The Palestine question

Since October 7, 2023, Palestinians in Gaza have faced indescribable brutality. The genocide that was livestreamed on our phones and TV screens will forever be remembered as the failure of humanity. Superpowers and rich nations stood by while their ally, Israel, went on with its killing spree. Last month brought some relief for people in Gaza as Israel agreed to a ceasefire, albeit fragile. The ‘peace plan’ includes a US-coordinated international stabilisation force to be on the ground in Gaza. Now, the US has called on the UN Security Council to officially back its draft resolution aimed at bolstering US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, warning that Palestinians could suffer “grave consequences” if it does not. The UNSC will vote on the US-sponsored draft resolution authorising an international stabilisation force (ISF) for Gaza tomorrow (Monday). When the peace plan was initially announced, almost all countries welcomed it. Pakistan was also on the front, praising Trump’s diplomacy. But a month has passed and there is no clarity on what the plan means.

In recent days, this unease has become more apparent, with countries like Jordan declining to send troops. Others have also said that they do not want to become a B-team of the Israeli military. The idea of collecting militaries from around the world and sending them into Gaza is ridiculous. What the US conveniently fails to recognise is that the Israel-Palestine conflict is a fight between an occupier and the occupied. No international law or peace plan can convince an independent nation to fight and discipline the occupied. The last two years have shown how brutal Israel is when it comes to the Palestinians. Unlawful detention, secrecy regarding detainees and killing unarmed civilians have unfortunately become a sport for a nation that has gone rogue. In that case, if the Palestinians have decided to fight back, no law allows people from other independent countries to go and rein them in. Since the ceasefire’s implementation, Israel has killed at least 240 Palestinians. It is perhaps time for the US to rethink who the real ‘troublemaker’ is and who it is that needs to be restrained.

At this point, more than any armed conflict, what Gaza needs is reconstruction and the rehabilitation of its people. There should be a way for the safe return of those who left on medical grounds. ‘Discipling’ resistance groups is not any country’s job, and it is a relief to see that most countries that remained silent when Israel was carrying out its assault on Gaza are at least speaking against the proposal of a peacekeeping force that acts as Israel’s B-team. Reducing Palestinians’ justified struggle for freedom to any act of terror that needs reprimanding from the entire world is both callous and manipulative. The future of Palestine should be in the hands of the Palestinians, and while countries can play a big role in helping Palestine negotiate with Israel, they should not, under any circumstances, agree to go inside the Gaza enclave to do the Zionist entity’s dirty work.