Articles
Gaza Tragedy
Dt: 18/5/18
Gaza Tragedy
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
Gaza is once again in the news. This is a small strip of land on the eastern edge of Sinai desert of Egypt but projecting into the western edge of the Negev desert of Israel. Its area is just 362 sq. kmts. It is inhabited by Arab Palestinians. In the Arab Israel 6-day war of 1967, this piece of Palestinian territory under occupation of Egypt, came to be occupied by Israel, the victor. Its population then was 3,50,000. In the 1990/93 OSLO Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) of Arafat, the Palestinian Authority (PA)was created to administer the Palestinian territories so far occupied by Israel. This agreement was opposed by the Gazan Palestinian Arabs . They went under the leadership of the most violent and terrorist organisation, Hamas. Hamas openly stands for destruction of Israel. Defying the PA Hamas started administering the area. Ever since it has been launching suicide as well as other terrorist attacks on Israel. Its population has swelled to 21 lakhs; 6 times within the last 50 years. Hamas says that while Israel has bombs, Gaza has wombs; that is, producing children making them suicide bombers and terrorists. It has the world’s highest people density at 5479 per sq. kmts.
2. The Hamas dug about 300 tunnels into Egypt through which it has been smuggling ammunition, guns missiles and other weaponry. Smuggling id because Egypt and Jordan had signed peace treaties with Israel recognising that country’s right to exist and have diplomatic relations which require that Egypt does not allow smuggling of arms and weapons and ammunition and other contraband into Gaza. The Gazans have dug over 30 tunnels, some of them 2.5 kmts long ; 1.8 mtrs high through which they would sneak into Israel, abduct its people and carryout murderous destruction.
3. Gaza under Israeli occupation was supplied water, electricity and even food by Israel. Persistent terrorism by Hamas led to unsustainable military occupation by Israel. It pulled out its settlements. There were two uprisings, (intifadas) against Israel. The 2014 uprising could be put down by Israel only after a 38-days long war; whereas no Arab –Israeli war (1956, 1967 and 1973) lasted even for half that number of days.
4. There is a terrible crisis because of increasing population, diminishing water resource, and food to sustain this population. It has been largely living on United Nations contribution of about $ 355 mln per year - money that Indians also contribute to the UN. The latest (may 14, 2018) its uprising is to protest against the USA (followed by Guatemala and very soon other countries) shifting its embassy from Tel Aviv to Israeli’s capital Jerusalem. While the PA, the legitimate government of Palestine resents this but does not take to any violence, Gazans alone have taken to violence. Tens of thousands are trying to forcibly enter into Israel, staging violent demonstrations and pelting stones and attacking Israel’s security forces. Is it not legitimate for Israel to stop them from coming ? If lakhs of Bangladeshi Muslims or Pakistanis enter into India in a organised and violent manner, will not India prevent them from entering our country by every means?
5. It is said that 700,000 Palestinian Arabs had to flee from Israel during the 1948 Israel Arab war. But ten lakh Jews from different Arab and Muslims countries, from Iran to Morocco, had to flee and take shelter in Israel.
6. Now Hamas and to some extent PA and Arab and Muslim countries demand that Israel allow the return of over 2 mln Palestinians ( the 700,000 multiplying to more than 2 mln by now). From the Muslim majority Kashmir valley of India’s J&K, 400,000 Hindus had to flee the terror of the Islamists and since 1991 they are living as refugees in other parts of India. The secularists, the left liberal intellectuals and communists and of course, Muslims living in India have no words about this dismal fate of the expelled Hindus, but have bleeding hearts for the Palestinian Arab Muslims.
7. Gaza under Hamas rule is a rebel territory of the PA. It is an outlaw in Palestine itself. The furious growth of population and feeding the people on hatred for Israel and love for suicide bombing, amounts to inviting disaster by themselves. Instead of counselling the Gazans and Hamas to join the main stream in the PA, do-gooder and bleeding hearts are exacerbating the misery of Gazans and driving them towards mass suicide by explosive growth of population with consequent unavailability of enough drinking water and electricity and food stuffs and health facilities including medicines. India should remember the plight of its own Hindus driven away from its own territory of Kashmir as well as the tens of millions of who had to flee Pakistan in 1947 and many more millions still fleeing Bangladesh (in addition to about 30mln Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators into India who settled down in Bengal, Assam, Bihar and now in Kerala too. (828 words)
END