Dr Joseph Mulife Muchali
In the just-ended United Nations General Assembly’s 78th Session, President Dr Hage G. Geingob made a clarion call to world leaders, saying, “We do not make peace with our friends, but with our enemies”.
Proudly, Namibia should be commended for echoing the calls for the cessation of hostilities between the people of Palestinian and Israelites.
With the death toll rising on both sides and the entire destruction of infrastructure, all parties will come out as the biggest losers.
As things stand right now, no matter the bombardment and shootings, the hatred between the Middle East’s formidable arch-enemies is just multiplied.
This is a chaotic situation being passed from generation to generation with no end in sight.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi once said, “An eye for an eye makes the world go blind”, is a situation that has sadly engulfed the Middle East, to which the world cannot turn a blind eye. There can never be any truth other than that.
Peace is a necessity for human development and progress. Without this, the human race will live like wild animals, where survival of the fittest is the norm.
Today, in the 21st Century, mankind should have reached a stage where all faculties of the brain are well-developed and functioning.
The power to reason and make rational decisions is crucial.
If anything, this is no time for running around with the spear and shield – tearing and cutting one another’s throats. That is barbarism of the highest order.
After listening to and watching live footage of the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel’s security forces, one is left wondering what happened to humanity.
No right-minded person would celebrate the kidnapping and killing of fellow human beings, especially innocent children, senior citizens, the disabled and all others not actively participating in the fight.
Unfortunately, the bullet does not distinguish fighters from civilians. They all face the same brute of war – displacement, torture, injury and death.
No one is immune from all those atrocities that cause more human suffering, and the international community has picked sides and encouraged the continuous massacre of the opposing sides.
In this war, very few individuals, people and countries are neutral.
Seemingly, each one has picked a side to root for – thinking it is a hockey game.
Surely, the voices of moderates calling for the cessation of hostilities have been silenced. It is indeed a sorry situation where dog eat dog.
Hence, it is not surprising that the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, was made to delete his tweet that called for the warring parties to stop fighting and find peace.
Equally, a reason the United Nations Secretary General’s António Guterres is carefully picking his words of condemnation.
Those are the voices of reason that the war-mongers do not want to hear.
Of all the shocking statements that have been made so far, the heartless and chilling one was made by Israel’s defence minister “no electricity, no fuel, no food and no water” for Palestinians.
Certainly, hundreds of children will die of starvation, and so will those in hospitals and the most vulnerable perish as a result.
Is there an immediate solution?
Simply, no, as the world’s powerful countries want to see Israel inflict untold revenge on the Palestinian people.
Instead of stopping the war, those very countries that claim to be more democratic and civilised are fuelling the fight by supplying more weapons, as if the killing of more innocent people will bring back normalcy.
For the political, legal and military analysts, many have picked sides and are trying to sell their propaganda.
The truth is, no one is listening. The laws of war and international laws have been shelved for another day.
People preach what they do not practice. There is no doubt that war crimes have been committed on both sides.
Regardless, in the final analysis, the war will just rob millions of innocent citizens of the peace that knows no borders, no religion and no colour of a man’s skin.
A peace that is within reach but keeps fading away with every rocket that is fired or of that bomb bringing the high-rise building to ashes.
If history is the best teacher, apartheid South Africa was not defeated on the battlefield, but on the ballot box. Indeed, the African National Congress’s armed wing Umkhonto We Sizwe targeted military installations against apartheid “White” South Africa to send their message, and so did the organisation mobilised the international community to sympathize with them. To cut it short, they were not savages.
Going forward, for the sake of world peace, Hamas should re-think its political strategy and the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign state, because trying to face Israel’s Defence Force head-on is a lost cause, as the United States of America’s support for Israel remains solid. As for Israel, the leadership must stop the blockage of Gaza, stop the oppression and inhumane treatment of Palestinians, and allow them their freedom and statehood.
In conclusion, countries like Namibia must keep exerting their influence in the many corridors of power to seek a lasting peaceful solution for the embroiled states. The war in the Middle East could have a spiral effect to worsen the global economy and world peace. Hence, the resumption of the peace talks leading to the two-state solution could be the only way to bring peace between Palestinians and Israelites.
*Dr Joseph Mulife Muchali is a keen scholar of political studies. The views expressed in this article are my own and do not represent anyone or any organisation.