Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s massacre of the Palestinians are not actions that can be explained or defended logically. Even the relatively loose umbrella term of national interest is not broad enough to justify these criminal acts. We are silent witnesses to actions of over-zealous leaders driven by arrogance and aspirations of historical immorality.
John Adams, the second president of the United States, explained the irrational behaviour of political leaders by saying that, while all other sciences advanced, the science of government remained at a standstill, unchanged from 3,000 years ago.
History is peppered with examples of governments carrying out acts that scream stupid, not just with the benefit of hindsight but also in their own time. Barbara W. Tuchman, twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, in her book The March of Folly, writes about the phenomenon. The classic example is the Trojans inexplicably dragging a suspicious-looking wooden horse into their unconquerable city. We all know how that ended.
I could go on writing a thesis about the science behind irrational political behaviour. I would rather, however, write about Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl who was murdered in a car together with her aunt, uncle and three cousins.
Before being killed by the Israeli forces in a city in Gaza, she used a mobile phone to call the emergency services, pleading for her life from the car in which all her relatives had already been shot dead. “I’m so scared, please come,” she begged. This is an extract from the transcript of her conversation with the emergency corps:
Hind: “The tank is next to me. It’s moving.”
Emergency responder: “Is it very close?”
Hind: “Very, very. Will you come and get me? I’m so scared.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society tried to save her. Two of their paramedics lost their lives in the process. The mangled remains of Hind, her relatives and the paramedics were found days later.
In the early days of the invasion of Gaza, an Israeli government spokesperson said that civilian casualty is an unavoidable consequence of war, especially when fighting takes place in an urban battleground. The number of civilians killed in this massacre, for it is not a war, is now close to 30,000, including thousands of children.
Benjamin Netanyahu is the classic example of a wrong man at the worst time
For the people of Gaza, caught between a minefield and a pointed gun, their world has ended. They face a Hobson’s choice. Run with nowhere to run to or stay and be killed.
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is the classic example of a wrong man at the worst time. I find his notion of justice similar to that of Maximilien Robespierre. Kill indiscriminately first and ask questions later. It matters little if the innocent die as long as guilty parties are killed in the process. This is inhumane thinking; this is Herod’s slaying of the innocent. When a leader loses sight of humanity, his place is no longer at the helm.
The international community is turning a blind eye and a deaf ear. In the Western world, Palestine equates with terrorism. It is, after all, the country which, for decades, used terror to deliver political messages.
The Palestinians have few friends. They are tolerated rather than liked as neighbours, even by other Arab states. I am not oblivious to the deep-rooted hate and bloodied circumstances that have plagued the Holy Land. The land meant to produce milk and honey has brought misery and death to those who lived in it, including the Israeli people.
What I write here is not a condemnation of the Israeli people or any other people, for that matter. Indeed, Netanyahu is not representative of Israeli people, many of who genuinely want to live in peace and coexistence with the Palestinian people, as Hamas is not representative of the Palestinian people who simply want to live a life in dignity and recognition of their inalienable rights to statehood.
It is a condemnation of those who use their power and circumstances to kill indiscriminately.
I hate what is happening in Gaza, just as I abhorred what happened earlier outside Gaza. I condemn without reservation the killings and hostage-taking carried out by Hamas on October 7. Innocent lives were lost that day, and those who committed those heinous crimes should have faced and should face justice. But what we are witnessing is not justice. It is retribution. It is vengeance. It is the annihilation of the State of Palestine and its people.
The killing has to stop. The international community cannot allow Netanyahu to be the arbitrator in the Middle East.
All of us wonder at some stage how the world will end. Will it be an asteroid? Will some deadly virus wipe out humanity? For the people of Gaza, that question has been answered. The end of the world for the Palestinians is here and now, delivered by the Israeli forces abetted by the silence and inaction of the international community. Let us act now to prevent further innocent blood from being shed.
Let us stand up against the murder of innocents.
Mario de MarcoMario de Marco is a Nationalist MP.