Reconciliation or ruin!

On October 28, Monday, Israel’s parliament voted to ban the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East from the country within 90 days. It is reported that the new law, which received support from 92 out of 120 parliament members, passed despite opposition from the US and several European countries. The law stipulates that UNRWA will not operate any representation, provide services, or conduct any activities, directly or indirectly, within Israeli territory. UNRWA chief has alleged that Israeli forces damaged the agency’s West Bank office on Thursday though Israel disputes the claim.

The Israeli legislation is expected to lead to the closure of UNRWA’s East Jerusalem headquarters and would effectively block the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza via Rafah in the south. UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini called the Israeli decision “unprecedented” and said it was “nothing less than collective punishment” for Palestinians, reports The Guardian. Israel’s ban on the United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees is a “death sentence” for the nearly 2 million people facing extreme hunger in war-torn Gaza, a UN official said.

UNRWA

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was created after the mass displacement of Palestinians following the 1948 war. Given the ongoing displacement of Palestinians and the lack of a resolution to the refugee issue, the General Assembly has repeatedly extended UNRWA’s mandate, with the most recent extension lasting until

June 30, 2026. UNRWA has maintained a presence in Gaza, and its mission is to assist Palestinians by providing services in education, healthcare, relief, social welfare, camp infrastructure, microfinance, and emergency aid, particularly during armed conflicts.

The foreign ministers of seven of Israel’s allies have issued a joint statement condemning Israeli legislation to ban UNRWA. Germany, France, Britain, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea warned that banning UNRWA could have “devastating consequences” in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. The decision was widely condemned by several global leaders, with the UK and the US slamming Benjamin Netanyahu. Axios reported that the Israeli PM lied about the UNRWA ban to Antony Blinken during his visit.

The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday “strongly warned against any attempts to dismantle or diminish” the operations and mandate of UNRWA after Israel passed a law banning its operations.

In a statement adopted by consensus, the 15-member body expressed grave concern over the legislation adopted by the Israeli parliament on Monday, which is due to come into effect in 90 days and has sparked international condemnation. The council urged Israel “to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of UNRWA and live up to its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said Israel’s ban on UNRWA, if implemented, would violate international law, the founding UN Charter and a 1946 UN convention on the diplomatic privileges and immunities granted to UN operations, reports Reuters.

Till Friday morning, India had not made any comment on this issue, though in July this year Government of India released USD 2.5 million to UNRWA, as part of its annual contribution of USD 5 million for the year 2024-25, to support the UNRWA’s core programmes and services, including education, healthcare, relief and social services provided to Palestinian refugees.

Genesis of the conflict

Since October 7, 2023, marked by the eruption of the war in Gaza, the UNRWA has been under fierce scrutiny and has faced accusations and criticism by the Israeli government for harbouring Hamas terrorists. Most grievously, in January 2024, Israel accused at least 12 UNRWA workers of participating or aiding in the October 7 attack. The accusation led to multiple countries’ suspension of aid to the UNRWA. These accusations were compiled in a dossier and shared with the US government officials.

It is alleged that American tech giants also aided Israel’s AI-powered genocide in Palestine. Since October 7, 2023, The Israeli regime also has been running ads on Google’s search engine and YouTube, disseminating false information about the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). These ads featured unsubstantiated claims that UNRWA is linked to Hamas and employs “terrorists”, in order to discredit UNRWA and undermine its work in supporting Palestinians in Gaza.

In a June 2024 op-ed for The New York Times, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote, “at least 197 UNRWA employees have been killed in Gaza. Nearly 190 UNRWA premises have been damaged or destroyed. UNRWA-run schools have been demolished; at least 520 displaced people have been killed while sheltered inside UNRWA schools and other structures. Since October 7, 2023 Israeli security forces have rounded up UNRWA personnel in Gaza, who have alleged torture and mistreatment while in detention in the Strip and in Israel.” Recently, the UNRWA added a black ribbon in memory of UNRWA members who have been killed in the conflict in Gaza.

The UN began a probe into 19 UNRWA employees alleged to have been involved in the attacks, and concluded in August 2024 that only nine of the investigated UNRWA workers “may have been involved in the October 7 attacks”, and promptly removed them from service. The UN also pushed back on the accusations by claiming that Israel provided none of the evidence to back their allegations and that many UNRWA employees had reported being coerced and tortured into false confessions by Israel.

Gaza genocide

Gaza —a tiny Palestinian enclave (150 square miles) — has been under an air, land and sea blockade since 2007, when Hamas came to power after defeating Fatah in the election. The Gaza Strip has a population of about 2.3 million people living in one of the most densely populated areas in the world. It is located between Israel and Egypt on the Mediterranean coast.

The UN data on Palestine-Israel conflict shows, between 2008 and August 31, 2023, Israel had made four major assaults on Gaza: (i) 23-day assault during 2008-09; (ii) 8-day assault in 2012; (iii) 50-day assault in 2014; and (iv) 11-day assault in 2021. These assaults resulted in 6,407 deaths to Palestinians and 308 Israeli deaths. 1,52,560 Palestinians and 6,307 Israelis were also injured.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel is committing unrestrained genocide in Gaza to retaliate an assault by Hamas-led fighters that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israeli communities, and some 250 people were taken to Gaza as hostages.

As of July 31, more than 125 journalists, mostly Palestinians, have been killed since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists, at least 120 Palestinian, three Lebanese and two Israeli journalists have been killed.

The latest death toll (as on October 29) stands at 43,824 Palestinians and 1,139 people killed in Israel since October 7, 2023. (see the table)

According to the latest data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organisation, and the Palestinian government, as of October 27, Israeli attacks have damaged: More than half of Gaza’s homes (damaged or destroyed), 80 per cent of commercial facilities, 87 per cent of school buildings, healthcare facilities (17 of 36 hospitals are partially functional), 68 per cent of road networks, and 68 per cent of cropland.

Global reaction

South Africa has filed with the International Court of Justice its full submission, or Memorial, alleging that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza during its current military operation against Hamas, and claimed that Israel has failed to abide by numerous clauses of the genocide convention and its international obligations. The Arab League has also backed Jordan’s proposal to confront ‘Israeli’ legislation against UNRWA.

The Middle East crisis has put a shadow on the Presidential election in the USA. Jewish voters have been a reliable voting bloc for Democrats for decades, but the war between Israel and Hamas has complicated that relationship. It is alleged that As Vice President Kamala Harris faces continued pressure from progressives in the Democratic Party to cut off military aid to Israel, some Republicans see an opportunity to win over Jewish voters in key states. According to a The Guardian columnist, Democrats are complicit in genocide and Trump would be far worse.

Leaders from BRICS countries on Wednesday called for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza Strip and the release of hostages from “both sides”, while denouncing Israel for its military offensive that has led to mass killings of civilians in that territory.

The EU’s support for Israel makes it complicit in genocide. The EU is the second-largest arms supplier to Israel after the US. According to figures from the European External Action Service’s COARM database, between 2018 and 2022, EU member states sold arms worth 1.76 billion euros (USD 1.9bn) to Israel. According to SIPRI, Germany is by far the largest European supplier, providing Israel

with 30 per cent of its weapons between 2019 and 2023. Exports increased tenfold last year from 32.3 million euros (USD 35m) to 326.5 million euros (USD 354m) with the majority of licences granted after October 7.

Among countries of the global South, India maintains a very different relation with Zionist Israel. Last year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in Gaza. It also demands “continuous, sufficient and unhindered” provision of lifesaving supplies and services for civilians trapped inside the enclave as news reports suggest Israel has expanded ground operations and intensified its bombing campaign. India abstained in the resolution vote. In April 2024, India again abstained from voting in favour of a resolution by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and demanding the cease of the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel. As many as 28 countries voted in favour of the resolution, including China, Brazil, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Maldives, UAE, Qatar, and South Africa, among others. India was among 13 countries that abstained on the resolution, along with Japan, the Netherlands, France and Romania.

Despite Gaza war crimes, India’s ties with key Israeli military firms continue, writes The Wire. It is reported that Israel has turned to India for defence production amidst Intensified military operations against Hamas and Hezbollah.

Observations

The Israel-Hamas war is no longer restricted to Palestine. It has spread to neighbouring countries. According to fresh IDF data, some 1,300 drones have been launched at Israel since the start of the war last year, from all fronts — Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Iran. Lebanon based armed group Hezbollah and Iran have declared war against Zionist Israel. In September, Israel killed Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah in an air attack on Beirut’s southern suburb. Hezbollah said on Tuesday (October 29, 2024) it has elected deputy head Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah.

Anticipating a further intensification of the Middle East crisis, oil prices extended gains on Friday, climbing more than USD 1 a barrel after reports suggested that

Iran was preparing a retaliatory strike on Israel from Iraq in the coming days, reports Reuters. Israeli intelligence suggested that Iran is preparing to attack Israel with a large number of drones and ballistic missiles from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the US presidential election on November 5.

Liberation of Palestine from Israel’s occupation is not possible till Hamas and Fatah — two warring political parties of Palestine — come together and jointly resist the Israeli genocide. So far, international efforts made by Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China, Russia and others to bring about a reconciliation between these two groups have failed. Nonetheless, it is reported that Hamas has urged Russia to pressure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah, into negotiating the formation of a national unity government for post-war Gaza. Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas politburo member, said that Hamas had asked Russia to encourage Abbas, who was attending the BRICS summit in Kazan, to start negotiations about a unity government. Abbas is head of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the governing body of the occupied Palestinian territories.

It may be recalled that Hamas (formed in 1987) entered Palestinian politics as a political party in 2005 when it engaged in local elections, and won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in 2006, beating Fatah which was founded by several people, most notably the late president of the Palestinian Authority—Yasser Arafat. Under Yasser Arafat, and after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Fatah became the dominant party in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). In the 1990s, the Fatah-led PLO officially renounced armed resistance and backed United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which calls for building a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders (West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza), alongside an Israeli state. Hamas and Fatah are the two most dominant parties in the Palestinian political scene.

Hamas has been the de facto ruler in the Gaza Strip since 2007, after defeating President Mahmoud Abbas’ long-dominant Fatah party in parliamentary elections. Hamas then pushed Fatah out of Gaza when the latter refused to recognise the result of the vote. Since then, these two factions have been at loggerheads. On July 23, 2024, the leaders of Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, signed a joint statement in Beijing, aimed at ending divisions between the bitter rivals. The statement called for the formation of a Palestinian unity government overseeing the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and eventually holding elections, for which the leaders of the factions would meet and draw up a roadmap. Within a week of the ‘Beijing declaration’, the topmost Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated. Again on October 17, Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from August 2024). Israel’s military assault on Gaza has intensified since Sinwar was killed, leading the UN Peace Process Coordinator to say that ‘nowhere is safe in Gaza’.

It is feared that after losing its top leaders, Hamas has become far more decentralised than it was before October 7, 2023. It is now more typical of an insurgency group, where Hamas cadres exercise a great degree of operational autonomy. Since this round of conflict started, the disconnect between Hamas in Gaza and its political leadership in Qatar has only grown wider. Killing of Hamas leaders by Israel is likely to serve as a rallying call to disgruntled and marginalised young Palestinians, horrified by Israel’s bombing of civilian targets in Gaza, and disillusioned with Fatah’s inability to prevent Israeli settler expansion and violence in the West Bank. Analysts fear that in this condition, it is very unlikely for Hamas’ military wing to concede ground and reconcile with Fatah.

Meanwhile, bolstered with the moral and military support from the political establishments of Europe, the USA, and a few southern countries like India, Netanyahu’s IDF will destroy Gaza and continue with its pogrom. Nazi Hitler planned the ‘Final Solution’ to eliminate Europe’s Jewish population. The “final solution” was implemented from 1941 to 1945 and resulted in the systematic murder of 6 million Jews across 21 countries. Now, the Zionist Israel is conducting its own ‘Final Solution’ in Gaza.

Views expressed are personal