Rabat - This summer, the poor and embattled inhabitants of Gaza have to endure hardships and heat from three factors: fasting Ramadan in the oppressive heat of the summer, to comply with one of the five pillars of Islam, the sweltering and humid heat of a Mediterranean summer and the fire and molten led showered onto them by the warplanes of the Tsahal.
However, sadly, unlike in the past, where the whole world sided with them in sympathy, this time, the very same world is occupied by such mundane things as the World Cup in Brazil, or the emergence of the ridiculous Da3esh/ISIS state in Syria and Iraq and the interminable Ukranian crisis, not to forget of course the specter Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Apart from Yemen, that staged a monster demonstration in support of Gaza and Hamas, the rest of the Arab world, enfeebled by the Arab spring, which will hardly pay the accustomed lip service to the Palestinian cause, is totally absent from the scene. So Israel, in the name of the sacrosanct self-defence can kill at will, and it is doing it with no qualms. So far over 2,200 Palestinians paid with their lives the new tension escalation and mini war in the region.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel even came up with a ridiculous argument to justify the collective punishment of the Gazans. Hamas is the one to blame, and doubly, for the plight of the people of Gaza, for not only it attacks Israel with its missiles and, as such, triggers a strong response, but it also puts its weaponry in the middle of the population, a situation that explains the high civilian casualty : collateral damage.
In this ridiculous serialized war, Hamas is no angel either, they insist grossly on the destruction of Israel, a solution which is not only ridiculous but basically impossible. Is such a stance a negotiating chip or a deeply-engrained idelogical principle: let us hope it is the former?
Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi’s ISIS declared recently, according to CNN, in a twit that it will not fight Israel because the Quran does not make any mention of such a thing but the Shiites. Such a stance is rather odd, because Islamists of all denominations make out of the obliteration of the "Zionist entity," a religious duty. However, this attitude gives credence to the statement made by the infamous former NSA employee Edward Snowden, who argues that the new Caliph Al- Baghdadi was trained, for a whole year, by Mossad, in response to a request made by the US, England and Israel, and hat ISIS was created by theses countries.
Recent news state the ISIS is installing dormant cells in Gaza and that there were clash between members of these cells and Hamas militants. Does it mean that IS people in Gaza are waiting for the propitious time to take control of this strip and maybe launch negotiations with Israel? Will this new episode of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza weaken Hamas and allow IS sympathizers to take control or maybe make Hamas change its attitude towards Israel and drop its allegiance to Iran ? Any such developments would bring poor Mahmoud Abbas, into play onstage after many years of a standing by status, to the point that many people forgot who he was.
If this wild hypothesis is proven true, by what happens in the near future, then the rise of IS to prominence would be, after all, for a good cause : bring peace to the region and free Gazans, at long last, from their open sky prison and put an end to their over half-century of pain and suffering. If not, then this is yet anther instalement of the absurd and unnecessary serialized war that inflicts more suffering on both Palestinians and Israelis alike.
Is peace at hand? Everyone hopes so
The recent unfortunate death of the Jerusalemite 16 year old Mohammed at the hands of Israeli extremists in revenge for the unfortunate and yet despicable murdering of three Israeli adolescents has triggered feelings of compassion on both sides. This collective show of sympathy by Palestinians and Israelis sends an urgent message to the politicians : stop bickering, people want peace.
Indeed, world telivisions showed footage of Israeli peace-loving citizens travelling by busloads to Shuafat area in East Jerusalem, to present heir condolences to the Abu Kheider family of the burned to death poor Mohammed, and the family greeted them with much respect and appreciation.
Even the politicians joined the fray, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented condolences publicly to the afflicted family and condemned the act. Likewise, President Shimon Peres expressed sympathy and offered to visit the family, that turned down politely the offer, for obvious reasons. Maybe the politicans are realizing that both sides wants peace and are making efforts to join the bandwagon, before it is too late for them.
Now, even in the heat of the war between Hamas and Israel, Netyahu asked if he would punish further Gaza by cutting water and electricity and food supplies in retaliation, refused such a move. It must be pointed out forcefully that in situations of extreme war like this one, that ideas for peace are born. Let us hope that this bout of war between the two blligerents, is the very last one.
Peace is needed now, more than ever. Hamas has proved itself in the many wars that it went through with Israel, no need to endure more pain. A peace with the Palestinians will free Israel from world stigmatization and open the door of the region for its economy. Peace is a win-win for both sides. Will they have the courage to make such a bold decision, away from any narrow nationalistic pride ? Only time will tell.
The opening of a recent tram line between East and West Jerusalem, showed, beyond any doubt, that peace brings trust, which in turn brings prosperity to all. Riding the tram of peace and brotherhood of men, showed that Jerusalemites were respectful of each other no matter what their creed was. Indeed, male Palestinans riding the tram offered their seats to Israeli women with kids and to old religious folks and the same was done, with much satisfaction, by the Israelis
The folks on this tram line need each other badly, and they are the only people who can spawn peace, a lasting one, too, in this troubled area. They have shown on this train that they can respect each other, and most importantly live with each other in peace.
Will the politicians of both sides heed this important message or continue to walk the trail of warmongering? All in all, the peace of the brave is at hand.
Moshe Simchovitch, a 69-year-old Jerusalem pensioner, who, according to Times of Israel, has paid for an obituary of Mohammed Abu Kheider in the Arab widely-circulating daily Al-Quds, says, with much determination: "We must let go the trigger and press down on the pedal of peace." This is the hope nurtured by many Palestinians and Israelis alike, and all peace-loving people around the world. Will it materialize?
Photo: Mohamed Salem/Reuters
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy
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