Difficult Times, Struggle is the only Hope
Aqel Mahmoud Ahmed Tugoz
TIMES are very difficult, imperialist aggression is intensifying, the Israeli policy is moving to the extreme right and the peace process is no more alive. Perspectives are not so promising, but hope still exists.
It has been more than six years from the date of Trump’s election in USA, and the negotiations between Israel and Palestinian Authority stopped. USA took a clear position of supporting Israeli occupation, recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and transferring the US embassy to it. It led to the closing of the PLO office in Washington, stopping aid for the United Nations Refugee Welfare Association (UNRWA) or PA, which means that the US openly became part of the aggression against the Palestinian people. It automatically lost the role of mediator, but at the same time, it is not accepting any role of the UN or any other side.
The US also forced some Arab countries to normalise relations with Israel with the so-called Abraham agreements without finding a solution for the Palestinian issue as it was agreed in the Arab samite and the Arab initiative in Beirut.
On the other side, Israel is continuing with its aggressive policy of attacking Palestinians in the West Bank and also bombing Gaza. It is actively encouraging settlers’ aggressions on Palestinian villages and properties. It is continuing with its project of building the wall of apartheid and besieging Palestinians in their villages.
Israel also passed in the parliament the so-called ‘Nationality Law’ that gives the right for self-determination only to the Jews, which means practically an apartheid law. It treats Palestinians as second-class citizens. By piling up the pressure on Palestinians in Jerusalem to leave the city and by demolishing their homes and withdrawing their IDs, it takes away from the ‘around 2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel, ‘their equal rights.
The US and its allies, along with Israel are trying to play the role of protagonist role in the region, by projecting Iran as an alien, and a threat to peace. The entire world knows that only Israel has nuclear weapons in this region and is a real threat to world peace. We can imagine how in this situation with continuing US aggression and occupation of Syrian land, its presence in Iraq and Libya, and the presence of tens of US bases in the region, it remains a threat to peace in the region and the entire world.
We have also to take into consideration that during all these decades, the international community was unable to resolve the Palestinian issue and force Israel to respect international and human rights law.
We believe that the international community especially the UN has to take this responsibility through the international conference to solve all the West Asian issues.
If the situation continues as it is, especially now with the new extreme right government in Israel and the daily massacres against Palestinians (200 were killed this year only by Israel), the continuation of land annexation and settler building in the West Bank, there will be no place for Palestinian State. This means a continuation of the Palestinian tragedy for a long time and persisting threat to world Peace.
We believe that continuation of solidarity with the Palestinian people for ending the occupation and establishing an independent State within the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as capital is needed now more than at any time. People around the world have to stand in support of the Palestinian’s struggle for the rights of refugees to return (according to UN resolution 194) and for the release of all the prisoners from Israeli jails. For lasting peace in the West Asian region and throughout the world two important measures should be ensured. They are:
- West Asia has to be a free nuclear zone.
- Israel must end the occupation of Palestine and other Arab lands in Syria and Lebanon.
We know that this requires a prolonged struggle from the Palestinians. This needs huge efforts and requires a change in the correlation of forces.
