For the last 15 years, Israel has put a blockage on Gaza. Entry has been closed from all quarters. Nothing new can happen without seeking the permission of Israel. Any emergency cannot be attended to. The tunnels, which were dug up on the Egyptian side for bringing the goods, have also demolished.
The recent destruction by Israel will lead to the complete elimination of areas and colonies of Gaza. Continuous bombing has made living miserable for the people. These problems will increase in the future too, as it is difficult to say for how long the bombings will continue. Israel has also stopped provisions for food, water and medicines in the Gaza Strip.
Under these conditions, Palestinians might migrate in big numbers. They have the option of migrating to only one country, Egypt. Israel is one side that will not allow them to come, and on the other side, there is the sea―a path that is the Rafah Border Crossing of Egypt. Israel shares a good relationship with Egypt, and the US might want them to settle in Egypt. The US and the Arab nations might provide funds for this. Palestinians are settled across the world and they will settle in Egypt too. Hamas has given an opportunity to Israel, and it has now become easier for Israel to remove these Palestinians. We can say that Hamas has risked the lives of the entire 23 lakh people of Gaza.
The Right-wing government of Israel has a clear mandate of occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem. They believe that 3,000-4,000 years ago their prophet and kings had ruled here. This place is the biblical land for them from where their people were later expelled by the Romans and the Arabs. For this reason, they have always expressed their desire to come back to their land. East Jerusalem has a number of places that hold religious significance for them. This is the same place where the Al-Aqsa mosque is located, and the Muslim community considers it the third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina. Similarly, Israel believes that the West Bank is the biblical land where their prophets and kings had lived. Israel believes that both the East and West have merged, so they do not accept the partition of Jerusalem. Israel considers Jerusalem as the capital of “United Israel”. Although they do not consider the Gaza Strip to be a biblical land, they consider it to be very important from the security point of view.
Israel plans to annex both East Jerusalem and the West Bank. For Israelis, it is such a religious issue that all parties within Israel, whether liberal or Right-wing, are all together. The Labour Party had started the settlement policy of Israelis in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, when this area was under their possession. On the other end, Palestinians living there believe that if this happens, they will become slaves to Israel and will be used as cheap labour.
The condition of Palestinians has never been good. Palestinians have been suffering in Jerusalem for a long time. Every day, their people are being killed inside their houses. Isralies entered their Al-Aqsa mosque wearing their shoes. Muslims were not allowed to perform namaz. They used to spit on them. They also used to spit on Christians standing near the church. The situation of Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem has not been good for a long time. After the attack on Hamas, these issues have suppressed.
Israel is talking about two things. On one hand, it wants to connect the West Bank and Jerusalem to Greater Israel. On the other, it mentions the danger it faces from Iran. It says that Iran has constructed a ring of fire around it―like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shia militias in Iraq and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Israel says these militant groups are being supported by Iran. Israel’s fight with Iran is also due to Iran’s nuclear programme, which it wants to destroy.
The US has always openly expressed its closeness to Israel. America has already increased its forces in the Persian Gulf. USA considers Israel its most trusted ally, and it feels that the military supremacy of Israel should prevail in this entire region. Israel, in return, tries to strengthen the American trust. Israel had weakened Arab nationalism by fighting in the 1967 war and has continued its attacks ever since. This ended Arab nationalism and led to the rise of Islamic militants.
Dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme means that Iran’s infrastructure will collapse. If Iran weakens, then these countries, which are promoting the anti-Israeli policy, will also become weak. Along with it, Iran will discontinue its support to Russia. Now it remains to be seen if Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear programme. If so, then Iran will also retaliate since it is also powerful. The fight that Hamas has begun might extend till Iran. But will Israel extend its war? If that happens, the war will spread across many regions.
(As told to Md Asghar Khan; translated by Kaveri Mishra)
