The premeditated surprise attack, named ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’, by Hamas on Southern Israel by launching nearly 7000 rockets since October 7, 2023, morning has been the biggest and unprecedented attack on Israel since the Yom Kippur War 50 years back. The attack has killed over 700 Israelis and wounded more than 2,000. The Israelis retaliated with air attacks that have killed 425 Palestinians and injured another 2200 in Gaza.
The numbers of dead and wounded on both sides are increasing by the hour. The rocket attack was supported by a ground attack wherein around 100 Israelis were taken as prisoners. In solidarity with the Hamas attack, Hizbullah, a Sunni-Muslim militant and political group in Lebanon, commenced rocket attacks in Northern Israel along the Green Line, on the morning of October 8, and Israel retaliated by artillery fire. With thousands of residual trained and armed fighters in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, the situation has the potential to escalate into a regional war.
Gaza Strip and West Bank, including Eastern Jerusalem, have been the mutually agreeable parts of the future independent Palestinian state with the UN and the international community being in agreement. Ariel Sharon, the then PM of Israel, in a bold action as per stated “land for peace policy”, had removed the Jewish settlements from Gaza in 2005 under tremendous resistance from settlers and resettled them in Southern Israel in close vicinity of Gaza Strip. Hamas, the most prominent militant group in Gaza, won the elections in 2006 and came to power. The Fatah is the most prominent militant group in the West Bank and had a sizeable presence in the Gaza Strip but they were pushed out from Gaza after the bloody internecine clashes once Hamas came out victorious.
Gaza is a 40 km long and at best 12 km deep strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea in the Western part of Israel. It is the world’s third most densely populated area with a population of over 2.3 million and has been under land, sea and air blockade by Israelis for the last 16 years. On its Southern side, Gaza shares 11 km of border with Egypt which is also sealed under pressure from Israelis. In 2020, a United Nations study had predicted that Gaza was facing an economic collapse and Covid-19 only accentuated the despondent state.
Unlike the previous rounds of rocket fires from Gaza in 2008, 2014, 2021 and 2022, yesterday’s attack was well-rehearsed and premeditated. Hamas also had the media ready to cover the attack in real-time and named it “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”, an action against Israel for desecrating the holy shrine and carrying out punitive excesses on the Palestinians. A record 200 Palestinians have been killed in clashes in the West Bank this year so far, including 140 killed in Jenin in April. In addition to the rocket attacks, the Qassam Brigade of Hamas militants breached the fence between Gaza and Southern Israel and attacked Israeli soldiers and civilians, including a group of 200 young Israelis partying in a rave trans musical dance party in a Kibbutz. In addition to the ground attacks, militants also came by air using paragliders. Around 750 Israeli settlers around the Gaza Strip in Israel are missing.
Benjamin Netanyahu came back as the Prime Minister of Israel for the sixth time with the support of extreme right and religious parties. He continued the process of Jewish settlements in the stated Palestinian areas of the West Bank. The Israeli government, responsible for the security of the area, had further imposed restrictions on the number of people visiting Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a complex revered by both religions. Muslims consider it the third most holy mosque after Mecca and Madina because of their belief that Mohammed had ascended to heaven from this place. Jews consider the place as Temple Mount where Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac but God intervened, and pray traditionally on the Western Wall of the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Netanyahu has also been facing corruption charges since his previous tenures and has recently curbed the powers of the judiciary through a parliamentary act in the Knesset. There have been nationwide protests in Israel in the last nine months against the unpopular policies of the present government. Although the Hamas attacks have united the nation and the Opposition is also backing the government to overcome the security crisis; the internal situation of Israel is far from stable and some members of the intelligentsia blame Netanyahu and his government to have brought the nation to this pass. The security situation is very volatile and it may be the beginning of the Third Intifada. The Second Intifada started in 2000 and lasted till 2005 when Ariel Sharon entered the Al Aqsa Mosque with Israeli soldiers.
During the 1948 Arab-Israel War, two million Palestinians became refugees and settled down in the neighbouring Arab countries of Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. This number has now grown to six million and the right of Palestinians to have a nation of their own and the return of these refugees to their homeland is the fundamental problem. The two-nation solution propagated by the UN stated a Palestinian nation to come up in Gaza and the West Bank with half of the land mass and the return of all Palestinian refugees. The population of Israel today is over nine million, of which 20 per cent are Arabs including Muslims and Christians. Successive Israeli governments have shown resistance to the return of the refugees and have also promoted Jewish settlements in Arab-majority areas of the West Bank. The Palestinians are treated as second-grade citizens and are confined to their areas by security walls and check posts. The Arab-dominated areas are also less developed in Israel while the rest of the country can put any Western country to shame in terms of development and infrastructure.
Israeli PM Netanyahu has called it an act of war and his government has declared a national emergency. He has vowed to punish the Palestinians responsible for the violence and also get all the Israeli prisoners released. In addition to the air attacks, ground attacks have also been launched. The situation is very complex as the Israeli prisoners would be kept in different locations and it will be very difficult to ensure their safety while taking action against Hamas and Palestinian civilians. The levels of violence in the coming days are unfortunately likely to increase. Wanton killings on both sides in the coming days and weeks are likely to leave the country devastated.
The peace process that had already been kept in cold storage by the Netanyahu government will further get marginalised. PM Netanyahu has invited Opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid to join him in the emergency unity government. If the situation is not controlled and stabilised in the desired manner to minimise further casualties, the Netanyahu government may have to step down. The scale and magnitude of the clashes is unprecedented and may mark the beginning of the Third Intifada which could last for years.
The author was Head of the Mission and Force Commander of United Nations Peacekeeping Mission at Golan Heights between Israel and Syria from 2012 to 2014. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
Comments
0 comment