Few heroes have emerged on the diplomatic level during this conflict and, sadly, even the Arab world has not produced one. An Arab League emergency summit of foreign ministers predictably concluded in nothing. Displays of genuine emotion by representatives of Arab governments have been rarities.
#Turkey’s position on Gaza has been clear, in sharp contrast to our own regretful diplomatic paralysis. Since the start of Israel’s aggression, #Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has shuttled between Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria in a proactive attempt to achieve a ceasefire. He has also ended #Turkey’s mediation in the Israel-Syrian peace talks.
In particular, I salute Mr Erdogan for his unequivocal message to Israel, his country’s long-time ally. Speaking on January 4, he said, “Allah will sooner or later punish those who transgress the rights of innocents”. Accusing Israel of creating a humanitarian tragedy by the use of excessive force, he said, “Israel will be cursed for the children and the defenceless women who died under bombs. Israel will be cursed for tears shed by mothers”.
When Israel characterised his verbal attack as overly emotional, Erdogan responded with; “No, I am not emotional. I am acting on the basis of knowledge and experience. I advise Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to leave aside upcoming elections in February. History will accuse them of putting a stain on humanity. What reason can justify such savagery?” “It is unforgivable that people who suffered profound pains in their history could do such a thing”, he railed. “In fact, they should have displayed more respect for human life than anyone else in the world”.
I suspect these courageous words have reverberated in the minds and hearts of all Arabs as they did within my own. I applaud his references to #Turkey’s Ottoman past, when he said we are the grandsons of #Turkey’s Ottoman Empire, who gave refuge to the prosecuted Jew from France, Spain, Italy and Hungary. The difference is, the residents of Gaza have nowhere to flee and no nation is offering even a temporary safe harbour.
Unlike #Turkey, at the start of Israel’s campaign some Arab governments blamed Hamas for Israel’s bombs. Instead of standing together against a country that occupies, oppresses and murders our fellow Arabs, our leaders chose either to discredit the victims or virtually ignore them. It is as though they have not heard the heart-wrenching wails of the man who lost his mother, father, wife and all his children or seen the footage of another surrounded by the shrouded bodies of his three young sons and daughter.
It is as though they have no knowledge of the targeted ambulances and the UN school, turned into a shelter for civilians. When ambulances are clearly marked and, according to the UN, Israel was provided with the school’s GPS coordinates, these attacks do constitute war crimes.
Mads Gilbert, one of two Norwegian doctors who volunteered to help in Gaza and is working with dedicated #Palestinian colleagues wrote this SMS message: “We are wading in death, blood and amputees; many children, a pregnant woman. I have never experienced anything so terrible…Do something! Do more!”
Confronted with video evidence of understaffed and under-equipped hospitals overflowing with wounded, dead and dying no efforts must be spared to provide relief. Now that the carnage is such that Israel’s propaganda machine can no longer provide effective cover, the diplomatic process has gone into overdrive.
By the time you read this, a ceasefire that involves international monitoring may be in place. This is my hope but, in truth, the United Nations has rarely taken any binding Chapter 7 decision to protect Palestinians and, therefore, it is likely that any resolution passed will be heavily weighted in Israel’s favour. Such resolutions should not offer Israel an undeserved victory to compensate for its military failures during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict or to bolster Israel’s ruling party Kadima in upcoming elections.
I agree with the sentiments of the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal who said, the Council’s “deafening silence” placed a large question mark over its credibility as well as “the entire system of international security”.
Therefore, if the UN continues with its failures, the Arab League needs to become independent and fortified to look after its members interests through dialogue and negotiation. It should also be enabled to use the ultimate option of military force as a last resort. If we can no longer rely on the UN then we must look to a strengthened Arab League as our regional parent.
There are no winners here. Israel’s ugly mask has been lifted and the only beneficiaries are extremists on both sides as well as anti-Semites around the world. In the final analysis, violence can never resolve disputes, it only breeds more hatred. As history has shown, dialogue is the only way forward if a just and lasting peace in our region is ever to prevail. When will we ever learn?