New Delhi: There is hubris all over the Israel after the successful elimination of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar. Israeli politicians are congratulating each other, people are distributing candies on the streets. Sinwar’s killing has brought an aura of greater achievement among Israelis who have been tired of Israel-Gaza war for the last one year.
But what no one asking is, has this operation helped Israel getting anywhere near its captives held hostage by Hamas in the strip and whether Sinwar’s elimination changed anything on the ground? Perhaps the answer lies in the negative.
Sinwar’s killing may not affect Hamas
Going by the past records, Hamas chief’s killing is unlikely to have much impact on the Palestinian resistance group, though it’s a tactical or a short term blow. The same is the case with Hezbollah, whose top leader Hasan Nasrallah was killed in Beirut strike, or any other resistance group in the region.
Time has shown us that these leaders are replaceable. And indeed they are replaced soon after their assassinations. Since the birth of Hamas movement or for that matter Hezbollah in the 1980s, Israel has assasinated their senior and other top most leaders one after another and sometimes in quick succession, in the last four decades. Subsequently, these groups emerged more stronger and more potent to harass Israel.
The question arises why is this the case?
The answer lies in their ideological moorings or safe to say they are ideological organisations that do not worship a leader or idolise a particular figure. As a journalist tracing the development for last 18 years, and as a student who has an interest in West Asian affairs since 1995, I can say it with conviction that Israel can buy peace by subjugating Palestinians, Lebanese or for that matter others in the region due to its sheer military prowess, solely aided by US and Europe (Else it will collapse in one day), but its dream of eternal peace will always remain elusive.
Is Israel really willing to negotiate peace?
What Israel is doing in Gaza or Lebanon today shows it has no intention of living in peace with its Arab neighbour, but rather as a regional hegemon. And the same is the intention of its all weather ally (Europe and US).
So how will the peace be achieved?
Anyone, either inside and outside the region, has a just one solution for this conflict and that is giving the rightful due of Palestinians and withdrawal of Israeli occupation from each and every centimetre of Palestinian land and land of its other neighbours. Peace may remain elusive in the region as long as this formula is avoided. And both Israel and its allies know this.
No justice, no peace
The ongoing wars in the regions will continue to be fought again and again and again and again unless the occupiers leave the occupied. When the newly formed state of Israel had occupied Palestinian land in 1948, the Israeli leaders of that time acted on it with conviction that older Palestinian will die and new one will forget their dispossession. However, this turned out to be a nightmare for Israel with Palestinians failing to forget their dispossession. We are living in 2024 and struggle of Palestinian for their occupied land continues to this day.
And despite Israel’s ‘genocidal’ tactics in Gaza, brutal bombardment, deliberate targeting of women, children and elderly, Palestinian have refused to leave their land, which Israel tried hard to push them into dusty Sinai or other Arab nations for last one year. Palestinians preferred to die in Gaza than leave because they know once they leave, it would be a second ‘Nakba’ (catastrophe in Arabic) and they won’t be able to return again to their land again.
Hard fought liberation movements
Liberation movements across the globe are often marked with intense struggle and violence and Palestinians are no exceptions. Algerians took nearly half a century and nearly 3 million dead to defeat French occupation. And same is the case with Afghanistan and Vietnam and India that fought Britishers for over 100 years.
To conclude, it seems Palestinians will have to wait for some more years to achieve full Independence from Israeli occupation which is confirmed time and again by UN and other international agencies. Till that time, we are forced to see more violence in the region under the watchful eyes of the US which unconditionally supports ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The views expressed in the article are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publication.
