The call for a permanent ceasefire and the adoption of a two-state solution appears far-fetched as Israel and Hamas continue to tear into each other. Already, thousands of civilian casualties, with about 40 per cent of them children, are at the receiving end. The humanitarian disaster has led the United Nations to draft a resolution at the Security Council for a permanent ceasefire, which America voted against. Stakeholders said the conflict has been set up for a long-drawn battle with dicey objectives for parties.
Cessation of hostilities is not yet in view as Israel resumed the bombing of Gaza on December 1, after a seven-day ceasefire, which saw several hostages released by both parties. Dozens of Palestinians have been reportedly killed since Israel resumed attacks, with Hamas being accused of violating its agreement. This the group has denied.
During the seven-day truce, some 102 Israeli hostages were freed, while 240 Palestinian prisoners were equally released. About 140 Israelis are still in captivity.
The truce allowed a temporary halt to Israeli air strikes that began after October 7, when Hamas launched a major cross-border attack in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, and taking hundreds hostage.
Some of the areas where Israel is conducting offensive operations in Gaza include southern parts of the strip, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said. The military also dropped leaflets in the southern city of Khan Younis, calling it a “fighting zone” and telling residents to evacuate.
Negotiations with Qatari and Egyptian mediators over the release of hostages are continuing despite the resumption of hostilities. Israel’s Prime Minister, Binjamin Netanyahu, had earlier restated the nation’s pledge to resume the war once the truce ends.
“There is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end. This is my policy, the entire cabinet stands behind it, the soldiers stand behind it, the people stand behind it – this is exactly what we will do,” he said in a statement.
Earlier on, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres had warned that the Gaza Strip was in the midst of an “epic humanitarian catastrophe.” He welcomed negotiations to prolong the truce but added that a
“true humanitarian ceasefire” was needed.
The UN estimates that more than 1.8 million people in Gaza have fled their homes over the past seven weeks, with about 60 per cent of them sheltering in 156 facilities belonging to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa).
World Health Organisation (WHO) spokeswoman, Dr Margaret Harris, while recently commenting on the living condition of the displaced said that an assessment of those shelters had found outbreaks of infectious diseases, with cases of diarrhoea among children aged five and older.
Israel’s commitment to continue air strikes on Gaza to eliminate Hamas and bring Israeli hostages home led to the UN Security Council’s call for a permanent ceasefire last weekend, which America rejected through its veto power. As a result, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, expressed grief over the development, accusing the United States of being complicit in war crimes.
Abbas said he would hold Washington responsible for “the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women, and elderly in Gaza at the hands of Israeli forces.”
Out of 15 of the Security Council members, 13 countries voted in favour of the resolution calling for a ceasefire. Britain abstained from the vote and America was the only country to vote against the resolution.
American ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, defended the veto, saying that the resolution was calling for an “unsustainable ceasefire,” which “would leave Hamas in place able to repeat what it did on October 7, 2023.”
Israel’s Prime Minister, in response, said that he appreciated the “correct stance” America had taken at the Security Council.
Meanwhile, the President Joe Biden-led administration has used an emergency law to bypass Congress and authorise the sale of some 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106m (£85m) to Israel.
Since the Hamas attack on October 7, which resulted in the death of 1,200 and hundreds taken hostage, Israel’s air and ground operations into Gaza have killed about 17,700 people, 40 per cent of whom are children, according to health ministry officials in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Large parts of the north of the Strip have been demolished or seriously damaged.
Security sources told The Jerusalem Post that Hamas leaders, Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar are believed to have known that they were under close surveillance by Israel, choosing instead to exchange details about preparations for the October 7 attack using more covert methods, such as face-to-face conversations.
The article said that Israeli military teams had left behind tapping devices in Hamas strongholds in 2018, but that the group found and decoded them.
Historically, the fight between Israel and Palestine has been ongoing for territorial and religious reasons. Even though there is a proposed solution, which is the two-state idea, this still suffers setbacks as there are some historical sacred attachments or monuments of each nation, located in the other country.
Already, the war is taking a heavy toll on the Palestinians, even though Israel is not finding it easy as it is recording several casualties among its troops and equipment. Gaza is getting reduced to rubbles as the IDF pounds the city, while ground forces are also operating. The implication is that human suffering and carnage are increasingly alarming.
On the part of Israel, its diplomatic image is waning as many nations around the world express sympathy for the Palestinians, and call for cessation of hostilities. Some countries like South Africa, which is highly critical of Israel, recalled its diplomats from Israel and Israel reciprocated as well. Others such as Brazil, Japan, Cuba, Indonesia, etc, that support a two-state solution have called on Israel to stop its “aggression” against Hamas.
For the Head, Division of Security and Strategic Studies, Nigerian Institute for International Affairs (NIIA), Prof. Joshua Bolarinwa, explained that the idea of a two-state solution is declining. This, he said, is because if Palestine becomes a state, there would be renewed fights more gruesome than what has been experienced due to the status of Jerusalem.
“Half of Jerusalem is in Israel, which is its capital and the other half is in Palestine, which the authorities are laying claims to. So, if they implement the two-state solution, the next fight would be about the location of Jerusalem,” he said.
Despite global calls for an end to the fighting, spearheaded by Arab nations and the UN, as well as the imposition of sanctions, Israel continues its offensive.
Bolarinwa predicted that the call to ceasefire from Arab nations and the UN would not be enough to deter Israel from its goal, but could even be a propeller to continue attacks, suggesting that it would be a sign of weakness for Israel and victory to Hamas if they stop the fighting.
He said Arab nations have been slow on their sanctions, recalling that they cut diplomatic ties with Israel instantly at previous conflicts. According to him, this took almost two months for them to react, adding that Arab nations benefit more from Israel, which is one of the reasons their sanctions would not be strong enough to end the fight.
He, however, expressed optimism that Arab nations would not align against Israel to avoid escalation.
There are equal retaliatory attacks by Hamas on Israel, but little is being said about the damage being caused to Israel in the media space. This, understandably, is due to the humanitarian casualties in IDF.
The IDF spokesman, Lt. Col Richard Hecht, told the BBC last Saturday: “Any death and pain to a civilian is painful, but we don’t have an alternative. We are doing everything we can to get as much as possible inside the Gaza Strip,” he said.
Professor of Political Science, Lagos State University (LASU), Sylvester Odion, noted that the fight has evoked accusations of Israel committing genocide in Gaza. He added that in comparison to the victim role the nation has played over time, her actions have made her lose the sympathy of the global community.
According to him, there is already a backlash, but the effect is not ascertained as some Israelis are asking the prime minister to resign. “That may be one of the backlashes in the sense that whoever comes in may not be ‘Ultra Zionist’ in terms of the demands that they make on the Palestinians,” he said.
On the two-state solution, Prof. Odion stressed that it was dicey, adding that one cannot annul the existence of the Palestinian state while existing in the same location. According to him, Israel stands at risk of being wiped out by the entire Arab community.
Research professor at the NIIA, Femi Otubanjo, said Israel has set out its objective, which is to destroy Hamas and eliminate them from Gaza. He, however, explained that such an objective would be difficult to achieve as it means the nation would keep attacking Gaza, resulting in daily civilian casualties, especially the vulnerable, which in turn doesn’t help Israel’s image.
“As we speak, Hamas is fighting back. They have not given up on the fight. So, if Hamas is still fighting Israel and insists on victory, then why are you appealing to just Israel for a ceasefire? The only problem Israel has is that there is an image broadcast on international media organisations about its inhumanity, as children are a major casualty in the fight,” he stated.
People gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 24, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
On the workability of the two-state solution, Otubanjo maintained that it would be ideal, although there will be some challenges. He pointed out that Israel in itself has been unrealistic and continued to extend its settlements. “But they also face a problem with the two-state solution because it would result in Hamas taking over Gaza and the West Bank.
“This means that Israel would have an enemy besides it. So, to have a viable alternative, Hamas has to be taken out of the picture,” he said.
A Senior Research Fellow, at NIIA, Dr. Kester Onor, thinks that diplomatic moves would always be prioritised over kinetic ones, stating that the diplomatic move orchestrated by Qatar yielded some results, seen in the seven-day exchange of prisoners.
He added that the war does no good to any party, so the need to resolve conflicts amicably as both nations have the right to exist in their lands.
“The two-state solution is the way out, but if Palestine is saying it can’t work, then the Jewish nation has to perpetually be on guard. However, diplomacy should be employed,” he added.
THEGUARDIAN
