Resilience and resolve of the oppressed will ultimately lead to their liberation

Decades-long tyranny, suffocation, oppression, illegal settlements, land seizures, home demolitions, frequent displacements, exploitation, expulsions, force, coercion, and intrigues have left Palestinians exhausted.

With all avenues for life, honor, dignity, and basic human rights systematically denied, Hamas embarked on a disastrous path on October 7 against the oppressors and occupiers of their land and resources.

Driven by desperation and anger, the freedom fighters initiated a reckless attack against a formidable and well-entrenched enemy, without fully comprehending the devastating consequences that would follow for their future, their children, and their scarce resources.

The response from the inhuman and ruthless oppressor has been as brutal as it is predictable. Like a gluttonous and enraged elephant on a rampage, the bandit state of Israel has unleashed a tempest of violence, terror, and destruction.

Fully armed with lethal arsenals from powerful patrons - the United States, UK, Germany, and France - the weak and militarily under-equipped Hamas faces horrible consequences.

The international community, blinded to decades of Palestinian suffering since the 1917 Balfour Declaration, supports this known aggressor, settler terrorist state.

Only Hamas’ October 7 attack is in the spotlight, while the painful events of the past eleven months are forgotten. Weak and vulnerable Palestinians have no voice and are left to suffer hardships, injustices, cruelties, dehumanization, and death. They are not on the strategic agenda of world powers serving their regional interests. Israel is a strategic partner to be strengthened, despite committing aggression and crimes against humanity. This is evident in the escalating violence and human catastrophe.

In retaliation for the deaths of 1200 people and the kidnappings of some 250 Israelis, the oppressor has launched an indiscriminate campaign of systematic genocide, horror, and brutality.

Entire communities are being obliterated under the guise of targeting small pockets of Hamas and other militant groups. Young men are being lined up against walls and tortured to death; savage brutes are kicking blindfolded young and old Palestinians into large pits and trenches.

The bodies are raised in the air and then shot at. The IDF, or Israeli Death Forces, seems to feel immense pleasure and jubilation at these shameless scenes that send shivers down the spine.

Women, children, and the elderly - innocent and unarmed civilians with no connection to militants - are being mercilessly slaughtered.

The dreams and aspirations of school-going innocent children are being shattered; the smiles of infants and toddlers are being robbed and extinguished forever. They are even targeting UNRWA workers, medics, and volunteers. They mercilessly targeted and killed a brave Australian aid worker, Zomi Frank Com, along with her seven colleagues. It appears that Israel is building a magnificent edifice of power and arrogance with the corpses and blood of innocents.

How many more corpses and blood, nobody knows! The death toll is staggering: over 40,000 fatalities, including 17,000 children, with countless more lying beneath the rubble. Every day, an average of 53 children, as well as 72 men and women, are being killed.

With the body count rising with each passing day, hour, and minute, the burden of burials becomes overwhelming. Coffins and shrouds are running short, and yet the carnage continues unabated and with impunity.”

Under relentless assault from air, sea, and land, the cries of the innocent echo through the streets of Gaza, the West Bank, Rafah, and Khan Yunis. Lethal tanks surround every street, crossing, and corner, and volleys of bullets and shells ceaselessly rain down on defenseless civilians. Yet, the world stands in shameful silence, tacitly approving this ethnic cleansing and brazen slaughter.

The atrocities and inhuman barbarism, unprecedented in human history and committed in complicity with the torchbearers of democracy, human rights, inclusivity, enlightenment, and civilization, have surpassed even the darkest chapters of history created by the savagery of Genghis’ and the Nazis combined.

The scenes of children being massacred, the discovery of mass graves, the hungry and emaciated being fired upon as they queue for a few morsels of bread, and the bodies of the dead desecrated under the treads of tanks are horrifying beyond words. But these horrors cannot stir or move the conscience of the so-called civilized world.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken undertook ten diplomatic forays into the Middle East to broker peace and alleviate Palestinian suffering.

However, his visits were met with intensified military offensives targeting hospitals, schools, shelters, and residential areas in Gaza, Raffah, and the West Bank, leaving death and devastation.

Blinken’s rhetoric on humanitarian aid, a two-state solution, and concern for Palestinian suffering rings hollow when juxtaposed with reality. His diplomatic mission fails to change the status quo, resulting in more violence. America’s efforts to halt aggression raise questions about US diplomacy’s effectiveness and sincerity.

The absence of pressure on Israel to halt military operations casts a shadow over America’s role as a mediator. Instead, America reinforces its strategic alliance with Israel, prioritizing it over protecting innocent civilians. Blinken’s visits fail to stop the systematic genocide of innocent children and civilians, deepening Palestinians’ sense of abandonment. It is a bitter irony that US funding and support for Israel fuel a conflict bringing death and destruction to Palestinians.

The world’s silence is deafening as the oppressor wages war on a battered population with no match for its military might and economic power.

One fails to understand what the ferocious and marauding murderers are up to when Hamas’s infrastructure stands decimated.

The safe sanctuaries, i.e., the tunnels from where they operated, have been totally destroyed, their commanders killed, and the IDF is not facing any resistance in Gaza, the West Bank, Khan Yunis, or Raffah. It is a unilateral war of attrition and ethnic cleansing by Zionist warlords. It is beyond reason, logic, or comprehension to continue with the bloodbath of innocent children, women, and hapless civilians constantly made to flee for shelters with only the clothes on their bodies.

And it is tragic and traumatizing that the fleeing innocents are fired upon from the sky or sniper bullets of butchers. And when they reach open skies or broken shelters, they are welcomed with aerial bombings and ground assaults. The same sordid stories of children’s slaughters and innocent killings are repeated.

Everywhere, death is in eager and anxious wait for them. Such are the heart-wrenching and terrifying tales and ordeals of the helpless, persecuted, and brutalized persons on the face of this earth.

But the mad elephant running amok, fueled by vengeance and arrogance, does not pause to reflect. It is blinded by its might and the unwavering support of its powerful allies. It continues its path of destruction, oblivious to the cries of the innocent, the pleas for mercy, and the principles of humanity.

The international community, despite clear evidence of war crimes and human rights violations, remains either complicit or impotent, unwilling or unable to rein in the aggressor.

How long will this bloodbath continue? How long will the powerful continue to sharpen their knives against besieged children, women, and the elderly? How long will the resilience, courage, and patience of hapless and besieged people living in ruins be tried and tested?

The infrastructure of Gaza has totally collapsed. With raw sewage flowing like streams in the ruined streets, huge piles of garbage lying everywhere, swarms of biting mosquitoes, flies, and unknown germs flying, the threat of contagious diseases looms large. And the healthcare system is already destroyed. One can imagine the death and suffering awaiting the unfortunate souls.

The once bustling Gaza, full of life and economic activities, now stinks and is blood-stained, where vulnerable people are made to die through aerial bombings, rockets, bullets, hunger, thirst, and disease, presenting a dreaded picture of an open-sky concentration camp even more terrifying than Hitler’s infamous Auschwitz, Belzec and other Nazi concentration camps.

Amidst this chaos and barbarism, a glimmer of hope emerges. Free people from across the globe have risen in unity and solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians. From the Americas to Europe, from Africa to Asia, the cries of “Free Palestine” and “Ceasefire Now!” resonate. The voices of the world’s people—the true sovereigns and masters of this planet—demand an end to the violence and justice for the oppressed.

However, UN resolutions, ICJ rulings, and arrest warrants for war criminals are arrogantly disregarded. The main architect of this death and destruction, war criminal and perpetrator of horrible crimes against humanity, Benjamin Netanyahu, is even celebrated with a standing ovation from the U.S. Congress—a chilling testament to the moral bankruptcy of those who claim to lead an enlightened, free, civilized, and peaceful world.In the midst of this profound sorrow and suffering, we turn to the timeless words of William Wordsworth, which offer a glimmer of solace and resilience:

‘Though nothing can bring back the hour

Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;

We will grieve not, rather find

Strength in what remains behind;

In the primal sympathy

Which having been must ever be;

In the soothing thoughts that spring

Out of human suffering;

In the faith that looks through death,

In years that bring the philosophic mind.’

These lines from Wordsworth’s ‘Ode: Intimations of Immortality’ remind us that, despite overwhelming grief and loss, there is strength and resilience to be found.

The human spirit, even when battered and bruised, finds solace in the enduring connections of empathy, the wisdom born of suffering, and the unyielding hope that looks beyond death and destruction. In the face of immense sorrow, this philosophy encourages us to embrace resilience and believe that even in the darkest times, there is a path forward.

Moreover, Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s lines carry the message of devastating fate for the Zionist naked aggression.

Faiz’s powerful verse encapsulates the eventual downfall of tyranny and the inevitable rise of the oppressed. These lines from Faiz resonate deeply with the Palestinian struggle, capturing the spirit of resistance and the hope for a day when the mountains of oppression will crumble, and justice will prevail.

The imagery serves as a reminder that no matter how powerful the oppressor may seem, the resilience and resolve of the oppressed will ultimately lead to their liberation. They remind us that even in the darkest times, the resilience of the oppressed and their fight for freedom will one day bring about the downfall of tyranny. Faiz’s words offer a beacon of hope, a reminder that the struggle for justice is not in vain.

The day is not far when, from the ruins of Gaza, a hope, a promise, and a resolve for freedom, dignity, and honor will emerge triumphant, and the blood of innocent children, men, and women will speak and prevail over tyrants, killers, colonizers, and powerful abettors. Palestinians’ long-drawn-out struggle and cherished dream to live in their lands freely, with dignity and honor, will come true. Soon, we shall bear witness to this glorious verdict of history.

It is high time that the pursuit of peace is made possible and within reach through dialogue and negotiation, triumphing over violence and bloodshed.

The Camp David Accords of 1978, which led to the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, marked a significant milestone. This agreement, resulting in the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in exchange for peace, demonstrated that even the most intractable conflicts could find resolution through diplomacy and mutual recognition.

Let Zionists, at this critical moment in history, shun violence and stop this thoughtless genocide and antagonism, and return to the 1967 borders, in exchange for peace and security, offering Palestinians their lands and resources, and truly work for the growth of a relationship based on the principle of “Live and Let Live,” instead of annihilating undesirable people like the Nazis. This will work and smoothly pave the way for peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine. The spirit of compromise and the possibility of a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not impossible.

The path to lasting peace is not through continued destruction of lives and communities but through dialogue, recognition, and the willingness to coexist, as was realized in the Camp David Accords. The current bloodshed and brutality stand in stark contrast to the principles of coexistence and recognition of rights.

The vision of “Live and Let Live,” where both peoples can coexist with dignity and respect, must guide all efforts to end the violence and establish a durable and just peace in the Middle East. Yet, history has shown us that no tyranny lasts forever.

The oppressor, in its blind pursuit of total dominance, is sowing the seeds of its eventual downfall. The resilience of the Palestinian people, their spirit of resistance, and the growing global outcry against these atrocities signal that this brutal chapter will one day come to an end.

The blood of the innocents, spilled so wantonly, will not be forgotten, and justice, though delayed, will prevail. It is essential that the world community, particularly the powers that have historically shaped the region’s fate, must act with urgency and moral clarity. They must recognize the humanity of all involved, uphold international law, and demand an immediate end to the bloodshed.

The vision of peace, embodied in the spirit of ‘Live and Let Live,’ must be realized—not just in words, but in action. The time for silence and complicity is over; the time for justice and peace is now.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024