Perhaps Palestine is a dead issue already. There is defeatism writ large in whatever shade of opinion is expressed from the supporters of Palestinians
Gaza. 2014. 200 deaths. There is a sense of déjà vu; too many similarities with 2012 and 2008 and so on. But there are differences too. Of late, the stones and bricks have been replaced with rockets though their capacity to inflict harm on the Israelis is roughly the same. The media coverage across the board is shamelessly and disproportionately in favour of Israel. The contentment displayed on the Israeli side over the civilian deaths of Palestinians is more reassuring than ever.
If it weren’t for the social media posts of brutalised Israeli teenagers, one would have thought this one-sided conflict has already been won by them. Perhaps it is.
Perhaps Palestine is a dead issue already. If one were to ignore it as the primordial fight between good and evil and stop rejoicing in the Palestinian struggle, perhaps it is a lost cause. Just look at the fine print. There is defeatism writ large in whatever shade of opinion is expressed from the supporters of Palestinians.
The region that has been the proud host, the back-stabber, the initiator of ceasefires and peace accords at various times is all in disarray. There is not a single country left in the region which unconditionally supports the Palestinians. The Arab Spring destroyed any sense of hope that was left for them.
The Americans have spoken their mind, if there still were people willing to lend them ears. The American Middle East policy is said to have spiralled out of their control and is now seen as an abject failure, especially in Iraq and Syria -- two of Palestinian biggest supporters.
Hamas is said to be the biggest culprit that revels in its own dead bodies. It fires ineffective rockets into Israeli territories and invites Israel’s wrath that comes in the shape of deadly missiles that kill innocent people. That’s how some people look at it. While others say Israel won’t risk annihilating Hamas because the alternative they would get might be a lot more radical. And yet they use the doctrine of collective punishment with impunity.
There will be another ceasefire soon and the larger question of occupation will once again be brushed under the carpet. Till the next time the conflict erupts, this ideological battle continues to be fought.