The Israel Gaza conflict: What is the solution?

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THE Israel-Palestine conflict has been a longstanding and complex issue that has garnered significant attention and debate within the international community.

The conflict stems from the competing claims and aspirations of both the Israeli and Palestinian people over the same land, particularly in the region of historic Palestine.

There have been numerous endeavors undertaken to seek a resolution to the aforementioned conflict, yielding varying levels of achievement. Regrettably, the conflict remains unresolved, resulting in the victimisation of innocent individuals, particularly children and women.

This predicament persists primarily due to the abundance of oil and gas resources in the Middle East region, which engenders vested interests among the involved parties, thereby perpetuating the enduring nature of this unresolved conflict.

According to a report by the United Nations (UN), more than 250,000 individuals have been subjected to forced displacement from their residences in Gaza as a direct outcome of the persistent bombardment executed by the Israeli military.

Additionally, the report highlights that the recent bombings have caused the demolition of over 1,000 housing units.

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COMMENT | Shock attack terrified Israelis, but not 'unprovoked'

By Haggai Matar

COMMENT | This is a terrible day. After waking up to air sirens under a barrage of hundreds of rockets fired on Israeli cities, we have been learning about the unprecedented assault by Palestinian militants from Gaza into Israeli towns bordering the strip.

News is flowing in of at least 1,200 Israelis killed and thousands more wounded, a similar number of people in Gaza, as well as 150 Israelis reportedly kidnapped into Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army has already begun its own offensive on the blockaded strip, with troops mobilising along the fence and air strikes - killing and wounding scores of Palestinians so far.

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An Invasion of Gaza Would Be a Disaster for Israel

In the early morning of October 13, the Israeli military issued a warning to the 1.2 million Palestinians of northern Gaza: they must evacuate within 24 hours, in advance of a probable ground invasion. Such an Israeli assault would have the avowed goal of ending Hamas as an organization in retaliation for its shocking October 7 surprise attack into southern Israel, where it massacred over 1,000 Israeli citizens and seized over a hundred hostages.

An Israeli ground campaign has seemed inevitable from the moment Hamas breached the security perimeter surrounding the Gaza Strip. Washington has fully backed Israeli plans, notably refraining from urging restraint. In an overheated political environment, the loudest voices in the United States have been those urging extreme measures against Hamas. In some cases, commentators have even called for military action against Iran for its alleged sponsorship of Hamas’s operation.

But this is precisely the time that Washington must be the cooler head and save Israel from itself. The impending invasion of Gaza will be a humanitarian, moral, and strategic catastrophe. It will not only badly harm Israel’s long-term security and inflict unfathomable human costs on Palestinians, but also threaten core U.S. interests in the Middle East, in Ukraine, and in Washington’s competition with China over the Indo-Pacific order. Only the Biden administration—channeling the United States’ unique leverage and the White House’s demonstrated close support for Israeli security—can now stop Israel from making a disastrous mistake. Now that it has shown its sympathy with Israel, Washington must pivot toward demanding that its ally fully comply with the laws of war. It must insist that Israel find ways to take the fight to Hamas that do not entail mass killing and displacing innocent Palestinian civilians.

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China stresses major powers’ impartiality, restraint during communication with US on Palestine-Israel conflict

China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Saturday had a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the latter's invitation, during which Blinken briefed Wang on the escalating situation in the Middle East during his ongoing visit, and the US position on the current Palestine-Israel conflict.

The Chinese Foreign Minister, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, noted that when dealing with international regional hotspot issues, major powers should adhere to objectivity and impartiality, maintain calm and restraint and take the lead in abiding by international law.

China will continue to promote peace and dialogue, adding that the US should play a constructive role and push for the issue to return to the track of political settlement, Wang said.

Wang stated that the Palestine-Israel conflict is escalating and facing the risk of spiraling out of control. China opposes any actions that harm civilians and condemns any practices that violate international law. China believes that safeguarding its own security should not come at the expense of innocent civilians. Military means do not represent a way out, and resorting to violence will only lead to a vicious cycle.

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Urgent need to rescue entire Gaza population: Pope Francis

GAZA CITY/GENEVA – Israeli warplanes targeted the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City today, Anadolu Agency cited Al-Aqsa satellite channel’s report.

The channel said the Anglican-run medical facility sustained infrastructural damage due to the bombing and also shared photos of the destruction.

Meanwhile, Anadolu reported that Pope Francis urged respect for humanitarian law in Gaza.

“In Gaza, there is an urgent need to guarantee humanitarian corridors and to rescue the entire population,” Francis said during his Sunday Angelus address.

The pope was referring to the embattled Gaza Strip, where Israel has cut off water, electricity and humanitarian aid and not allowing residents to leave.

He also urged an end to the violence and the spilling of innocent blood. – Bernama-Anadolu, October 15, 2023

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Israel’s actions give Palestinians a new sense of power

There was a time when I used to admire the resourcefulness of Israelis, underdogs fighting for their survival against their many enemies. Those were the days when it was truly a fight for their existence.

But those days are long gone. Israel is now the biggest military power in the Middle East and has cowed or made peace with many of its former enemies.

Any argument that says Israel is fighting for its survival is bogus and disingenuous. They have as much to worry about their survival as Russia has to worry about being wiped out by the West, yet another bogus and disingenuous argument.

Are there people who would like to see Israel destroyed? Of course, but this isn’t the official or even unofficial position of many of its neighbours, who have mostly decided to live and let live.

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Russia’s push for Gaza ceasefire fails at UN security council

UNITED NATIONS: A Russian-drafted UN Security Council resolution that called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza failed to pass on Monday, while a vote on a rival Brazilian text was delayed until Tuesday.

The draft resolution received five votes in favour and four votes against, along with six abstentions. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the five permanent members – the US, Russia, China, France and Britain – to pass.

“Today, the entire world waited with bated breath for the Security Council to take steps in order to put an end to the bloodletting, but the delegations of the Western countries have basically stomped on those expectations,” Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told the council after the vote.

Russia proposed the one-page draft text on Friday, which also called for the release of hostages, humanitarian aid access, and the safe evacuation of civilians in need. The text condemned violence against civilians and all acts of terrorism, but did not name Hamas, which killed 1,300 people in Israel on Oct 7.

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Hundreds killed in Gaza hospital blast, biggest West Bank massacre in latest Israeli-Hamas conflict

ABOUT 500 Palestinians were killed in a blast at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday that Palestinian health authorities said was caused by an Israeli air strike but that the Israeli military blamed on a failed rocket launch by a Palestinian militant group.

The blast was the bloodiest single incident in Gaza since Israel launched an unrelenting bombing campaign against the densely populated territory in retaliation for a deadly cross-border Hamas assault on southern Israeli communities on Oct 7.

It took place on the eve of a visit by US President Joe Biden to Israel to show support for the country in its war with Hamas – the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip – and to hear how Israel plans to minimise civilian casualties.

Reuters could not independently verify who was responsible for the blast.

The Health Minister in the Hamas-run government of Gaza, Mai Alkaila, accused Israel of a massacre. A Gaza civil defence chief said 300 people were killed while a Health Ministry official said 500 were killed.

Prior to Tuesday’s incident, health authorities in Gaza said at least 3,000 people had been killed in Israel’s 11-day bombardment that began after Hamas militants rampaged into Israeli towns and kibbutzes on Oct 7, killing more than 1,300 people, mainly civilians.

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Malaysia will spare no diplomatic effort to prevent massacre of civilians in Gaza: Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia will spare no diplomatic effort in working with its partners to prevent the further massacre of civilians in Gaza and there should be no doubt about the country’s commitment, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.

Speaking at the 14th Asean Law Association General Assembly 2023 here today, Anwar said Malaysia believes in upholding international law and that security and prosperity are predicated on the primacy of the rules that govern the interactions between states.

“It has everything to do with the law because that is what we all ought to be standing for at this moment of grave danger and that should be especially so for those countries of the world that are always quick to claim that they support a rules-based international order.

“But it also has nothing to do with the law because these very same countries are quick to suspend such talk when it comes to Israel, its brutal occupation of the Palestinians and its flagrant disregard for the rules-based international order,” he said.

Also present were law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said and Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat.

Touching on Asean initiatives, Anwar said Asean countries must champion policies that promote and uphold gender equality across multiple spheres including education, employment and leadership.

Thus, he said Asean smust give voice and weight to women's contributions, recognising their potential and providing them with equal opportunities to lead and innovate.

The prime minister also commended the initiatives pursuant to the Asean Roadmap on Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour by 2025, a region-wide framework of cooperation that complements the commitments and actions against child labour globally.

“Whilst the implementation of the optional protocol’s ban on child pornography differs between jurisdictions, the commitment to fighting it is evident through domestic laws that prohibit this atrocious crime.

“The role of parents in protecting their children cannot be overstressed. The law should progress in tandem with this moral duty to ensure that parents honour and fulfil the trust incumbent on them for the well-being of their children,” he added. – Bernama, October 19, 2023

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