Children of a lesser god

Fear of being killed or orphaned shouldn’t haunt any child. No child should cry thinking that death could knock on their door any moment.

Sadly, this is true for many Palestinian children in Gaza who have been witnessing bombardment, death and destruction at an unprecedented scale over the past two weeks.

The apathy of the international community, particularly the US and Europe, to the misery of the Palestinians has shattered all fundamental standards of humanity.

With more than 200 Palestinians killed, including 65 children, and scores others injured, one wonders why the champions of international human rights utter no word of condemnation against Israel and are quick to reiterate their support for Israel’s right to self defence and security. After all, isn’t universality the core principle of international human rights law?

Backing the right to defence of a country with the most advanced air defence systems specifically designed to stop short range rockets and artillery, while denouncing Palestinians, with their archaic retaliatory machinery, for firing rockets in response to an infringement of their right to life, security, freedom of religion, right to own property, right to defend themselves and right to bodily integrity is a blow to the international legal standards oft flaunted by these states.

The current wave of bloodshed in Gaza commenced on May 8 after about six Palestinian families faced eviction in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in what the Israelis called an effort to reclaim their ancestral land.

Following this, Israeli police raided the Al Aqsa Mosque in the final nights of Ramazan, attacking and injuring worshippers who were praying in utmost devotion to seek God’s mercy and reap the rewards of the night of power.

This led to a reaction from the Palestinian side, with Hamas firing several rockets into Israel that the Iron Dome failed to detonate.

The response from the other side is self-evident,, with Israel hell bent on teaching the Palestinians a lesson. ‘Precision strikes’ targeting homes, high-rise residential buildings, ambulance stations, maternal and childcare centres and the only Covid testing laboratory have since become the norm leading to the daily burial of children and families under rubbles amidst an overburdened healthcare system.

This grave violation of human rights, particularly the rights of Palestinian children has only received subtle and conditional condemnation from the West, beginning with a reiteration of unequivocal support for Israel’s right to self defence. Without naming and penalising the aggressor, calls for a ceasefire on both sides are not only an insult to the sentiments of Palestinians but also a deathblow to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter of the UN. It also lays bare the double standards of the liberal West towards Muslims and exposes their deeply entrenched hatred for Muslims.

If Iraq could face UN sanctions for invading Kuwait, sanctions that literally sent its people into starvation and children into malnutrition, why can’t Israel be accorded somewhat similar treatment?

The answers are clear, disturbing and deserve contemplation. We live in a world where power defines human worth. Where children are first identified by their status and then considered children, in stark contrast to the principles of the Convention on Rights of the Child which emphasises that children should be seen as children first.

The writer is a human rights activist and expert on women and children’s rights.