THE Jewish faith and their holy book forbids them from committing atrocities they have been inflicting upon Palestinians for almost 75 years. Over 2.1 million Palestinians have been subjected to daily humiliation, exploitation, confined to what is known as the biggest open-air prison, the Gaza Strip, covering 365-Square KM, stretching 41 KM from north to south, ranging in width from 6KM to 12 KM. It has a 51 KM border with Israel, 11 KM with Egypt with one side along the sea. Since 2007 Gaza has been under siege. Wherever there is occupation, there will be resistance. It is basic human nature. This is what history tells us. Israeli citizens whose forefathers had been victims of Nazi brutality should have understood this. Instead, the Zionist extremists within them, have embarked on systematic and persistent killing of Palestinian men, women and children. They term these brutalities as collateral damage of war.
A war can only be between two armies belonging to two sovereign independent states. The acts of IDF against unarmed citizens living under occupation is akin to what Hitler did to unarmed peaceful jews living in Nazi Germany. In a war between two sovereign states, the first casualty is truth, with each warring state involved in its own propaganda. However, when a State is fighting against a people under occupation, cutting off all known modes of communication, no internet facility, destroyed buildings housing media outlets, then it has a total monopoly over propaganda and can dish out whatever suits its version of events. Even the American President was duped to believe a concocted photo-shopped video showing beheading of Israeli children. The whole Western media is biased, showing one sided picture of events.
It considers over 1000 innocent Palestinians buried under tons of debris of a residential building bombed by Israel IDF as collateral damage, justified in a war, but the unfortunate killing of Israeli settlers living on land where Palestinians lived just a few years back as an unforgivable atrocity. Spilling blood of innocent human beings is unforgivable, irrespective of whether they are Jews, Muslim, Christians etc. This is the hypocrisy which only adds fuel to fire and further aggravates miseries of 2.1Million Palestinians living under sub human conditions. Collective punishment and humiliation with no hope, drives people to desperation, and they are bound to react. Expansion of settlements on land occupied by Israel in 1967 and thereafter has deprived the Palestinians of any hope. Creating settlements on the border fence, inhabited by armed extremist Zionists, many of them who had served in IDF, was a recipe for disaster. It had become common for these settlers, living within a stones throw, from the fenced border, to get involved in brutal killing of unarmed Palestinians and destroying their olive crops etc. The Israeli government encouraged these subversive brutalities and hundreds of Palestinians have died. It is a universal responsibility of an occupying force to protect the people under its occupation.
Instead, the extremists within the Israeli Coalition Government, unwilling to heed to advice of saner elements within the Jewish community, embarked on persisting with persecution of Palestinians, living in subhuman conditions in one of the most densely populated open-air prison on earth. It is this endless persecution and systematic annihilation of Palestinians which created Hamas as a group. The PLO influence declined because of Israel’s unwillingness to live in peace with two-state solution. Hamas emerged as popular party in Gaza. It is also a fact that Israel encouraged emergence of Hamas as a group opposed to Yasser Arafat led PLO. It was typical divide and rule policy which every colonialist occupation force has relied upon. The volcano was bound to burst and it did so on 7 October 2023 when Hamas launched an offensive across the border targeting settlements, which had been previously involved in planned killing of many Palestinians.
The problem is not with Jewish faith but with the Zionist mindset, beset with hatred, devoid of any humanity. The Ten Commandments state “You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”. Zionism has nothing in common with Torah or the teaching of Prophet Moses PBUH, just like ISIL has nothing to do with teachings of our Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH. The public statement of Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a committed Zionist, blinded by hatred for Palestinians calling them “Human Animals” is reminiscent of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler’s hatred for members of Jewish faith. Nazi extremists and Zionists have committed worst brutalities against unarmed innocent citizens, in the pursuit of expanding their countries. Nature has its own way of justice and Hitler met his fate, destined to live forever in ignominy, have caused death and destruction for the people of Germany and millions of others who resisted his atrocious designs. Zionism, it seems is destined to meet the same fate.
The idea of settling Jews in Palestine has its origin in what is known as Balfour Declaration, following dissolution of Ottoman Empire after WW1 in 1917. In a letter addressed to Lord Rothschild by British Foreign Office dated November 2nd 1917 signed by Balfour, who conveyed His Majesty’s government “declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations”. The letters states “His Majesty’s Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate achievement of this object. It being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country”. This assurance of rights and status of Palestinian living there for centuries was part of the Balfour Declaration.
The bid for control over Palestine was part of British strategic interest to keep Egypt and Suez Canal under their influence. They sided with Zionists to rally support among powerful Jews in USA and Russia, with the objective to keep them involved in WW1. Jewish people, with intense lobbying living in Europe, had a monopoly over business and trade and Britain wanted to cultivate them, whilst simultaneously pursuing their grudge against the Ottoman Empire and Muslims in general. It was in Europe that the Jews were being persecuted and the people of Palestine or the Arabs had no role in this. Yet they became the scapegoat. The State of Israel was formally established on 14 May 1948, on land that was part of the former British Mandate of Palestine in accordance with UN Partition Plan, dividing it into two separate parts. Israel was admitted to UN on 11 May 1949. It was obvious that the Palestinians, like any other nation or people, that had lived there for over 2000 years would resist this. The Zionists were initially welcomed by local Palestinians, who formed 90% of the population. Instead, the extremists within the Zionists embarked on a plan of expansion with objective of ethnic cleansing and driving out locals who had lived there for centuries.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
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