Events in Palestine over the last few months haven???t received the kind of attention they should have. Since March 30, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have protested along the border with Israel asking for their right to return to their original homeland. Dubbed as the ???Great March of Return???, the goal was to demonstrate Palestinian refugees??? right of return based on United Nations Resolution 194 adopted in December 1948. The peaceful demonstrations were meant to last for six weeks culminating with the commemoration of the 70th year since the Nakba on May 15.
Nakba refers to the 1948 Palestinian exodus when more than 700,000 fled or were expelled from their homes during the Palestine war. Thus the Great March of Return was imbued with a strong sense of history and injustice for the Palestinians. However, unlike the peaceful disposition of the protesters, Israeli soldiers responded to the demonstrations with shockingly disproportionate force. Citing a perceived threat to the Gaza-Israel border, Israeli soldiers used live fire against the Palestinian protesters. At least 111 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,700 injured due to the actions of the Israeli forces. The greatest number of casualties took place on May 14 ??? 60 killed and 2,771injured ??? when demonstrators had gathered in large numbers to protest against the ceremony marking the relocation of the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem on the same day.
Since that bloody day, Palestinian protests have continued in smaller numbers but there has been no let-up in Israeli strong-arm tactics. This week Palestinian militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad unleashed the largest barrage of rocket attacks on Israeli positions since the war between the two sides in 2014. This can???t be condoned. But neither can Israeli shooting of defenceless Palestinians.
As I have said before in my articles, the Palestine issue is a mother conflict. From it stems Islamist radicalism and the distrust between the Muslim world and the West. Unless this is resolved, Islamist radical groups will continue to find ideological sustenance and the embers of conflict between the Muslim world and the West will continue to burn. And the only answer lies in the Two State solution that envisages an independent Israel and an independent Palestine living together side by side.
Yet today world leaders are reneging from the Two State formula. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu only speaks of Israel???s sovereignty and security, caring little for what happens to stateless Palestinians. Jewish settlements have continued to expand in the West Bank while East Jerusalem — expected to be the capital of a future Palestine state — experiences systematic Judaisation. In fact, even the leaders of some Muslim nations like Saudi Arabia have been dithering in their unequivocal support for the Two State solution. This is truly unfortunate.
The international community must deliberate seriously about the fate of the Palestinians. In this regard, it should follow the counsel of countries such as Morocco. The latter???s monarch King Mohammed VI, as the chairman of the Al Quds committee of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, has steadfastly supported the Palestinian cause. In fact, this week King Mohammed himself supervised the delivery of food — 113 tonnes in weight — and medical aid to Palestinians. The humanitarian assistance also included the setting up of a field hospital in Gaza to treat victims of recent Israeli attacks. The field hospital will have several modules and specialities with a staff of 97 members, including 13 doctors and 21 nurses.
This is the kind of support Palestinians need today. Whereas an erosion of the movement for a Two State solution will be a grave injustice for the Palestinian people who have already suffered for 70 years. Morocco and King Mohammed have shown the way. The international community must now follow suit and stand by the Palestinian people.
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