The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the West

Mansur Ali Bilgiç

mansuralibilgic@intell4.com

In 1948, the Israeli entity settled on Palestinian soil. The settlement was nowhere near “peaceful,” as taking a people’s land without violence is impossible.

During the war, the Zionist entity committed ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. It is known that around 800 thousand Palestinians were driven out of their homes.

During the war, the state of Israel was formed. The newly formed state invaded nearly four-fifths of Palestine within a year.

Annexations continued well into the present day. Even the current Israeli government applied policies at the beginning of 2023 to illegally spread the Jewish settlements into Palestinian land.

A couple of days ago, Hamas exploded by launching many attacks on Israel.

Following this event, Israel declared “war” on Hamas, even calling its reserve forces into action. Most Western states proclaimed the resistance an act of terrorism.

Biden administration reiterated Washington’s “unwavering support” for Israel’s security. Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, said that Berlin stood with Tel Aviv, and the Brandenburg Gate was illuminated in the colors of the Israeli flag to show friendship.

Even though condemning Hamas is right in the context that they are responsible for the death of civilians, sparing Israel’s atrocities from denunciation fails to address the entirety of the situation. The current events should not be alienated from the historical context of the violence in the region.

Israel has been violent toward Palestinians since 1948, as introduced above. Israel is also responsible for the existence of Hamas itself, as described by Mehdi Hasan and Dina Sayedahmed in an article written for The Intercept back in 2018.

The historical context is highly brutal. The situation in Palestine is similar to apartheid in South Africa: People are forced out of their homes, their land annexed, and murdered.

Thabo Makgoba, archbishop of the Anglican church in Cape Town, South Africa, described Israel as an apartheid state, saying, “If we stand by and keep quiet, we will be complicit in the continuing oppression of the Palestinians,” according to the Middle East Eye.

Taking a look at what Yoav Gallant, Israel’s Defense Minister, said yesterday will shine a better light on the situation in Palestine.

Gallant said, “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, water, food, or fuel; everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.” This sentence means that Israel, alongside its daily violations of human rights and international law, plans to breach the Geneva Conventions when fighting Hamas.

The West’s actions and reactions make them take the side of oppression instead of freedom and violence instead of humanitarianism, putting them in a complementary situation with Israel’s brutality against civilians. Again, condemning Hamas’ attacks on civilians is on point, but supporting Tel Aviv’s settler colonialism serves no purpose for the realization of peace.

Civilians pay the price of war whenever and wherever it happens. The current case is no different, as civilians from both Israel and Palestine pay the price with their lives. Escalation must stop first to achieve peace, even if temporarily. Negotiations should follow to establish a two-state solution for lasting harmony in the region. Western states must assume a critical role to hold Israel accountable for its actions for the peace to come alive.