Muqaddam Khan
THE American President Donald Trump in an interview with ‘The New York Times’ said: “I don’t need international law” and his bellicose posture can only be constrained by his “own morality, and his “own mind.”
After the stunning ousting, capturing, dragging and initiating trials of the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Trump declared that the US would run Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
It makes clear, we live in a world of hegemony. Maduro’s incarceration is an astonishing example of the American assertion of its military prowess, unveiling President Trump’s appetite for devouring Colombia, Mexico, Cuba and Iran. The lighting raid on a sovereign state has shaken the global landscape, even the American European allies. The naked aggression destabilized Latin America, crumbled world order, and eroded the US credibility but Washington grabbed vast oil reserves of Venezuela and President Trump plans to invest at least $100 billion in its oil industry.
In addition, the US president strives to make Canada America’s 5Ist state, threatens to take over Greenland Island and a “complete obliteration” of Palestine. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that if Ukraine does not agree to an imposed peace deal, they will achieve all their objectives militarily. President Putin, Chinese president Xi Jinping and North Korean supreme leader, Kim Jong Un walk shoulder-to-shoulder in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on the occasion of Victory Day parade to mark 80th anniversary of ending the Second World War, rejecting hegemonistic designs of the US and President Trump begrudged that they “conspire” against America.
Before the ceasefire, Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz wrote on X: “Release the hostages and lay down your weapons–or Gaza will be destroyed and you will be annihilated.” Prime Minister Netanyahu warned that “there will not be a Palestinian state.” Soon after the Israeli attack on Hamas negotiation team in Qatar, a prominent Middle East expert wrote that “the latest American proposals were simply a ruse to get the Hamas Leaders in one place where they could be targeted.”
Under President Trump’s peace plan to end the Gaza War, Hamas and Israel inked a ceasefire agreement and swapped prisoners. President Trump along with leaders of Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye signed a declaration as the guarantors to end the War. The accord was welcomed across the world and there were no limits of joy for both Palestinians and Israelis.
However, there would be what kind of peace between a subjugated and humiliated nation and a state who considers itself victorious, riding on military prowess and enjoying a full-fledged support of all cogent powers, especially the US. No doubt, there is a “realistic chance” to achieve durable peace in the volatile Middle East and avoid the horror of war in future. But toeing Israel’s policy by Washington would prove very dangerous for peace in the perturbed Middle East.
Soon after the imposed peace deal, a British journalist, Jeremy Bowen, wrote “Hamas wants Israel out of the Gaza strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that will not happen. Hamas is prepared to give up heavy weapons but wants to keep some armaments. Netanyahu wants complete demilitarization. He has defined victory for Israel as more than simply the return of the hostages.” It is not yet clear how the belligerent posture of Benjamin Netanyahu will be handled under President Trump’s peace plan.
Keeping the past track-record of Israel bullying tactics, it is widely believed the war will erupt again. President Trump’s peace plan will fail and the Palestinians will remain in hot water. In fact, the fire that was ignited in the Middle East with the establishment of Israel in 1948 has not yet been put out and the US and Israel dominate the Middle East affairs. Those who played a role in Hamas and Israel negotiations are the US cronies, and here lies the Middle East’s dilemma, inviting more trouble for Palestinians because neither the US nor Israel is ready to give up hegemonistic designs. Now, all those countries who have rich natural resources are on the American radar. It all shows the bellicosity of the powerful states, especially the US converts the world into the globe of hegemony where might is right and law of the jungle prevails.
—The writer is contributing journalist, based in KP.
