Israel-Palestinean Conflict /
On Sunday, 16 May 2021 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for an immediate end to all violence and warned that the Israel-Palestine conflict will lead the region into an “uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis”.
“Fighting must stop. It must stop immediately,” He said.
“The current violence in Gaza & Israel only perpetuates the cycles of death, destruction & despair, and pushes farther to the horizon any hopes of coexistence & peace. The UN is actively engaging all sides towards an immediate ceasefire.” U N Secretary-General tweeted.
The virtual UN Council Meeting was attended by several Foreign Ministers and ambassadors of various nations.
The Secretary-General cautioned:
“This senseless cycle of bloodshed, terror and destruction must stop immediately.”
“It has the potential to unleash an uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis and to further foster extremism, not only in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, but in the region as a whole, potentially creating a new locus of dangerous instability.”
On 10 May 2021, the Gaza Strip witnessed the most war-like military attacks unleashed by fire rockets killing 20 people and many children, wounded more than 70 by the Israeli forces in retaliation.
Earlier, Israel celebrated “Jerusalem Day” marking its victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, violence was unleashed at Al Aqsa Mosque, injuring many in clashes with police who fired rubber bullets, grenades and teargas in the precincts of the holy mosque.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the Jewish state would respond with force.
The UN Security Council held an urgent meeting and all members expressed concern but the stand taken by the US kept the Council without releasing any immediate statement.
Gaza was ablaze all these days as aerial bombings by Israeli forces continued amidst hundreds of rockets fired by the Hamas across the border.
Israel has built its troops on the borders of Gaza resembling a war like situation in the area.
Amid increasing bloodshed and violence, the UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet appealed for a de-escalation of tensions in the region.
“There can be no winner, no sustainable peace resulting from the furtherance of cycle of violence. I urge all sides – and States with influence – to take immediate measures to ensure respect for international law, ease tensions, and work to resolve – rather than fan – the conflict.”
India also called for the immediate de-escalation of the situation in the UN Security Council meeting.
The indiscriminate rocket firings and the air strikes have caused immense sufferings and killed 149 people in Gaza, 10 in Israel including many innocent children and severely wounded more than 1200 people.
The Israel-Palestinian conflict has been referred to as the world’s most “intractable conflict” and various peace processes were made to resolve the conflict, but only bloodshed and violence were seen in the history.
Many Public declarations such as the First Zionist Congress of 1897 and the 1917 Balfour Declaration created tensions in the region in earlier days.
After World War II, Britain decided to refer the Palestine conflict to the newly formed United Nations.
The UN proposed a plan to form “an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State and the City of Jerusalem under an International Trusteeship System.”
Though the Plan envisaged to address the conflicting objectives and called for economic union between the proposed states, Arab leaders rejected this as it violated the principles of national self determination of the UN Charter which granted people the right to decide their own destiny. The Partition Plan was rejected and later civil war broke out.
Series of widespread violence and killings broke out and later on 14 May 1948 Jewish People’s Council declared the establishment of a Jewish state, Israel. Later the conflict became wider during the 1947-49 Palestine war after the formation of Israel.
The 1967 Six-Day war and the Oslo Accords and thereafter many Summits like Camp David 2000 were initiated peace proposals before Israel and Palestinians.
The Palestinian Declaration of Independence on 15 November 1988 and the government in exile were part of the history.
Now the conflict has reached such a level that all agreements and accords now stand at the crossroads of bloodshed and war-like scenarios leading to miseries, cleansing human life and destruction.
According to UN Study, as of 25 October 2020 there were 5,587 Palestinian and 249 Israeli fatalities since 1 January 2008.
Also there are studies that nearly 14500 were killed during the conflict between 1948 and 2009.
Shall the bloodbath and violence in the west Asian region stop?
Another accord will once again come up in the coming days?
