Is Peace in our World an Illusion?

It is the young children and the old who suffer the most, are the most vulnerable to disease, to dehydration, to a sparse diet and all the consequences of a siege.

It is the young children and the old who suffer the most, are the most vulnerable to disease, to dehydration, to a sparse diet and all the consequences of a siege.  The BBC has a heart-rending photo of a young mother grieving over her toddler who has just died … yet another casualty of the Gaza war.

Such are the expected consequences of military conflict.  A ceasefire plan has been proposed and Hamas is apparently mulling over it.  They have lost much owing to the massive Israeli response to their attack killing 1200 Israelis.  But Palestinian civilians have paid dearly.  According to the latest figures — more than 30,000 have lost their lives, and plans are afoot to move a large number of them across the Egyptian border to shelters.  That is because large areas of Gaza have been leveled destroying living places and spaces.   

What is the reconstruction of Gaza going to cost, and who will be paying for it?  Israel is the immediate culprit but the Palestinians started this one. 

Should the UN be revamped and given more clout?  Even if the UN did have a military force, attacking, bombing or cordoning off Israel is hardly the answer.  Most Israelis do not support Bibi Netanyahu anyway, and surely Israeli civilians should not have to become victims as well.

Perhaps the man with the most power to stop this might have something to say.  His vice-president Kamala Harris has met Benny Gantz, in Washington.   Gantz is Israel’s opposition leader and at present also a member of Netanyahu’s unified war cabinet  He came despite Netanyahu’s objections to his visit.  According to Harris, “far too many Palestinian civilians have been killed.  We need to get more aid in, we need to get hostages out, and that remains our position.”   

Polls in Israel show that Gantz, a former military chief of staff and centrist, would win if an election were to be held today.  Netanhyahu has certainly suffered a precipitous drop in popularity. 

That it is easier to start a war than end it — has been known since the possibly apocryphal 10-year long Trojan war.  In modern times, the assassination of an Austrian archduke and heir by a Serbian nationalist, served as a pretext to start the First World War.  The real reason being a newly industrialized Germany’s need for export markets.  It would take a second world war before the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was created and signed by 28 nations in 1947.

So where do all these lessons lead us in the context of Gaza?  A wildly unpopular war, Netayahu wants to end it.  For Hamas, the 30,000 deaths and the wanton destruction of Gaza has been a sobering price to pay.  Hence, their probable internal discussions and delay in assenting to the US-backed peace proposal.  They also have to carefully calibrate the release of hostages for maximum benefit.  After all, they represent their most valuable bargaining chips. 

And there it stands, another war, another human folly, and again the victims left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. 

Dr. Arshad M. Khan
Dr. Arshad M. Khan
Dr. Arshad M. Khan is a former Professor based in the US. Educated at King's College London, OSU and The University of Chicago, he has a multidisciplinary background that has frequently informed his research. Thus he headed the analysis of an innovation survey of Norway, and his work on SMEs published in major journals has been widely cited. He has for several decades also written for the press: These articles and occasional comments have appeared in print media such as The Dallas Morning News, Dawn (Pakistan), The Fort Worth Star Telegram, The Monitor, The Wall Street Journal and others. On the internet, he has written for Antiwar.com, Asia Times, Common Dreams, Counterpunch, Countercurrents, Dissident Voice, Eurasia Review and Modern Diplomacy among many. His work has been quoted in the U.S. Congress and published in its Congressional Record.