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Tag: Israel-Palestine conflict

  • India Abstains From UN Vote, Seeks Condemnation of Hamas Attack

    India Abstains From UN Vote, Seeks Condemnation of Hamas Attack

    It is pertinent to note that India was in favour of the Canadian resolution which condemned the attacks by Hamas.

    Even as India was among the countries that abstained from voting for a non-binding Jordanian resolution, it voted in favour of a Canada-led amendment to the draft resolution on the Gaza crisis which failed to pass at the UNGA as it did not achieve a two-thirds majority.

    Canada proposed an amendment to the resolution drafted by Jordan, which originally called for unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip but did not condemn Hamas. Canada’s proposed amendment sought to insert a paragraph condemning the “terrorist attacks by Hamas.”

    India abstained from voting on the Jordanian resolution which called for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza. However, it is pertinent to note that India was in favour of the Canadian resolution which condemned the attacks by Hamas.

    The Jordanian-led draft resolution was adopted by the General Assembly, with 120 votes in favour, 14 against and 45 abstentions. The 45 nations that abstained from voting on the resolution included Iceland, India, Panama, Lithuania and Greece.

    The resolution was adopted during the UN General Assembly’s emergency special session on the Israel-Palestine crisis. The UNGA also demanded “continuous, sufficient and unhindered” provision of lifesaving supplies and services for civilians trapped inside the enclave.

    The Canada-led amendment to the draft resolution on the Gaza crisis did not pass at the UNGA. It failed to achieve a two-thirds majority. An amendment proposed by Canada “unequivocally rejects and condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas” in Israel which started on October 7 and the taking of hostages.

    During the voting on the Canada-led amendment to the draft resolution, 88 voted in favour of the amendment, 55 voted against the amendment and 23 abstained from voting. The nations that voted in favour of the amendment included India, Australia, US, UK, Austria and Ukraine.

    Meanwhile, expressing deep concerns over the deteriorating security situation and the astounding loss of civilian lives in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, India at the UN urged both parties to “de-escalate, eschew violence.”

    India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Yojna Patel on Friday (local time) in her remarks at the United Nations General Assembly Emergency Special Session on the Israel-Hamas war said, “India is deeply concerned at the deteriorating security situation and the astounding loss of civilian lives in the ongoing conflict. The escalation of hostilities in the region will only exacerbate the humanitarian crisis. It is necessary for all parties to display the utmost responsibility.”

    She noted that India has always supported a “negotiated two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine.” Patel said that India urges the parties to de-escalate, eschew violence and work towards creating conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations.

    “India has always supported a negotiated two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine issue leading to the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine living within secure and recognized borders side by side in peace with Israel. For this, we urge the parties to de-escalate, eschew violence and work towards creating conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations,” Yojna Patel said.

    “We hope that the deliberations of this assembly will send a clear message against terror and violence and expand prospects for diplomacy and dialogue while addressing the humanitarian crisis that confronts us,” she added.

    Patel also called the Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7 “shocking” and stressed that they deserve condemnation. She said that India calls for immediate and unconditional release of hostages.

    “The terror attacks in Israel on 7th October were shocking and deserve condemnation. Our thoughts are also with those taken hostages. We call for their immediate and unconditional release. Terrorism is a malignancy and knows no borders, nationality or race. The world should not buy into any justification of terror acts. Let us keep aside differences, unite and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism,” Yojna Patel said.

    Calling the casualties in Gaza a “telling, serious and continuing concern,” Yojna Patel said that the humanitarian crisis needs to be addressed. She stated that India welcomes the international community’s de-escalation efforts and delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

    Patel said, “Casualties in the ongoing conflict in Gaza are a telling, serious and continuing concern. Civilians, especially women and children, are paying with their lives. This humanitarian crisis needs to be addressed. We welcome the international community’s de-escalation efforts and delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. India, too, has contributed to this effort.”

    Emphasising that differences and disputes should be resolved through dialogue, Patel said, “In a world where differences and disputes should be resolved by dialogue, this august body should be deeply concerned at recourse to violence. That too, when it happens on a scale and intensity that is an affront to basic human values. Violence as a means to achieve political objectives damages indiscriminately and does not pave the way for any durable solutions.”

    The adoption of the Jordanian resolution is the first formal response of the United Nations to the escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine since the Hamas attacks of 7 October.

    The voting at UNGA comes at a time when Israel has announced expanding ground operations in Gaza. (ANI)

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  • Diplomacy Spurs Relief for Gaza

    Diplomacy Spurs Relief for Gaza

    Guterres used all his diplomatic prowess to get Israel to agree to allow the supplies from Egypt into Gaza in an arrangement involving Cairo, Washington and the UN….reports Arul Louis

    After a fortnight of diplomatic cajoling and appeals to conscience by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and a dose of international pressure, a small convoy of 20 trucks loaded with relief supplies tentatively crossed the Rafah border from Egypt to bring succour to the 2 million people trapped by Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

    For a UN powerless to deal with the Gaza crisis — or the broader Palestine issue for 75 years — sending aid to Gaza was a tiny victory and a stab at relevance.

    Although Israel allowed the trickle of 20 trucks into Gaza nominally under its occupation and facing a threat of attacks on unauthorised vehicles, the UN programme’s future hangs in the balance.

    But 200 other trucks loaded with food, medicine and fuel were parked at the Egypt-Gaza border while officials from Egypt, Israel, and the US haggled over the terms for them to move into Gaza.

    “They are a lifeline to the people in Gaza”, Guterres said, “the difference between death and life, with water, with food, with medicines, with everything the people of Gaza need”.

    Israel’s blockade of Gaza as reprisal for the terrorist attack launched on October 7 by the Hamas group that rules the territory has cut off power, water and supplies of medicine, fuel, and other essential supplies.

    In that attack over 1,400 people were killed in Israel and about 200 were taken hostage by marauding Hamas terrorists.

    Israel’s retaliation has caused nearly 4,000 deaths, Palestinian authorities say.

    Guterres used all his diplomatic prowess to get Israel to agree to allow the supplies from Egypt into Gaza in an arrangement involving Cairo, Washington and the UN.

    He got some help from US President Joe Biden who also pressured Israel to agree to allowing 20 trucks to cross into Gaza, far less than the 200 ready to roll.

    However, for the UN and Guterres, the bigger goal is stopping Israel from launching the threatened ground offensive to annihilate Hamas that could cause massive civilian casualties and from the conflict spilling over the region.

    One barrier to allowing the UN convoy – inspecting the trucks to ensure they are not carrying weapons – appears to have been breached, but others – whether they can go to northern Gaza which Israel has ordered to be emptied out as it prepares for ground invasion of the area, and resistance to allowing fuel to be sent in – remain.

    Guterres said on Friday: “We are now actively engaging with all the parties, actively engaging with Egypt, with Israel, with the US, in order to make sure that we are able to clarify those conditions, that we are able to limit those restrictions in order to have as soon as possible these trucks moving to where they are needed.”

    Guterres also wants the relief arrangement to go beyond 20 trucks to a regular arrangement.

    “We are not looking for one convoy to come, we are looking for convoys to be authorized, with meaningful numbers of trucks to go everywhere into Gaza to provide enough support to the Gaza people,” he said.

    That would be a tough sell to Israel, which is preparing a ground offensive.

    The UN, ultimately, is at the mercy of Israel which can destroy convoys entering Gaza.

    The blockade has been described as a collective punishment, which is a violation of international law.

    Guterres said: “I have repeatedly said that the barbaric attack by Hamas needs to be condemned. But I’ve also said they can not be a pretext for a collective punishment of the Palestinian people. It’s absolutely essential to respect international humanitarian law.”

    United Arab Emirates Permanent Representative Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, made the distinction earlier last week: “Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people, or the people of Gaza, who are suffering immensely today.”

    The UN launched in 1949 the aid programme for the Palestinian refugees displaced in the creation of Israel the previous year is the single largest such programme and it has an annual budget of $1.6 billion and more than 13,000 employees.

    Known as the UN Relief and Works Programme (UNRWA), it operates in Gaza and the West Bank, but also in neighbouring countries with Palestinian refugees, running health centres, educational institutions and food distribution programmes.

    UNRWA will be distributing the aid sent through the Rafah Crossing.

    Guterres said: “To be able to distribute aid on that side, it is necessary that UNRWA has fuel and so we need to have the guarantee that we have enough fuel on the other side to distribute aid to the people in need.”

    Israel has reservations about fuel going into Gaza because of fears it could be commandeered by Hamas for its military activities.

    In the other major conflict, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where the UN has been rendered a helpless bystander because of the Security Council veto stalemate, Guterres gained a small symbolic victory through the Black Sea Grain Initiative that allowed food grains from Ukraine to be shipped out to stabilise the global supplies and to help nations facing severe food shortages.

    But that was been shortlived because Russia has withdrawn from it threatening ships carrying Ukrainian foodgrains.

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  • Lula speaks to Raisi over release of captives in Gaza

    Lula speaks to Raisi over release of captives in Gaza

    President Lula asked that everything possible be done to reach a consensus that would create a humanitarian corridor….reports Asian Lite News

    President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi called Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the release of captives held in Gaza.

    According to an official statement released by Brazil government, Silva noted that there are a group of Brazilians waiting to leave the Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border, and expressed his sympathy for the women and children suffering from the fighting in the area.

    The Iranian president called for an immediate end to Israeli bombings and an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

    President Lula asked that everything possible be done to reach a consensus that would create a humanitarian corridor and appealed for the release of all hostages, which would be the best signal for an appeal for an end to the bombings in Gaza, according to the release.

    “The most important thing is to ensure that women, children and the elderly do not suffer the consequences of those who want war,” Lula said during the conversation.

    “I get sad when I see how difficult it is for poor people to build a house, a hospital. And how easily this is destroyed in war.”

    The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi on Tuesday issued a message for its soldiers ahead of Israel’s announcing that the preparations being made to launch a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in retaliation to the Hamas attack on its territory.

    In a message note shared on X, the IDF called the Hamas attack on Israel a “murderous surprise attack” against Israel and said that they are striking the “enemy” from air, ground and sea.

    Addressing the IDF soldiers and commanders, it said on X, “

    We destroyed enemy infrastructure, leadership and capabilities and caused significant damage. We will pursue and catch them everywhere and will strike them with force. We are determined and unified in our mission to protect our home and are prepared for any situation at every front. Our uncompromising responsibility is to overwhelm the enemy and restore security everywhere.”

    Further highlighting the significance of the moment, the IDF chief of Staff asserted that the IDF would win the war and said that the army is trained for the mission.

    “We took a hard hit and we are responsible, but now the initiative is in our hands. Every single one of you has a role in the challenges we face ahead. The war will be difficult and long and the IDF will prevail. The IDF will prevail because of our dedication to the mission, our bravery, and camaraderie. The IDF will prevail because our war is just. The IDF will prevail thanks to the might of the nation we are a part of. We will prevail because of our abilities and because we trained for this mission. We will prevail, and in everything that we do we will act according to the IDF spirit and its values” the IDF Chief of Staff said in his message to troops.

    The letter read further, ” We will remember our comrades, soldiers, commanders, security forces; the rapid response teams and the civilians that bravely stormed the enemy, and courageously fought and saved many lives. They fought and paid with their lives, but their blood was not absorbed into the soil in vain; they are our legacy, and we will continue their mission.”

    According to the Gaza-based Health ministry, the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza has risen to 2,750 and the number of wounded has risen to 9,700. In a previous statement, the ministry said over 750 children were among the people killed in the Israeli attacks.

    Meanwhile, the Death toll in Israel from the surprise Hamas attack is now more than 1,400, according to the IDF. (ANI)

    ALSO READ: Biden Hints at ‘Other Team’ in Gaza Hospital Attack

  • Could Israel’s Gaza Conflict Spark Regime Changes In Iran, Syria?

    Could Israel’s Gaza Conflict Spark Regime Changes In Iran, Syria?

    A little bit of back story traced to the so-called Arab Spring is essential to explain the impending blood bath in Gaza and the possible geopolitical pathways that it is expected to reveal….writes Atul Aneja

    Amid the fog of war, the accumulation of war material in the eastern Mediterranean stands out as the fulcrum that could define the course of the on-going Hamas-Israel war.

    The US carrier task force led by the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford is spearheading the amassing of mega-firepower in these waters.

    The carrier group also includes armed- to the teeth warships comprising USS Normandy — a guided-missile cruiser. Besides, the USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt are part of the battle group. The Arleigh-Burke-class guided-missile destroyer is also pulling in military heft into the task force.

    A second US carrier group, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group will also be deployed in the eastern Mediterranean, the US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Saturday. The official purpose of the deployment is to “deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack on Israel.”

    The British, the essential junior partner of the Anglo-Saxon alliance after World War-2 are also pitching in with two Royal Navy ships, P8 surveillance aircraft, three merlin helicopters and a company of Royal Marines – to the eastern Mediterranean.

    It is likely that the massive accumulation firepower has a dual purpose. One is to deter the Iran and its allies to enter the Gaza military theatre, as officially stated. But a broader geopolitical Israeli-western enterprise could also be in the works, with Iran, Syria, and Lebanese Hezbollah in its cross-hairs.

    A little bit of back story traced to the so-called Arab Spring is essential to explain the impending blood bath in Gaza and the possible geopolitical pathways that it is expected to reveal.

    After the success of western backed regime change projects in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya in 2011, the Obama administration trained its guns on Syria under the rubric of the Arab Spring. But that goal could not be accomplished on account of military intervention by Russia, which was diplomatically backed by China, especially during voting at the United Nations Security Council.

    The turning point of the Russia-China stance was the killing of Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi on October 20,2011. Qadhafi was hounded by NATO backed Islamists, who then managed to accomplish regime change in a pivotal oil-rich North African state.

    With the toppling of Qadhafi, high decibel alarm bells began to ring in Moscow and Beijing. So, instead of abstaining from western backed resolutions supporting the advance of the Arab Spring, Russia and China vetoed the resolution, amounting to consent and legitimacy, for toppling the Bashar Assad government in Syria.

    After Qadhafi was brutally murdered in his home base at Sirte, both Russia and China concluded that the cascading Arab Spring was a giant geopolitical project. The question that then arose was—will the Arab Spring stop at the gates of the Arabia, or, instead, enter new territory, governed by “authoritarian” leaders?  In Moscow and Beijing, it was concluded that regime change project post-Qadhafi would first target Syria, and thereafter go for the jugular in Iran.

    Consequently, for both Moscow and Beijing in that order, Syria was identified as the first defence line to stall the supercharged regime change storm. In anticipation of regime change in Tehran, the two Eurasian giants saw Iran as their second defence line. It was understood that if Tehran fell, the Eurasian core, the existential bulwark for both Russia and China, would stand exposed to sweeping tide of serial regime changes.

    Unsurprisingly Putin’s Russia was first off, the blocks, militarily intervening using air power to prevent Bashar’s fall. To fortify the Eurasian buffer, Russia and China also took the strategic decision of build a special relationship with Iran, which is now both a part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS grouping of the emerging economies.

    Now fast forward to the accumulation of forces in the eastern Mediterranean and the Gaza crisis. After failing to achieve their objective of weakening Russia through the Ukraine war, NATO, this time with Israel is once again back in the Middle East targeting the “axis of resistance.” This phalanx in the Levant comprises Syria, Iran and Tehran backed Hezbollah. Incidentally the West has an axe to grind with Hezbollah. In 2006 the Shiite group had successfully fought Israel, thus embarrassing former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who anticipating quick Israeli success, had prematurely described the war as the “birth pangs” of a new Middle East.

    So, the question that arises after Saturday’s surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, is whether Tel Aviv is now working with the West to accomplish the unfinished and maximalist agenda of regime change in Tehran? Is the accumulation of firepower in the eastern Mediterranean part of a bigger regional enterprise? Some Middle East watchers think that the Gaza counteroffensive has a bigger objective.

    For instance, in an interview with Russia Today, Michael Maloof, former senior security policy analyst at the US Department of Defence, is of the view that Netanyahu would like Washington to get directly involved in the conflict with Hamas because he hopes to expand the war to Lebanon and Iran.

    Maloof points out that deployment of USS Gerald R. Ford and five guided missile destroyers to the Eastern Mediterranean “meets Netanyahu’s wildest dreams.”

    “He wanted the US involved in this conflict,” the former Pentagon official told RT.

    Netanyahu “wants to open up the war with Lebanon, by attacking Hezbollah” in pursuit of his ultimate objective, “to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities,” Maloof added. For that to happen, “he has to have a Gulf of Tonkin moment, if you will.”

    Maloof recalled how US President Lyndon Johnson essentially started the Vietnam War by sending ships to the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964. An alleged North Vietnamese attack on two US destroyers was then used as a pretext for direct involvement.

    Reading the tea leaves well, Iran has gone into overdrive to curb Israel’s perceived geopolitical ambitions.

    Unsurprisingly, during his visit to Lebanon that began on Thursday, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, warned the United States to restrain Israel.

    “America wants to give Israel a chance to destroy Gaza, and this is… a grave mistake,” he charged, adding, “if the Americans want to prevent the war in the region from developing, they must control Israel,” an AFP report quoted him as saying.

    On the same visit which included stops in Baghdad and Damascus, Amir-Abdollahian stressed that on Saturday that it was still possible to prevent a regional expansion of Israel’s war Hamas, but time was running out.

    “There is still a political opportunity to prevent a widespread crisis in the region,” Amir-Abdollahian told a press conference in Beirut.

    But “maybe, in the next few hours, it will be too late”.

    The Iranian minister warned that pro-Iran militants “have designed all the scenarios and are prepared, and their finger is on the trigger to shoot”.

    (India Narrative)

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  • Hezbollah Under Spotlight Amid Israel-Hamas Escalation

    Hezbollah Under Spotlight Amid Israel-Hamas Escalation

    There is no doubt for Hezbollah not to feel the heat of Israeli offenses which may pressure the latter to escalate its operational tempo to a certain point of threshold….writes Anant Mishra

    With Israeli Defence Forces encircling Gaza, military experts are beginning to anticipate Lebanon’s response, with escalating border clashes pointing towards skirmishes along a second front.

    If the conflict prolongs, this is a possible outcome that could engulf this limited war into a full-blown regional conflict. With Hamas threatening execution of hostages as a presumed leverage, the risk to miscalculate strategic/tactical decisions are higher for both sides.

    That said, the sequence of violence appears to be limited yet stable along the Blue Line – the United Nations demarcated boundary corresponding to the Lebanese southern border, which has witnessed limited shelling, with some incursions.

    According to a Beirut based expert on proxy militia, key leadership of anti-Israeli groups discussed coordination and cooperation at greater levels within the groups at wider extent in the last six months between Hezbollah in Lebanon, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas along with other Tehran-backed groups operating in Iraq, Yemen & Syria. Hence, it is incomprehensible for Hezbollah to simply stand aside and watch Israeli defence forces intensifying their offensives against Hamas in Gaza.

    There is no doubt for Hezbollah not to feel the heat of Israeli offenses which may pressure the latter to escalate its operational tempo to a certain point of threshold. If the war in Gaza escalates, Hezbollah will employ offensive manoeuvres along the thin Blue Line. It may reiterate ambush tactics against Israeli foot patrols or intensify mortar/rocket strikes targeting Shebaa Farms, a mountainous region along the Lebanese southeastern border, under Israeli occupation since 1967.

    It may covertly launch rocket attacks into Israel (without taking credit, under the assumption of Hamas led attack). It may rally Tehran backed proxy militia groups to target Israel from the Syrian Golan Heights, where the group continues to enjoy certain presence.

    From a preliminary appearance, Hezbollah continues to provide covert support to Hamas below a certain threshold, with an intent to avoid any escalated response from Israel. If Hezbollah escalates, a response from the Israelis could result in an ending escalated driven cycle of violence. To prevent a full-blown escalated conflict, Iran may have tied down Hezbollah’s operation to limited support.

    For Tehran, Hezbollah is the most potent external proxy component with military expertise, last resort perhaps to deter against and Israeli or US offenses against Iran. It is highly unlikely for Tehran to lay resources in the hands of Hamas that too, in a limited yet escalated conflict. By the same logic, Israelis do not wish to open a second front against Lebanon, instead prioritising rescue of hostages in Gaza and eliminating leftover Hamas fighters in the region.

    It is highly likely for Hezbollah to reinforce Hamas fighters in case of an Israeli ground invasion. However, if the level of violence increases and Hamas appears to be pinned against an aggressive ground force, Hezbollah may be forced to indirectly support Hamas through tactical advisers, engaging Israeli defence forces through rocket attacks, relieving some pressure on Hamas fighters.

    Hamas rejects Australia’s decision of listing it as terror group

    It is highly unlikely for Israeli defence forces to employ a large-scale ground and air assault in Gaza and in Lebanon, simultaneously. Even for the highly trained and state of the art technology equipped Israeli Defence Forces, employing air power alone against Hezbollah will not be sufficient, giving necessary breathing space for the Hezbollah leadership to regroup. That said, reinforcing armour with sizeable ground forces deep into Lebanese’s territory will result in a serious loss of lives, a tactical gamble. That said, conducting a joint air and ground assault in Gaza and Lebanon simultaneously, is a critical decision for Tel Aviv, especially if Hamas fighters reinforce in smaller pockets elsewhere and strike. Confrontation with Hezbollah could escalate at least on the Syrian front, forcing proxies to target inside Israel from Iraq and Yemen.

    For Hezbollah, if Tehran directs its leadership to assist Hamas with full force, the organizational leadership would do so at the cost of expunging all its military arsenal or might. This could expend all available resources in its expense, plunging Lebanon into an everlasting humanitarian misery, facing backlash even from its staunch Shia proponents in the country.

    Taking the note of caution employed by Israel and Hezbollah on an escalated conflict, the best scenario for confrontation could be of sustained engagement between the two actors, largely localised along southern Lebanon and northern Israel, falling short of a full-blown war. In such a situation, Hezbollah may reinforce Quds Force with Radwan Brigade to conduct cross border skirmishes—which the group specialises. This could result in Israeli Air Force targeting critical infrastructure sites in Lebanon and conducting limited armour incursion crossing the Blue Line.

    To prevent such an incursion, Hezbollah may resort to mass missile attack, forcing Israeli defence forces to call for long range precision guided munitions against key launch pads. Such engagements do not qualify for traditional definition of skirmish with the potency to escalate if either of the sides makes a tactical miscalculation. That said, Israeli Defence Forces may instead employ pre-emptive rocket strikes against known Hezbollah hide outs, with an intent to wipeout any potential arsenal, neutralising threat to Israeli cities.

    With Hamas unpredictable and incomprehensible attack on southern Israel and Israel’s tactical encirclement of Gaza, the Israeli-Hezbollah engagement stands probable. With Israeli Defence Forces calling for reservists on the Southern Lebanon border, it is yet to see how this war unfolds.

    (India Narrative)

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  • UAE In For Gaza

    UAE In For Gaza

    His Highness met with volunteers at the centre and commended the efforts of community members in donating humanitarian relief packages…reports Asian Lite News

    H.H. Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan paid a visit to the Tarahum – for Gaza campaign center in Abu Dhabi.

    His Highness Sheikh Theyab, accompanied by Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for ‎International Cooperation, Her Excellency Shamma bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of Community ‎Development, Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of State, and a number of officials, toured the first collection centre at Abu Dhabi Ports Hall in ‎Mina Zayed, which was opened on Sunday 15 October. Other centres will also be opened across the ‎UAE at later dates.

    During his tour, His Highness met with volunteers at the centre and commended the efforts of community members in donating humanitarian relief packages to provide urgent assistance to the Palestinian people impacted by the war in Gaza.

    Tarahum – for Gaza is part of the UAE’s efforts to mitigate the humanitarian crisis for the Palestinian people affected by conflict. The aid aligns with the UAE’s policy to provide urgent relief and assistance to those in need in times of crisis, and as an embodiment of the established humanitarian values of the leadership and people of the UAE. The UAE is at the forefront of countries that have placed the needs of the brotherly Palestinian people among the priorities of its foreign aid, out of its belief in the importance of providing support and relief to alleviate suffering, especially for children and women.

    The campaign is being supervised by the Emirates Red Crescent in cooperation with the World Food Programme, and in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Community Development.

    The campaign attracted a large number of volunteers from the people of the UAE, who participated in preparing the relief packages. More than 4,500 volunteers took part in preparing 13,000 relief packages, which included food baskets and packages for children, mothers and women, with the assistance of more than 20 relief and humanitarian institutions.

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  • Israel-Hamas War: What is the Endgame?

    Israel-Hamas War: What is the Endgame?

    Indicating that Iran might be bracing for a “deep jump” into the conflict, its Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that the destructive war may expand to “new fronts”, writes Mohammed Anas

    The signals of endgame in the Hamas-Israel conflict hint towards more dire consequences. While the Israeli assault in Gaza continues to pile up humanitarian catastrophe, new fronts are set to open up, as the Iranian foreign minister has warned.

    Israel has cut all essential supply to the Strip – food, fuel, electricity and humanitarian aid. It has also given a 24-hour ultimatum to the UN mission and Gaza population to vacate the area. It has conditioned the flow of aid to Gaza with the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

    As this article is being written, tens of thousands of Israeli Defence Forces soldiers are stationed near Gaza, ready to enter. Israel’s security cabinet has met multiple times and made decisions that have remarkably not been leaked to the press. Chances are that the ministers were briefed about the IDF’s operational tactics and targets. But has Israel finalised the actual goals of the war?

    Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, the minister closest to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke only this much: “We need to cripple the capacity of the terrorists.”

    Hamas’ future looks bleak. Israel is determined to eradicate it from Gaza and hunt down senior leaders. For Israel, too, any sense of victory will be short-lived.

    Should it succeed in exacting vengeance on Hamas, it will be left with a broken Gaza Strip with no obvious exit strategy. To avoid a security and governance vacuum, it will have to either govern the Strip itself, as was the case prior to the Oslo Accords; or bring back a brittle and discredited Palestinian Authority which will struggle to impose its writ.

    Either option will create new drivers of political instability and insecurity.

    There could be another murky outcome of the conflict. The Israeli euphoria over blitzkrieg and destruction of Gaza will almost certainly radicalise new generations in the region and in the West. This dynamic is a godsend for terrorist groups such as ISIS, Al Qaeda, and new iterations of violent extremism.

    At this stage, Iran is a strategic beneficiary: The accession of Saudi Arabia of the Abraham accords has likely been derailed. Qatar, a prime supporter of Hamas, may be quietly savoring its revenge against its Arab competitors in the Gulf. Turkey, a friend of the Muslim Brotherhood, also comes out as a beneficiary relative to Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

    As of now, Russia will likely benefit from the sidelining of the war in Ukraine. China basks in the thus far unbankable glow of being cast as a potential mediator.

    The United States, which relinquished its role as the strategic prime mover in the region after the so-called red-line crisis of 2013, when it did not intervene in the war in Syria, may reaffirm its primacy. This could reinforce US credibility in Europe. Indeed, there is some talk in Washington of coupling military assistance to Israel and Ukraine.

    Meanwhile, all of the above is subject to a brutal change if Hezbollah, supported by Iran, were to enter the war in a big way.

    Iran, whose support of Hamas allows it a window into the Arab-Israeli conflict through which it can project its influence and weaken Israel. It has clearly benefited from the Hamas attack which has eroded Israel’s deterrence and constrained Israeli-Saudi normalisation and placed Iran in the dock.

    But like Hamas, Iran’s gains could erode if Israel succeeds in weakening the Hamas hold in Gaza or if the conflict broadens and leads to a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran.

    Indicating that Iran might be bracing for a “deep jump” into the conflict, its Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that the destructive war may expand to “new fronts”.

    “Some European officials asked me if there were any chances that new fronts might open up against the Zionist regime?” Amir-Abdollahian said on Thursday in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, his second stop on a regional tour that also took him to Iraq.

    “I told them as long as the Zionists keep up their war crimes, there exists every prospect that other resistance movements (may enter the war),” he added.

    “We are in Beirut to announce with a loud voice that, along with (other) Muslim countries and governments, we will not break the Zionist regime’s crimes against the people of Gaza.” Amir-Abdollahian said.

    Echoing this, Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah said the group’s “guns and rockets” were with Palestinian fighters.

    Iraq’s anti-terror group Kata’ib Hezbollah threatened to target American bases in the Arab country and the entire region if the US intervened in the ongoing fighting between the Palestinian fighters and the Israeli regime.

    However, undaunted by these “threats”, Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid told France 24 that there will only be one endgame of the conflict: “There will be no Hamas in Gaza.”

    Tardy Diplomacy

    Grandmaster of diplomacy Henry Kissinger shot to cult status as the greatest strategist negotiator after his role in bringing Israelis and Arabs to the dialogue table after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Little do people know that Kissinger played deliberate “delayed diplomacy”. The ongoing Hamas-Israel war has echoes of Yom Kippur and the same “delayed diplomacy” plot being reenacted.

    The recently published book Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy written by Martin Indyk, former US ambassador to Israel and special envoy for the 2013 Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, provides insights into Kissinger’s diplomatic negotiations in the Middle East.

    Kissinger had advised the US government not to help Israel in the 1973 war until the Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal and captured much of the Sinai Desert, in order to shock Tel Aviv and shake its concept of unassailability.

    Consequently, the 1973 war increased Israel’s willingness to negotiate with its Arab neighbors. In 1979, Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt, the first with an Arab country, which was later reflected in the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians.

    The October 7 Hamas raids into Israeli cities too is seen as a jolt to Israeli defence forces’ invincibility. However, there is no Kissinger on the scene and the Western powers led by the US so far are solidly behind Israel. They have thus far shown no willingness to mediate dialogue, not even for release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas.

    The United Nations Security Council meeting ended without any statement. On Tuesday, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for a flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza after Israeli military blitzkrieg left total devastation in the blockaded strip along the sea.

    He also said that he calls for an end to “the vicious circle of bloodshed, hatred and polarisation”.

    Besides, the European Union has announced that it will not suspend payment of development aid to Palestinians, reversing course after an earlier announcement that it would freeze all aid payments was met with widespread criticism.

    But the EU aid is for the Palestinian Authority that controls the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem. The 296 million euros ($312m) in financial assistance from the EU will help cover expenses for the PA, such as infrastructure projects and civil servant salaries.

    Arab and Muslim countries backing Palestinians have not been able to move any substantial diplomatic initiative. Iran has called for a united “ummah push”, but it hasn’t found any backing.

    Arab League foreign ministers will meet on Wednesday to find “avenues of political action at the Arab and international level,” as Israel keeps pounding targets in Gaza.

    Reuters reported on Monday that Qatari mediators held urgent calls to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children seized by militants in Gaza in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons.

    An Israeli official however in a comment to The Times of Israel that “there is no negotiation” for the release of hostages.

    Most influential Arab country Saudi Arabia, which was holding parleys with the Israeli government for normalisation only till last week, have also remained clueless about the diplomatic route that may end the mayhem in the Middle East where the public anger is expectedly mounting in favour of Palestinians.

    AFP reported late on Tuesday that Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and claimed that he was trying to prevent “an expansion” of the conflict.

    Big powers like Russia and China too have eluded from taking active part and hurried up diplomacy to stop the conflict from festering further. Russia late on Tuesday offered to work with the Arab League to push for a solution.

    “Russia and the Arab League, all members of this organisation, can and should contribute to solving problems, first of all, ending the bloodshed and suffering of civilians,” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at his meeting with the Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Moscow.

    Delayed or absent diplomacy has led West Asia commentators to predict more sinister scenarios which even can turn into wider regional catastrophe.

    Mohammed Alhaya, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, wrote in the Washington Post that the possible outcome of the current flare-up will have to tilt towards settling the question of Palestine.

    “The latest Israeli-Hamas war makes abundantly clear that there can be no lasting peace in the Middle East without a regional solution to the long-running conflict between Israelis and Palestinians,” he wrote, adding that if the Israeli strikes continues in Gaza and diplomacy fails to prevent the onslaught, it will strengthen the position of Iran in the region.

    ALSO READ: Israel Restores Gaza Water Supply

  • Indian Muslims Unite in Protest Against Israeli Siege on Gaza

    Indian Muslims Unite in Protest Against Israeli Siege on Gaza

    In mosques across India, special prayers called Qunooth were offered in conjunction with the Friday prayer, beseeching for peace in Palestine, writes Ahmed Shareef

    In a powerful display of solidarity, Indian Muslims across the country joined hands with the global community to protest against Israel’s siege on Gaza. These protests came in response to a call by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, an apex body representing major Muslim organisations in India, to condemn the ongoing Israeli aggression.

    In mosques across India, special prayers called Qunooth were offered in conjunction with the Friday prayer, beseeching for peace in Palestine. The major cities of India witnessed massive rallies organised by various political parties. In South India, cities like Bangalore, Chennai, and Cochin were not left behind, with several rallies organized in support of the Palestinian people.

    Moulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, President of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), strongly criticised the stance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seen as supporting Israel. He emphasised that this shift in India’s traditional position on Palestine, which had been consistent since the time of the first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, and even under the leadership of the first BJP Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpey, is a cause for concern.

    Rahmani stated that Hamas’ reaction to the ongoing atrocities inflicted upon the Palestinian people by Israel is natural, given their 70-year history of suffering. He called for full support for the Palestinian people and an independent Palestinian state as a long-term solution to the conflict.

    The recent escalation of violence is attributed to Israel’s actions against the people of Palestine, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, during the Sukkot festivals of the Jewish community. Rahmani criticised the characterization of these reactions as terrorism, emphasizing that it obscures the true atrocities committed by Israel.

    Moulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani

    Jamaat-e-Islami, another prominent Indian Muslim organization, also condemned Israel’s actions and called for an amicable and lasting solution to the crisis. They urged people to participate in protest marches throughout India.

    Indian Muslim outfit Jamaat-e-Islami also condemned Israel. They demanded an amicable and longterm solution to the issue and called for protest marches throughout India.

    P Mujeeb Rahman, president of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Kerala. asked all like-minded people  to join the protest rallies.

    Various Muslim Orthodox bodies, such as the All India Jameyyathul Ulama and its President Grand Mufti Kantapuram A.P. Abubacker Musliar, called for immediate international intervention from organisations like the UN in the Middle East. They expressed concern over Western and European countries’ failure to intervene during the Israeli attacks on Palestine and their subsequent support of efforts to suppress Hamas.

    The South Kerala Jameyyathul Ulama offered full support to the Palestinian people and Hamas, emphasizing their disapproval of the Indian government’s stance on the Palestinian struggle. President Mr. Kadakal Abdul Azeez Moulavy said the organisation will organise protest rallies to unite the people against the atrocities going on in the Gaza strip and protest against Inda’s stance on Israel.

    Solidarity, the political wing of Jamat Islami, organised protest marches in various towns, including Calicut. Muslim Youth League organised one of the largest protest in support of Free Palestine in Kozhikode. Mr. PK Kunchalikuty, General Secretary of the Indian Union Muslim League, demanded immediate peace in the Middle East and called for UN peacekeeping forces to be sent to Palestine.

    In response to the controversy surrounding Modi’s stance on the Palestine issue, Mr. Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, President of the Kerala State Muslim League, emphasised that the Indian people, regardless of the government’s position, stand with the people of Palestine.

    “The Indians are not supporting Modi’s stand on Palestine issue,” Mr Thangal said.  “The mind and body of all Indians are with the people of Palestine and they will protest till the creation of Free Palestine.”

    The Communist Marxist (CPM) party of India also condemned Israel’s aggression and expressed strong support for Hamas. Several political figures and youth organizations joined the call for peace in Palestine.

    CPM Secretary General Seetharam Yechuri and politburo member MA baby strongly supported the Hamas. CPM’s youth wing Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) General Secretary VK Sanoj and president P Vaseef also called for an all India campaign for the creation of Free Palestine.

    A minor controversy emerged when former Kerala minister and CPM Central Committee member Ms. KK Shailaja described Hamas as a terrorist organisation in a Facebook post.

    Dr Shashi Tharoor, an Indian National Congress leader and Member of Parliament, called for a change in India’s stance on the Palestinian issue, citing India’s historical policy of support for the Palestinian cause.

    Sitaram Yechury

    In a unanimous resolution, the largest Muslim organisation in Kerala, Samastha Kerala Jameyyathul Ulama, called for the world to come forward and maintain peace in the region.

    TP Abdullakoya Madani, President of Kerala Nadvathul Mujahedeen, a Salafi group, requested special prayers in all mosques under their jurisdiction every Friday. The Kerala Salafi group also initiated a solidarity campaign in favor of Palestine.

    “The World should come forward for maintaining peace in the ragion,”’ said the organisation in a statement.

    Commenting on the situation in Gaza, Mr. Faizal Issudheen, National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the banned Popular Front of India, expressed strong disapproval of the unethical and unprecedented aggression faced by the Palestinians. He called for global attention and intervention in the ongoing crisis.

  • China Navigates Murky Waters in the Hamas-Israel Conflict

    China Navigates Murky Waters in the Hamas-Israel Conflict

    Beijing urged an “immediate cease-fire” in response to the Hamas attack on Saturday, reiterating support for a two-state solution with an independent State of Palestine, without condemning Hamas….reports Mohammed Anas

    In the haze of the Hamas-Israeli conflict, the future of both China and the US, two major players weaving a myriad of alliances in the Middle East, looks uncertain. While the US clout was already waning, the recent conflict will make its position even more challenging. On the other hand, China is in a curious situation to win and lose.

    In June this year, China had offered to mediate to settle the Israel-Palestinian dispute when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had visited Beijing. China had in fact pompously vowed to apply “Chinese wisdom, Chinese strength” as balm to cover festering wounds in the region.

    In August, China sent a special envoy to Tel Aviv to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convey President Xi Jinping’s message, which according to the media, was to convince the rightwing leader for “concessions” in negotiations over the Palestine issue.

    Within two months, these moves were shattered, much like US President Joe Biden’s efforts to broker a Saudi-Israeli deal!

    Beijing’s official response to the Hamas attack on Saturday called for an “immediate cease-fire” and the repetition of its support for a two-state solution with an independent State of Palestine as a way out of the conflict. It did not condemn Hamas.

    @ChinaEmbinCH

    Later on Sunday, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhan Jun, said China was worried about escalation.

    “What’s important is to prevent further escalation of the situation and casualties of civilians,” Zhang told reporters before an emergency closed-door security meeting. “We condemn all attacks against civilians,” he stressed.

    President Xi has yet to make any public statement.

    Initial Setback to Belt and Road Initiative

    The current crisis may also hit China’s relationship with Israel. Beijing has long tried to adopt a balanced position, by supporting Palestinian statehood while also maintaining strong economic ties with Israel.

    China has ramped up trade and investment in sectors from technology to infrastructure. Israel has participated in Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative.

    Galia Lavi, a specialist in the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Israel relations at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, said Israel had been disappointed by China’s “lax response” to the Hamas attacks.

    Wang from Northwest University agreed that Israel’s criticism of China may have some negative implications for the Belt and Road projects, but he did not expect existing schemes to be seriously affected.

    “Projects like the Haifa Port, they may be affected and be suspended for now, but the impact would be very small.”

    The Bayport terminal in Haifa, a strategic gateway to the Mediterranean, was built and operated by the state-owned Shanghai International Port Group.

    Limited role as peacemaker

    Experts say this initial response may expose Beijing’s limited influence in the region, despite official propaganda talking up China as the world’s new peacemaker.

    “China doesn’t really have the experience or expertise in the region to make a meaningful change” on the long-running, complex Palestine-Israel conflict, said Jonathan Fulton, an Abu Dhabi-based senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council.

    “You don’t see governments in the region saying ‘what’s China’s solution to this’ because they’re not seen as a credible actor here yet.”

    Despite its claims of neutrality, coverage of the conflict on China’s state-run television appears more slanted.

    Hamas fighters’ killing of Israeli civilians was given little air time on the country’s most watched news program on state broadcaster CCTV. Instead, the prime-time show focused primarily on Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza – and the scenes of devastation they created there.

    Chinese state media were also quick to blame the US for the conflict now raging in the heart of the Middle East.

    In an editorial Monday, the Global Times, a tabloid nested under the Party’s Peope’s Daily network, criticized Western countries – especially the US – for “taking sides” on the issue and “fanning the flames rather than cooling down the situation.”

    “This is a consistent pattern for Western countries in many conflict regions, where they often create substantial obstacles to crisis resolution,” it said.

    Gains for Beijing

    Despite immediate hiccups, Beijing stands to gain the most in the post-conflict Middle East. While the US’ peace plans seem to have run into jeopardy and thus its image will be hit proportionately, Beijing’s partnerships with all parties – even Israelis and Palestinians – are not likely to suffer much. Israel will not push back mutual commercial interests with Chinese and infra projects that Chinese companies are pursuing in various Israeli cities, airports and ports.

    Beijing’s relations Iran and Saudi Arabia too will remain intact; however Saudi’s relations with the US may not remain as flourishing. China will also cultivate more robust multi-pronged ties with Iran, and Russia also as a partner.

    The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor that was supposed to link Israel and Saudi Arabia via trade links may not take off at least as fast as it was conceived. Since this corridor was touted to be a US counter to China’s BRI, Beijing will consider it a victory without efforts.

    The US Navy had shifted a number of warships and aircraft carriers, some from the Indo-Pacific, to positions near Israel after the deadly Hamas attack keeping in view that the conflict might turn out to be broader putting Israel in serious peril.

    The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which is the largest warship in the world, in addition to the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy and four Arleigh-Burke-class guided missile destroyers — USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney and USS Roosevelt has been moved to the  Mediterranean when it received orders to deploy. Depending on its precise location, it could have to travel over a thousand miles.

    The US naval focus turning to the Mediterranean will give an edge to China in the Indo-Pacific. The US already sees China as a power which can initiate an aggressive conflict in the Indo-Pacific. This view along with China’s assertive posture in the region including its claims in the South China Sea, East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the Philippine Strait has raised security concerns among the countries here, including India. The fallout of the Hamas-Israeli conflict will aggravate such fears in the Indo-Pacific theater.

    ALSO READ: China’s Expanding Media Influence in South Asia

  • Jordan Quells Pro-Palestinian Protesters Heading West Bank Border

    Jordan Quells Pro-Palestinian Protesters Heading West Bank Border

    Jordan had concerns about the potential for an expanded regional conflict stemming from the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, as a significant portion of its population is of Palestinian descent…reports Asian Lite News

    The Jordanian riot police used force to disperse a large group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who were attempting to access a border area adjacent to the West Bank, which is under Israeli occupation, Daily Mail reported.

    Thousands held anti-Israel demonstrations across the country. Jordan was worried a regional widening of violence arising from the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could have repercussions for itself given that a large percentage of its population are Palestinians, Daily Mail reported.

    Jordanian riot police disperse pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach border with Israeli-occupied West Bank Pic credits @AlghadNews
    Jordanian riot police disperse pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach border with Israeli-occupied West Bank Pic credits @AlghadNews
    Jordanian riot police disperse pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach border with Israeli-occupied West Bank Pic credits @AlghadNews
    Jordanian riot police disperse pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach border with Israeli-occupied West Bank Pic credits @AlghadNews
    Jordanian riot police disperse pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach border with Israeli-occupied West Bank Pic credits @AlghadNews
    Jordanian riot police disperse pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach border with Israeli-occupied West Bank Pic credits @AlghadNews
    Jordanian riot police disperse pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach border with Israeli-occupied West Bank Pic credits @AlghadNews
    Jordanian riot police disperse pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach border with Israeli-occupied West Bank Pic credits @AlghadNews
    Jordanian riot police disperse pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach border with Israeli-occupied West Bank Pic credits @AlghadNews
    Jordanian riot police disperse pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach border with Israeli-occupied West Bank Pic credits @AlghadNews

    Jordan lost the West Bank including East Jerusalem to Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinian territory was seeing a rise in violence between Palestinians and the Israeli military and settlers even before the Gaza conflict erupted.

    Witnesses today said police fired tear gas to halt about 500 demonstrators who had reached a highway security checkpoint outside the capital Amman, Daily Mail reported. The highway leads to a main border crossing into the West Bank.

    The interior ministry had issued a ban against holding anti-Israel marches in the sensitive border area, but said other licensed protests would be allowed.

    The outpouring of Arab anger against Israel over its siege and bombardment of Gaza retaliating for a devastating cross-border Hamas attack also fuelled a large rally on Friday in downtown Amman, Daily Mail reported.

    ALSO READ: ‘Hospitals in Gaza at breaking point’

    ALSO READ: ‘Iran complicit, in a broad sense, in Hamas attack’