SURESH NAUTIYAL AND SUNIL NEGI
“The region from where three great religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – originated and the message, All People are One, spread in the world, is in the grip of fierce violence,” laments VK Tripathi, a former professor at the Delhi IIT, disappointingly.
Sharing his pain for the people of Israel who fell victim to Hamas attack, and for the Palestinian citizens who fell victim to the retaliatory attack by Israel, Prof Tripathi, last month, in October, requested the Prime Minister Modi to have Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu visualise the people of Gaza as his own and stop the bombardment and siege.
Regrettably, Prof Tripathi has got no response from the Indian Prime Minister till now.
Nonetheless, he is optimistic and believes that such a move shall also help the Israeli people to enjoy fuller freedom without the patronage of the gun.
Similar sentiments were expressed in a gathering on 3 November at the Press Club of India New Delhi. The meeting on Gaza violence was organised by the Delhi chapter of the PEN International. As a mark of solidarity with the cause of the Palestinians, the Press Club of India provided free space for the event of the PEN International, which is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. Today, it has autonomous PEN centres in more than 100 countries.
Regretting the Israeli attack on the Palestinian people in Gaza, in particular, several eminent citizens of the country like Ashok Vajpeyi, Ms Mridula Garg, and senior journalist Siddharth Varadarajan said it was regrettable that the Government of India chose to abstain from voting on a non-binding UN resolution on the violence in Palestine a few days back. They termed it a cowardice act.
They demanded an unconditional ceasefire before a solution.
SURESH NAUTIYAL AND SUNIL NEGI AT THE CONFERENCE AT PRESS CLUB OF INDIA PRECINCTS
Recently, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution calling for an immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in Gaza. The resolution also called for: Civilian protection; adherence to international law, especially concerning the safeguarding of civilians, humanitarian personnel, UN staff, and essential facilities; unimpeded humanitarian access to life-saving essentials such as food, water, medical supplies, fuel, and electricity for the civilian population in Gaza; immediate, unconditional release of captives; and protection of civilians in Gaza from forced relocation.
The UN resolution was approved during an emergency session on the situation in the Middle East. Fourteen countries voted against the measure, including the US, Israel, Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Fiji, Guatemala, Hungary, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Tonga. Eight EU members supported the ceasefire, including Belgium, Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain. India, regrettably, abstained from voting.
The experts welcomed the General Assembly resolution on protecting civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations, approved by an overwhelming majority of member states. “We received the resolution with hope, but the need for action is now,” they said.
But there is no end to the violence in Gaza despite a UN resolution. Every 10 minutes, a child is getting killed there. The 2.3 million captive civilians there are being denied food, water, electricity, and communications.
In an expression of solidarity, people across the globe have joined the peace forces in condemning Israel’s inhumane attack and killing of several thousand Palestinians, of which more than half are women and children.
People have also condemned the actions of Hamas on 7 October 2023 and the taking of hostages, but at the same time they recognise the fact that the conflict did not start on 7 October this year, but in May 1948 with the Nakba and the creation of the Palestine refugee problem and Israeli settlement and occupation.
The actions by the apartheid state of Israel have been likened to genocide by many experts and human rights organisations, amounting to grave war crimes and collective punishment, which can never be justified.
Now, after a lot of unimaginable violence, several world leaders have started saying that there is a great need for ceasefire.
In any case, the ceasefire is not going to bring peace without a permanent solution of the conflict.
In fact, the time is running out to prevent genocide and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, UN experts have warned, expressing deep frustration with Israel’s refusal to halt plans to decimate the besieged Gaza strip.
“We remain convinced that the Palestinian people are at grave risk of genocide,” the experts said.
“The time for action is now. Israel’s allies also bear responsibility and must act now to prevent its disastrous course of action,” they said.
