Shift in policy

Both the Iron Dome and America have once again proved their worth to Israel: the former shielded it from rocket barrages and the latter, as always, from the ensuing political and economic fallouts. The occupying power yet again acted with impunity, despite the outcry over its human rights violations in the besieged Gaza Strip and Jerusalem.

Israel’s Western allies as usual stood steadfast, reaffirming their unflinching support to the Zionist state’s ‘right to defend’, while turning a blind eye to the plight of Palestinians who braved massive losses of life and property in the latest conflagration, including the lives of 66 children.

However, protests in Western cities, particularly in New York and London, and widespread criticism of Israel’s actions on social media – a relatively new and encouraging phenomenon witnessed this time around – has generated a sliver of hope. It may herald a turning point in seeking justice for the Palestinians, as there are indications of somewhat of a shift in US public opinion.

Israel always seeks to silence the outcry against its Zionist and apartheid moves under the guise of anti-Semitism. This time too Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded the censure of its disproportionate actions in Gaza, the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and crackdown on protests against expulsion of Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Al-Jarah neighbourhood as anti-Semitism.

But such bizarre assertions did not sell as well as they used to in the past. Though mainstream media in the West largely downplayed the Palestinian narrative, social media filled this gap. Mainstream media in the Muslim world, especially Turkey’s TRT news channel and Qatar’s Al-Jazeera played a remarkable job by broadcasting real time situation on the ground, apparently foiling Israel’s attempts to play the victim.

Pakistan and Turkey’s encouraging moves to sensitise the international community about Palestinians’ plight at the United Nations General Assembly and its considerable media coverage and in the West, celebrities and Black Lives Matter’s support for the Palestinians apparently served as a catalyst in securing a truce between Israel and Hamas.

It proves the point that if public opinion in the US and Europe is swayed, it will become hard for Israel’s allies to continue to disregard the Palestine issue. This is possible only through effectively drawing attention to Israeli war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories. A movement on the pattern of the BLM can be a fitting start to confront Israel’s deceptive narrative in the West, through drawing attention towards the root causes of the conflict.

The UN Human Rights Council has vowed to go ahead with a probe into violations in the recent Gaza conflict and into systematic abuses in Palestinian territories and inside Israel. UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet says Israel’s assaults on the besieged Gaza Strip may constitute war crimes. The International Criminal Court (ICC) also currently has a live probe into the situation in Palestine.

It is necessary to maintain this momentum to force Israel to refrain from grabbing more Palestinian land for settlements and force the Zionist state and its backers to take meaningful steps for a two-state solution to this decades’ old issue.

However, it needs to be certain that criticism of Israel’s abuses steers clear of anti-Semitism, as it would spoil the whole effort. It is true that Israel attempts to brand every condemnation of its actions as anti-Semitism, so it needs to be dealt with pragmatically. There should be unequivocal condemnation of hate crimes against Jews anywhere in the world.

A shift in US policy towards Israel is imperative to move ahead on the path of sustainable peace in the Middle East and for an end to the miseries of the Palestinians. This can only be achieved through a change in public opinion, as well as building a united front by the Muslim Ummah in favour of Palestinians at the UN and other international forums. Furthermore, the rejuvenation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation can act as a potent tool to fight Palestinians’ case at the world stage.

The writer is news editor on the London desk, The News.

Email: khurram.mateen@gmail.com