Gaza’s welcome humanitarian pause

It was a welcome move by Prime Minister Netanyahu to agree to a four-day pause in the fighting so as to get in exchange some of the hostages captured from Israel by Hamas on October 7. Three of his Cabinet colleagues disagreed, and it may be argued that much of the problems that Israel is facing is the consequence of the inflexible “Single State” solution that the three evidently espouse. A stance that would deny Palestinians the right to their own state, living peacefully side by side with Israel. There are of course Palestinians who also believe in a “Single State” solution, except that their view is that it is Israel that ought not to exist. Hamas has carried such logic to an extreme not seen since the 1940s in parts of Europe, that not just Israel but the Jewish people as such have no right to exist. Memories return of Kashmir in the early 1990s, when a peaceful community, the Kashmiri Pandits, were subjected to cruel persecutions so as to get them to leave their ancestral homeland. A cloak of secrecy was allowed to descend on such an atrocity that has only been lifting during the past few years. Histories need to be truthfully told, in case past horrors are to be avoided in the future. It is unfortunate that so many efforts to convey such truth, including cinematically, have been treated with derision by those who appear to be ignorant of the happenings of the early 1990s in Kashmir. Those who used to visit the Valley during that period saw for themselves how a small group of fanatics indulging in ethnic cleansing terrorised the state to such an extent that very soon, several within the majority community in the Valley turned against them, such that in the final years of that decade, much of the fighting going on in that beautiful part of India was between fanatics (many from outside Kashmir) who had been sent or inspired by GHQ Rawalpindi and Kashmiri Muslims, both Shia and Sunni, who wanted them out of what was in the past considered a paradise. Only in recent years has Kashmir once again become largely peaceful, such that tourists are once again coming to the Union Territory in large numbers.
What is needed is for Palestine and Israel to enter into an era of peace, with both existing in peace with each other, as was envisaged by the 1948 settlement that established two separate states, including the State of Israel. After what took place in Europe during the Hitler era, and in a less deadly way for more than a thousand years, the Jewish people have the right of return to their ancient homeland, just as the Palestinians have the right to have a country that is independent, and where the government has the authority and the freedom needed to make Palestine as prosperous as the UAE or Qatar are. In exchange, the Palestinian Authority needs to ensure that violence against Israel by Palestinian “Single State” proponents is held in check. By now, it ought to be evident to every Palestinian that recourse to force has invariably resulted in a diminution of the territory administered by the PA. At the same time, Israel needs to ensure that the annexation of land by far-right citizens of Israel in the West Bank needs to be reversed. Just as he ignored the hardliners in the Cabinet and went ahead with the implementation of a humanitarian pause designed to exchange prisoners from both sides, Prime Minister Netanyahu needs to call out such settlers and ensure their return. Self-respect is important, and that of the Palestinian Authority needs to be safeguarded by Israel for its own security. Violence begets violence, as Hamas now knows to its cost. Removing the military wing of Hamas is essential in restoring peace to Gaza, and this work needs to continue together with looking after the needs of the civilian population of the strip. Should Netanyahu drag his feet on such a change in attitude, it will only be a matter of time before a terror organisation as toxic as Hamas comes up in both Gaza and the West Bank. Mutual respect for each other is essential for both Palestine and Israel.
MDN