War on Gaza Signals Insanity Replacing Humanity
IN FOCUS, 13 Nov 2023
Mahboob A. Khawaja, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service
Global voices of reason echo the inner human conscience across many continents an “ immediate ceasefire and let the Gaza live”, and “Palestinians are worthy of human dignity and rights as are the Israelis”, and “Two States- Israel and Palestine.” The citizen’s demonstrations call for a navigational change for peace and halt to emerging warfare in Gaza are real, not the mock funeral of human intelligence, justice and peace. No wonder how leaders of America, UK, France, Germany defied the voices of human consciousness for a humanitarian ceasefire and urgent supplies of sustenance for the millions of besieged people in Gaza.
Global citizens aspiring conventional wisdom question the tyranny of war and speak of humanitarian international law, crimes against humanity and protection of civilians in conflict zones as granted values of international systems of civilized governance. But increasingly opinionated doctrines show little substance for the imperatives of truth, morality and justice. The global community trusting the UN and Security Council for problem-solving turned out to be a just debating club of hideous atrocities and catastrophic flaunting of injustice. Often universally hated and feared men who claim to be people of reason hold positions and tensions of unrealized possibilities for wars and aggression against the poor and vulnerable. German philosopher Immanuel Kant (“Perpetual Peace”, 1795), was more proactive and realist when he noted that: “Intellectuals must be seated in chosen assemblies and systems of public governance to overt individualistic insanity against the people.” The UN and its SC appear worn out institutions lacking effectiveness to restore a sense of normalcy when ignorance and wickedness prevail over ingenuity and wisdom. We, the People of Conscience believe in universal truth and must search for workable alternatives in paradoxical crises. We, the People think that the UN-SC should be open to listening and advice to independent scholarly voices for change and conflict resolution. In human nature, vices and moral weaknesses of leaders are not invincible as ignorance and animosities could be replaced by nobler and more proactive visionary and competent leaders to resolve the conflicts.
Witness to Emerging Cruelty and Violations of Basic Civilized Human Norms
Is there a cure to cruelty happening across Gaza? Global masses appear outraged at the consequences of ruthlessness of emerging war and dehumanization of the Gazan people pursued by invincible powers and weapons rather than reason and accountability. If Israeli occupation had ended and a Two State reality was in place, such instances could have been unthinkable. After almost a month, the aerial bombardment of Gaza continues causing some 9, 320 deaths, more than 22,000 injuries and catastrophic destruction of human habitats, essential infrastructures, blocking of foods, medicines, fuel, electricity, internet, and bombing of hospitals and places of worship as if these were not acts of “crimes against humanity.” The latest media reports of some 2,200 people still buried under rubble of collapsed buildings in Gaza. On October 7, Hamas attack on Israel, it is reported that a total 1,405 citizens of Israel were killed and that 250 were taken hostages. Under continuous bombardment, Hamas reports of some 60 or more hostages have been killed during the hostilities.
Israeli societal spectrum are divided and ethnically diverse when it comes to settlers and old European migrants to Palestine – they fear to lose lands which belonged to Palestinians if refugees return and a peace deal is done. Ironically, some extremist politician want to nuke Gaza for a finished answer. An injustice to Palestinian freedom cannot be converted into working of a genuine democracy as Israeli claim to be. Intensity of animosities carry emotional outbursts when an Israeli offers prayers for the dead Palestinians, he is ridiculed by the extremists. It is a terrible sense of helplessness and a vicious picture of the merging events drawing special attention from all concerned and demanding an immediate end to hostilities and dialogue for peace-making between the warring parties. Human glory lives in the conception of good and righteousness, not in wickedness and genocidal plans. The Earth is a living entity and is meant for us – the human beings, not for bombardment and destruction. The Divine warning (Chapter 7: 56: The Qur’an), is self-explanatory: Do no mischief on the Earth after it hath been set in order, but call on God with fear and longing in hearts ; For the Mercy of God is always near to those who do good.
Conflict Management Requires New Communication Strategies and Flexible Agenda
While truth telling is ridiculed , maligned and persecuted for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, some of the Western leaders pushing war as a means of peace and futuristic remapping of the Arab world. To prevent evil and tyranny of injustice, We, the People must look for amicable means to end the conflict and facilitate a framework of peacemaking for Two States solution – Palestine and Israel. Paranoid and vengeful political actors failed to think of an end game. The US Biden administration and some West Europeans follow one-track agenda, “Israel has the right to defend itself”, but their intellectual and moral failure in foreign policy does not imagine that Palestinian too have the right to defend themselves, their present and aspirations for a futuristic independent state of Palestine. When would they learn to be responsible and effective leaders of the 21st century informed humanity?
A rational conflict analysis and search for peace involves listening and learning to divergent viewpoints and finding a common place of reasoning without agreeing or disagreeing to halt the warfare. This shows effective communication and enlightened leadership traits. Naive egoism lives in triviality and viciousness. PM Netanyahu and President Biden do not appear to be on the path of rational thinking for their own interest and global community. Strangely enough, none of the Western leaders – be it the US, the EU or others have proposed any new strategy to have global conference including Russia, China and some of the Arab countries and Israel to face to face dialogue for a ceasefire and peace process to take a rational shape for change.
The PLO lacks intelligent and effective leadership to counteract eponymous figure like Netanyahu whereas the Israeli’s problem rests with the right wing extreme leadership devoid of peace, morality and human equality. PM Netanyahu glued to the extreme right wing parties planning to annex the West Bank of Palestine into Israeli territory. Israel claims to be fighting against Hamas in Gaza, but settlers and its security forces have unrestrained ferocious drive to raid homes, abduct children and kill civilians in West Bank, Jenin, Hebron and Nablus as a daily routine. Would it support the logic of peace and harmony? This war is outcome of Netanyahu’s absolute political survival. One would have hoped that thinking Israeli politicians would safeguard their own freedom and security and workout a peace deal between the PLO and Israel.
Arab Leaders and the Futuristic Political Landscape of the Arab World
For long, the whole of the Arabian Peninsula has been destabilized by militarization and conflicts, sectarian warfare and authoritarian dictatorships. The masses breathe oxygen in void of rational thinking. The Western imperialism exports wars not just weapons to divide and destroy the Arab world. This vicious scheme appoints former subservient tribal agents as dictators, kings, princes and royals and masses viewed just as sheep and goats to be traded-in for oil-run prosperity. America and Israel have a shared political agenda to conquer more Arab lands to resettle the Palestinians and put finished answer on Palestine as a State. During his third November visit to the region, Secretary of State Blinken is exchange this agenda item whereas most oil producing Arab leaders live in intellectual abyss to think about the present and future. To forfeit oppression and miseries, most oil exporting Arab nations have no public institutions of thinking or future-making, and leaders share no moral or intellectual integrity and live in a delusional world of palaces and prosperity.
They never learned what happened to Saddam Husein and Qaddafi? America’s friendship notion rests in its own national interest. Do the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and others have any plans how to defend their national interest inclusive of Palestine? How come they never thought of vulnerable people of Gaza and their well being, survival and security? These States have no competent leaders, no armies and no generals. Was the safety, security and protection of people of Gaza (being Palestinian refugees) not the sole responsibility of the Arab leaders? How could they ignore their present and future without any political resolve? Could they ever imagine how the futuristic Arab map would appear? The contemporary Arab leaders are devoid of reason to protect the Masjid Al-Aqsa and its sanctity from Israeli’s Ultra Nationalist provocations and to reason with Palestine and Israel and what future options could be imagined for peace and security: Please see by this author: “Al-Aqsa Mosque Waiting for the Arab Leaders.” http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/57491.htm
Please see more by this author: https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2023/10/31/the- war-on-gaza-humanity-is-being-destroyed-by-the-madness-of-war-and-inept-leadership.php
The challenging truth arising from the conflict between Israel and Palestine and failure of Western leadership call for new thinking and new people of ideas and ideals to reject the violent assumptions of militarization and egoistic triumphs by acts of genocidal plans in Gaza. The UNSC failed to uphold its obligations under the Charter for conflict management. Therefore, We, the People , We, the Humanity ask for global scholars to address the emerging conflicts and devise workable plans for an immediate ceasefire and peacemaking. We, the People ask the Israeli and Palestinian political leaders to avoid the upcoming epicenter of cataclysm and listen to voices of reason for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. At the edge of reason, war is anti-human and it could lead to global catastrophic annihilation of human cultures and civilizations.
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Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international relations-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest book: Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution: Approaches to Understand the Current Issues and Future-Making, Lambert Academic Publications, Germany, 2017.
Tags: Conflict, Israel, Palestine, USA, United Nations
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 13 Nov 2023.
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