BAD MOON RISING
Donald Trump’s announcement defies global law, will lead to more bloodshed
WITH all the attention focused on Donald Trump’s move to name Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, let me take you behind the barbed wires to Gaza to get a sampling of everyday life of a Palestinian.
Gaza is nothing more than an open air prison masquerading as one half of the state of Palestine. It has never experienced real peace. Everyone knows that.
The American president knows that too. His latest move will help ensure that the elusive enduring peace will continue to escape the Palestinians. And for that matter, Israel, too.
When he made the announcement, Trump gave the signal to the rest of the world that Palestine is not in his reckoning at all — be it political, economic and social.
Trump’s action, opposed by the vast majority of world leaders, including his allies, and a significant number of his fellow Americans, defies international law and is an open invitation to more bloodshed in that part of the world.
Even without Trump’s move to name Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Palestine is already under tremendous pressure to survive. But Trump doesn’t care. His latest move automatically disqualifies him from being a peace broker in the Middle East.
As we all know, Palestine is divided into two parts. One part is in the West Bank and the other half in Gaza. Palestine is an occupied territory, mind you, controlled by Israel in every sense of the word.
I had the opportunity to visit Gaza twice in the last 10 years. The visits were scary and an eyeopener. They were truly a humbling experience.
Both visits were made via the Rafah Crossing, where a big gate heavily locked and guarded divides Egypt and Gaza. Soldiers patrolled the area 24/7. Only a small makeshift coffee shop stands by the gate offering cookies and a surau.
A long line of lorries was parked along the road heading for Gaza. I later learned that they had been there for two days waiting for clearance to enter. The lorries contained all sorts of relief items and supplies to help the people of Gaza.
Gaza had been bombarded for several days by Israeli forces in 2009. Humanitarian non-governmental organisations had rallied to bring food, medicines, clothing and other items to help the people there. My team was one of them.
It took almost eight hours by road to get to Rafah from Cairo. There were many checkpoints to cross. At each checkpoint, we had to produce our passports and other documents to show that we could get into Gaza. At a few checkpoints, we were made to get down from our van for full inspection.
When we finally reached Rafah, the crossing was closed. We had to back track to a nearby town called Al-Arish. Al-Arish offered us warm food and room for the night.
The next day we went back to Rafah, all set to get into Gaza. Alas, it was not to be! We were told to return to Cairo to get several more documents before we could be allowed to enter. When we were in Cairo, we were told that we had already secured all the necessary documents. But in Rafah, we were told that there were many documents still needed.
So, a team had to return to Cairo while the rest stayed back in Al-Arish. We finally entered Gaza four days after leaving Cairo. There was thorough security checks before we could be allowed in.
The message was very clear. Israel, the occupier of Palestine, doesn’t want outsiders into Gaza. Anyone wanting to go in would be subjected to heavy security checks and screening.
Once we were in, we could see smoke from nearby fields where the bombings had taken place. There was rubble all over. We were taken to a hotel manned by only three staff. And, we were the only guests!
The three were responsible for the front desk and telephone, a chef who also doubled up as a waiter and a security guard, who was also doing housekeeping chores.
The hotel was closed because of the bombings the week before. Our arrival was greeted with surprise because no one else wanted to enter Gaza and risked their lives. We went in because we had a mission to accomplish, that is to deliver relief items.
The next few days we toured many parts of Gaza. Our guide was someone from the Palestine Liberation Organisation once headed by Yasser Arafat. We saw destruction everywhere.
The air strikes had flattened farms and reduced four-storey buildings to ashes. At one village, dead cows were all over a field. Orange orchards were also destroyed and schools bombed. It was obvious that the Israeli bombers were targeting everything and everyone.
Many parts of Gaza had no electricity supply. I visited a family and was treated to coffee in the dark except for one small candle.
Once, we were praying in a mosque and a bomb had gone off not far from it. My team and I rushed outside to get into our van to get away.
A man asked where we were rushing to. I told them to look for a safe place.
He said: “My dear brother, there is no safe place in Gaza. There is no safe place anywhere in Palestine!”
The Palestinians live with this threat every day.
Trump’s move will not reduce this threat. In fact, one can expect more fighting and clashes between Israeli forces and the ordinary citizens of Palestine, regardless where they are located.
This means, Israel, too, won’t have peace. Trump has made sure of that!
He said: ‘My dear brother, there is no safe place in Gaza. There is no safe place anywhere in Palestine!’ The Palestinians live with this threat every day.