Israel-Hamas war: Gaza in crisis over prolonged conflict, ceasefire dilemma and shifting objectives

Nearly six weeks of continuous bombardment over Gaza killing nearly 11,000 Palestinians and the determined chase of the Hamas terrorists by the resolute Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and continued detention of over 240 hostages by the Hamas, despite negotiations by Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, has remained bloody and uncertain with the world being divided on what to do next. Two UNGA resolutions floated by the Arab countries supported by China and Russia against the US-backed Israel are a testament to that vertical division. Even though Israel has agreed to some pauses for enabling passage of beleaguered Palestinians from North to South of Gaza to save their lives and for allowing the entry of humanitarian aid and relief supplies, which are being reported inadequate. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to budge on the issue of ceasefire despite international pressure as he feels that doing so will be rewarding Hamas, which he has embarked on to destroy for good. He has outlawed the ceasefire until all Israeli and foreign hostages are unconditionally released. Slowly and surely the IDF, in its ground offensive, is tunnelling its way through and has taken hits itself as this kind of street-to-street and house-to-house battle is possibly the most difficult when the professional forces fight in guerilla warfare. It can be safely presumed that Hamas knew quite well the intensity of the Israeli response going by the previous wars even though this is turning out to be worse for both sides. Collateral damage is crossing all proportions even as the fake news and grey zone warfare are in full swing. Question is what happens to Gaza and then what about the Palestinian issue that is at the root of it all? Prime Minister Netanyahu has been changing his objectives for the day after and there is no sync between him and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who did not want to hold on to Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu wanted to control Gaza and to ensure the IDF security framework and ‘overall security responsibility’ there, which President Joe Biden and his administration have been opposing from the very beginning despite their unstinted support to him to carry out the war to weed out Hamas. Gaza should be governed by “those who don’t want to continue the way of Hamas", Netanyahu claimed, further adding, “I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, will have the overall security responsibility because we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have it.” He tried to rectify that position in the following days as the opposition to the presaged occupation yet again will not be palatable to his western backers as well as several Arab leaders who were internally pleased with the removal of Hamas from the political landscape as they also fear that increasing popularity of Hamas and its methods are a cause of concern for the regional security as well. President Biden has his domestic and regional compulsions in an election run but is coming under increasing pressure to force a ceasefire, especially from his western allies as well as the Arab constituency and the Global South in general who hold the US singularly responsible for the ongoing atrocities on innocent Palestinians. The way the ever-increasing protests in the western capitals are going on shows Biden and others will have to factor not only the Jewish lobbies but the Arab lobbies as well in which his ratings have fallen significantly. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his shuttle diplomacy and meetings with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority and other leaders in the region is working on the ‘day after’ the war about the shape of things to come. As such credibility of Abbas is pretty low and for that Prime Minister Netanyahu is no less responsible as he is to have enhanced the heft of Hamas over the years to counter the Fatah according to Israeli experts. Whether Abbas will be able to control and govern Gaza as well, without being validated by fresh elections, is a moot point. Most would doubt that. After the France-led conference on the ongoing conflict and humanitarian issues for Gaza, the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit, which concluded in Riyadh on 11 November condemned the Israeli aggression and maintained that a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, which is a strategic option, is the only way to establish security and stability for all peoples of the region and protect them from cycles of violence and wars. This, we stress, will not be achieved without ending the Israeli occupation and resolving the Palestinian cause on the basis of the two-state solution. They further added “We hold Israel, the occupying force, responsible for the continuation and aggravation of the conflict, which is the result of its violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, and of the Islamic and Christian sanctities. This is also the result of its systematic aggressive policies and practices, its illegal unilateral steps that perpetuate the occupation, violate international law, and prevent the realization of a just and comprehensive peace.” They demanded an immediate ceasefire rejecting the retaliatory strikes and war by Israel for self-defence. They also criticised and called out the double standards of the international actors and multilateral organisations in the implementation of international law in this case. Even though many Arab countries including Saudi Arabia and UAE did not support the provision on completely rupturing ties, especially those of the Abraham Accords group, with Israel as demanded by some countries like Iran, they have come under tremendous stress of their own streets and may not be able to push too far unless the ceasefire and access to humanitarian supplies ensues at the earliest. At the joint OIC and Arab League Summit they demanded resumption of the peace process while reiterating that ‘The precondition for peace with Israel and the establishment of normal relations rests on ending its occupation of all Palestinian and Arab territories.’ It also includes establishing an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state based on the 4 June, 1967, borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, restoring the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, return and compensation for Palestinian refugees, resolving their issue justly per UN General Assembly Resolution 194 of 1948. Much water has flown down the Jordan River to the Mediterranean and how all this will be achieved is an uphill if not an impossible task and what will be the eventual contours of the ‘Two-state Solution’, is anybody’s guess even if a peace-loving leader replaced Prime Minister Netanyahu. For the time being priority of the international community remains the ceasefire and unimpeded assistance to the Palestinians in Gaza. Meanwhile, pressure is being exerted even at the UNGA since the UNSC is blocked and paralysed by its own veto mechanism. The recent second UNGA resolution condemned Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, Al Aqsa East Jerusalem and Syrian Golan Heights. India and Japan also voted in favour which was approved by 145 countries as against seven opposing it. On an earlier resolution India, taking a principled stand, had abstained since it did not mention the perpetration of terror acts by Hamas. UNGA resolutions may not have the enforceability but they surely indicate the writing on the wall. Perhaps the only good thing apart from the decimating of Hamas, that may come out of it could be the resumption of the process for a negotiated solution to the Palestinian issue even after 75 years. The author is the former Indian Ambassador to Jordan, Libya and Malta and is currently a Distinguished Fellow with Vivekananda International Foundation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .