Punish terror groups, but spare the civilians
While condemning Hamas’ attack on Israel, the larger issue of Palestinian aspirations including statehood, should not be overlooked
The Middle East is in turmoil again — this time in Israel and Palestine. The sheer audacity of the attack by Hamas and the fact that it caught Israel by surprise have shocked the world. The Hamas attack has all the hallmarks of a terrorist strike. Nothing can justify such terror. But equally, we should make a clear distinction between these attacks and the larger issue of Palestine and its statehood.
I was India’s first Representative to the Palestinian Authority and reached Gaza in 1996 to set up our first mission. This came soon after the famous 1993 Oslo Accords. I lived in Gaza for two years. I was welcomed very warmly since the Palestinians deeply appreciated that I had come to live in their midst in Gaza. Their life was difficult, to say the least. They lived, packed like sardines, in refugee camps in the most densely populated area in the world. Their life was a daily struggle since their livelihood depended on whether the border with Israel was closed or open. And the Israelis could open or close it like a tap. Sometimes I used to wonder what sort of future they looked forward to, especially their children who grew up brutalised by their experience. Though it was a non-family station (and I was also a vegetarian!), the rapport I had with President Yasser Arafat and others and the friendship I forged with Palestinians (with my knowledge of the Arabic language) helped me to understand their plight.
President Arafat always recalled the strong support of India, especially by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. There was optimism and hope that the seeds for a Palestinian State had been truly sown by the Oslo Accords and it was only a matter of time before this would be realised. Little did one imagine that we would reach such a pass three decades after Oslo. So what happened now?
Discussion on what went wrong is not a justification for terror. It is an essential part of finding a solution. The most obvious thing which went wrong was that the Palestinian issue was being ignored and relegated to the sidelines by the international community, especially the Gulf countries. The Palestinians saw their hopes for a Palestinian State vanish and all avenues met a dead end.
The recent United States (US) push for normalisation of relations with the Arab world started with the Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and then Sudan. Saudi Arabia was in serious discussion with the US and Israel for normalising relations with increasing oil supply and a defence pact with the US in the mix. Meanwhile, the situation in the Occupied Territories had seen serious deterioration.
Ironically, none of these “normalisation” discussions made the start of negotiations (let alone a resolution) for a viable Palestinian State a pre-condition. There was some promise of funds for the Palestinians, but money cannot be a substitute for a Palestinian State.
It is well known that the divide between the Palestinian factions is vast, with Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank. If Hamas, due to its violent militancy and unacceptable stand on Israel, has made any discussion with them impossible, it would have been logical for a political process to be launched with the moderates i.e. PA.
Instead, every attempt was made to undermine and discredit the PA with no effort to engage them. Shutting out political dialogue and Palestinian aspirations was truly short-sighted. Added to this, Israel had an ultra-Right nationalist government when the attack took place. While they have faced huge domestic issues, as far as the Palestinian track is concerned, they have undertaken reckless expansion of settlements in the West Bank to cater to their far-Right fringe — a policy described as “annexation and dispossession.” Even the US has frowned upon this and let a UN Security Resolution 2334 against illegal settlements pass in 2016. To add to this, there has been a call for a one-State solution (in effect a no-State solution).
Further, the cycle of violence has increased exponentially in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and caused nearly 250 deaths in 2023, almost all of them Palestinians. A whole generation of Palestinians has become radicalised — again.
After 30 years, even with hopelessness staring the Palestinians in the face and all avenues for an end to occupation shut, did it warrant a terrorist attack? Definitely not. Palestinian statehood cannot be won through terror. Israel now has no choice but to attack Gaza with overwhelming force in its legitimate effort to ensure security. But we shouldn’t forget that Gaza consists of people like you and me. Will Israel be held to the same standards on civilian killings as others while going after Hamas in Gaza? Or is this going to be kosher?
While whatever is left of the Oslo Accords will finally be annulled, the UN Security Council’s formula of “Land for Peace” still remains valid. What the PA got after Oslo was “People for Peace,” which meant that only those pockets with Palestinian populations went to them rather than land.
Sadly, these attacks in Israel will only give an added fillip to the terrorist organisations in Africa and Asia to aim at capturing power through terrorism. Once they capture power, they may want to be treated like the Taliban! India now enjoys its best-ever bilateral relations with Israel and the Gulf countries.
We have followed a policy of keeping the robust bilateral track with Israel separate from our multilateral and UN track, where we support a two-State solution. This has served both India and Israel well. The sagacity of not mixing the two tracks has been reinforced by the recent disturbing developments in the region.
T S Tirumurti, a career diplomat, was India’s first Representative to the Palestinian Authority and lived in Gaza for two years from 1996. The views expressed are personal
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