While we take another sip of tea in the morning, people in other parts of the world pass anxious moments waiting for their turn to get bombed. This is the grim reality for all the people living in Palestine. With Israeli forces advancing deeper into Rafah and soldiers rampaging through the town, leaving nothing but chaos and corpses in their wake, the crisis is just getting worse. Yet governments across the world are suffering from an Ostrich syndrome.
Amidst such gruesome reality, different countries are finally waking up, albeit slowly, to the reality and have started to choose a side – the side of peace – by recognising the Palestinian state. In a recent development, Norway, Ireland and Spain have decided that they will recognise Palestinian state. So far, 139 countries have formally recognised Palestine as an independent state, which speaks of the truth that these countries’ heart is still in the right place.
The Palestine issue has become a cause célèbre after the recent launch of Israeli offensives. There have been initiatives of peace talks for ceasefire, but to no avail. At this stage, there is no other option other than a two-state solution.
World powers must rise up to the occasion and bring themselves out of the slumber for establishing peace in Palestine. In this connection, it is encouraging to note that 143 out of 193 members of the United Nations’ general assembly voted on 10 May in favour of a full UN membership for Palestine. Other countries, the powerful ones who are funding the atrocities of the Israeli forces to be particular, need to jolt themselves out of the inertia and listen to the call of humanity.
Restoring peace in Palestine should be a top priority for us all. As we keep debating this issue ad nauseam, fighting and suffering continue in Gaza, escalating the humanitarian crisis further. War never begets anything good for anyone. The world must understand this and push for the two-state policy.
The world is already suffering a lot, unnecessary war is just adding to that woe. Moreover, we have bigger issues like climate change to tackle. If strong economies want to splurge money, then they should spend on climate change initiatives. In fact, why should the world fund and support a cause that is only resulting in mayhem and thwarting chances of international peace and harmony?