Israel is perfectly within its rights to retaliate in self-defence. In India, those who lack the courage to pursue and punish the tormentors of civilians and soldiers should simply shut up and let others fight terror
It is at once amusing and odious to hear the Opposition clamouring for a discussion in India’s Parliament on Israel’s punitive action against Harkat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, better known as Hamas. Never mind the treacly concern of our MPs for the plight of innocent Palestinians caught in the conflict which has predictably raised the hackles of left-liberals around the world who have refused to so much as wag a finger in admonishment of Hamas’s relentless assault on Israel with rockets that have failed to extract a terrible toll of Jewish lives not for want of intent but due to lack of technology. Nor should we be distracted by the bogus distress of our oped-writers who have been waxing eloquent on what they claim is overwhelming use of force against civilians.
These are but mere ruses to camouflage their real intention: Pander to Muslims who wallow in manufactured grievance and remain un-reconciled to the fact that there still exists resistance to their dreams of the ummah dominating a global caliphate. Muslims in India (as also elsewhere) sense an opportunity in the latest Israel-Hamas conflict to give vent to their bilious hatred towards Jews and play the victim card; politicians who have rushed to shed crocodile tears for the dead of Gaza don’t want to let go of a chance to fish for Muslim votes. Make no mistake, behind the façade of concern and grief lurks the fork-tongued fiend called cynicism.
It’s easy to conflate Israel’s action against Hamas with the sorrow of Palestinians who find themselves trapped between a rock and a hard place. But that would be a travesty, a wilful perversion of the truth. If Israel wanted to make Palestinians in Gaza suffer on account of the follies of Hamas, then the death toll on account of the latest IDF action would have been many times over what it is. It would also be useful to remember that even in a situation of escalating armed conflict, Israel has neither cut off power and supplies to the residents of Gaza nor abandoned the attempt to forge a resolution, no matter how temporary and short-lived.
Had Israel insisted on rejecting negotiations brokered by Egypt leading to yet another hudna and persisted with smoking the Hamas terrorists out of their hideouts in civilian areas and underground tunnels, there would have been no reason to cavil. Ironically, although Israel has the upper hand and can clobber the Hamas leaders and their cadre base to the point of breaking the back of the Muslim Brotherhood’s terrorist offshoot that has held Palestinians in Gaza to ransom all these years, it is Hamas which spurned the terms of truce crafted by Egypt. Tragically this leaves Palestinians at the mercy of ruthless Hamas leaders and their jihadi foot soldiers, though this is not the first time that terrorists have used women and children as a shield. Civilians form the most potent weapon in a terrorist organisation’s arsenal; to pretend otherwise would be dishonest.
It would be absurd to suggest, even if ever so remotely, that Hamas stands for Palestinian right to self-governance. It doesn’t. What Hamas stands for is listed in its Charter which reflects the deeply held ideological beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. More importantly, it would be equally silly to suggest that Hamas represents majority Palestinian opinion. It does not. Or else the West Bank would not have remained by and large peaceful during this and previous conflicts. The Fatah is no friend of Israel; but neither is it a friend of Hamas. In an open election with all Palestinians participating, the Hamas would not stand the ghost of a chance of being elected to power. It slipped into authority in Gaza and has held on to that authority with guns and intimidation.
These, however, are matters of detail, the fine print that comes attached with the big picture reality of Israel and its Palestinian problem. They are no doubt consequential in determining the nature of self-governance in Palestinian territories, namely Gaza and West Bank, but are irrelevant for India or the world at large. What is relevant for us and the world is the implacable hate nurtured by Hamas, the use of civilians as a shield to protect an armed terrorist militia, the long-term objectives of those who believe it’s fair to target civilian areas with rockets and missiles, the supply chain that keeps terrorist coffers and arsenals well-stocked. These are issues that should worry us and prompt a discussion on how to defeat those who seek to shed blood to demonstrate their faith and expand their political domination. If our MPs wish to discuss, they should be discussing these and related aspects, not the number of dead in Gaza.
A last point. Israel does not require sermons on how to conduct its affairs or protect its national interest. As a sovereign state, Israel is perfectly within its rights to retaliate in self-defence and to pre-empt murderous attacks on its soil and people. If we lack the courage to respond in similar manner when our soldiers are beheaded and are civilians butchered by Pakistani terrorist organisations, we should not make a public display of our emasculation by remonstrating with those who robustly pursue their enemy, unmindful of the price that has to be paid.
In any event, Israel will be neither impressed nor persuaded by what is said by its detractors in India’s Parliament. It is doubtful whether Hamas and other terrorist organisations which have never reposed faith in parliamentary democracy will be touched by the expression of concern by our MPs. Even if they were to take note of it, that would be at best passing. A similar discussion resulting in a cockamamie resolution in 2006 during the Israel-lebanon conflict had fetched stony indifference in Tel Aviv. The Hezbollah didn’t even bother to acknowledge the support proffered to its terrorist force.
(The writer is a Delhi-based senior journalist)