Harry Truman granted de-facto recognition eleven minutes after the proclamation of independence. Three days later, the erstwhile USSR granted Israel de-jure recognition.
Nearly a year after its creation, on May 11, 1949, Israel was admitted as the 59th member of the United Nations. At least 167 of the 193 UN member states officially recognise Israel with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, and Bhutan the most recent in 2020. Twenty-nine countries have never recognised Israel, most are Arab nations.
Since its inception, Israel has been in conflict with its Arab neighbours. Palestinian territory – encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem – has been illegally occupied by Israel since 1967. Gaza is known as the world’s biggest ‘open air prison’. The Palestinian enclave of Gaza has been under an air, land and sea blockade since 2007, when Hamas came to power.
Around 400 Israelis and 1,500 Palestinians were killed during the first Intifada, a six-year period starting from 1987. The Second, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, lasted for five years from 2000 onwards, and saw 3,000 Palestinians perish, as opposed to 1,000 casualties on the Israeli side.
Now, on October 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a massive surprise assault on southern Israel, the deadliest single attack on Israelis in history. Israel’s subsequent declaration of war against Hamas has further worsened an already dire situation in the Gaza Strip, where more than two million Palestinians live.
As the violence escalates, international relief organisations have called for the immediate provision of aid to Gaza and the creation of a humanitarian corridor by which civilians can flee the territory.
If the incessant bombings of civilian installations is not enough, the besieged Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people don’t have access to clean, running water after Israel cut off water and electricity to the enclave as it intensifies its air attacks in response to a bloody Hamas attack last week.
The blocking of pipelines has seen taps run dry across the territory. The water available is contaminated with sewage and seawater, making it undrinkable. The deprivation has plunged Gaza’s population deeper into misery.
Denying water to people or attacking drinking water systems is prohibited under IHL, which specifically protects objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. The UNSC, which has authority to maintain international peace and security, further reaffirmed these rules unanimously in Resolution 2573.
More than one million people living in northern Gaza have been told to evacuate as Israel prepares to launch its expected ground offensive. This will trigger a mass exodus of people and massive displacement.
It is high time that the senseless Israel-Palestine conflict ends now. This can’t be allowed to escalate, otherwise we may have a direct conflict between Arab countries championing the cause of Palestine and western powers led by the USA, which support Israel.
The best way to resolve the conflict is to accept and implement the two-State solution for Israel and Palestinians. On September 13, 1993, former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Negotiator Mahmoud Abbas had signed a Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, commonly referred to as the ‘Oslo Accord’ at the White House, when Bill Clinton was the US President.
As per the ‘Oslo Accord’, signed Israel accepted the PLO as the representative of the Palestinians, and the PLO renounced terrorism and recognised Israel’s right to exist in peace. Both sides agreed that a Palestinian Authority (PA) would be established and assume governing responsibilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over a five-year period. Then, permanent status talks on the issues of borders, refugees, and Jerusalem would be held.
By the time Clinton left office, however, the peace process had run aground, and a new round of Israeli-Palestinian violence had begun.
The Western world, led by the US, has always supported Israel’s occupation of Palestine land since the 1967 Arab-Israel war.
Now, the onus is on them and the Arab world led by Saudi Arabia to stop this madness from both sides – Israel and Hamas.
The US and its allies have to prevail upon Israel and Saudi Arabia and its allies have to stop Lebanon and Iran from supporting extremist groups – Hezbollah and Hamas from continuing with this madness.
Now is the opportunity to shed their vested interests to stop this war forever.
Since both Israel and Palestine have a shared history, all the concerned parties must accept that recognising each other and peaceful coexistence is the only way forward.
