• Smt. Sonia Gandhi

No one can justify the barbaric attacks by Hamas on innocent men, women and children in Israel on October 7, 2023, or the continued hostage-taking of Israeli people thereafter. This must be condemned consistently and unconditionally. At the same time, as human beings, it is our responsibility to accept that the Israeli government’s response to the people of Gaza is not only extremely violent, but it is also completely criminal. He further wrote that in the last two years, more than 55 thousand Palestinian civilians have been killed, including 17 thousand children alone. Most of the residential buildings in Gaza were deliberately targeted. They were completely razed to the ground through continuous aerial bombardment. Hospitals were also targeted. The social structure of Gaza has completely collapsed. The destructive incidents since October 2023 have been extremely disturbing. The situation there has become even more heartbreaking in recent months. We have seen how humanitarian aid has also been weaponized under brutal strategy. The Israeli Defense Forces have imposed a military blockade of Gaza, which has disrupted the supply of medicines, food and fuel. The wanton destruction of infrastructure and the massacre of the civilian population has led to a man-made tragedy. The blockade has made it even more dangerous. The strategy of forcing people to die of starvation is a crime against humanity. Amidst this devastation, Israel has either outright rejected or blocked humanitarian aid from the United Nations as well as many other global organizations. Disregarding every idea of humanity, Israeli soldiers have ruthlessly fired on people who were trying to gather food for their families. The United Nations has expressed serious concern over this. The Israeli Defense Forces have also had to accept this truth.

Nearly all expert assessments of Israel’s military occupation of Gaza are that it is a campaign with genocidal effects aimed at the total elimination of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Its scale and consequences are reminiscent of the Nakba tragedy of 1948, when Palestinians were displaced from their homes. This atrocity is being carried out to serve some of the most nefarious purposes, ranging from a colonial mindset to the selfish interests of some greedy real estate tycoons. Unfortunately, the Gaza crisis has exposed one of the most serious weaknesses in the global system. UN General Assembly resolutions demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza were completely ignored. The Security Council has failed to impose sanctions on the Israeli government for its attacks on civilians and the large-scale destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure. The International Court of Justice’s order on January 26, 2024, directed Israel to stop acts of genocide and ensure the delivery of essential services and humanitarian aid to civilians was also ignored. The overt and covert support from the US not only encouraged Israel to carry out these actions but also made them possible. With international laws and institutions virtually defunct, the battle to protect the interests of the people of Gaza has now fallen on other countries.

South Africa took the bold step of taking Israel to the International Court of Justice and now Brazil has joined the effort. France has decided to recognise the Palestinian state and countries like Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on Israeli leaders who have promoted aggression in Gaza. Voices of protest are growing within Israel itself. One of its former Prime Ministers has admitted the reality of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Amidst the rising global consciousness about this humanitarian crisis, it is a matter of national shame that India has remained a mute spectator to this affront to humanity.

India has been a symbol of global justice. It inspired global movements against colonialism, raised its voice against imperialist domination during the Cold War and led the international struggle against racialized South Africa. India’s aberration from its values at a time when innocent human beings are being brutally massacred is a blot on national conscience, a disregard of our historical contribution and also a betrayal of our constitutional values. The Directive Principles of State Policy require the government to take effective steps to “promote international peace and security, maintain just relations among nations and respect for international law and treaty duties”. Israel’s disregard for international law, human rights and basic concepts of justice and our present government’s moral cowardice in the face of the same is tantamount to a dereliction of duty towards our constitutional values.

India has always been a supporter of a two-nation solution and a just peace between Israel and Palestine. In 1974, under Indira Gandhi’s leadership, India became the first non-Arab country to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In 1988, India was among the first countries to officially recognise Palestine.

Prime Minister Modi’s shameful silence on the relentless atrocities being committed by Israel on the people of Gaza is extremely disappointing. It is the height of moral cowardice. Now the time has come for him to raise his voice in clear and bold words on behalf of the legacy that India has always represented. Today, the Global South is once again waiting for India’s leadership on this issue that shakes the collective conscience of the entire humanity.

(The author is the President of the Congress Parliamentary Party)

Courtesy: Dainik Jagran