On 6 May 2021, Palestinian residents protested against the Israeli Supreme Court’s upcoming decision to evict Palestinian residents from Sheikh Jarrah. On the following day, Israeli police attacked Palestinian Muslims who were worshipping at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, thereby injuring approximately 180 Palestinians. 80 of these injured Palestinians were sent to the hospital for treatment and one was in critical condition. [1] Subsequently, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), a Palestinian militant group, fired missiles into Israel, while Israel counterattacked with airstrikes targeted towards refugee camps, media offices, and health infrastructures. Ground troops were also sent to attack the wounded and medical staff. As of 18 May, 213 Palestinians, including 61 children, were reported to have died; on the Israeli side, 10 casualties were reported, two of which were children. [2]
The United Nations Security Council held two rounds of emergency closed-door meetings on the 10th and 12th of May, and a public meeting on the 18th on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite many rounds of discussions, the Security Council failed to issue a joint statement on the matter. Many believe that the biggest obstacle came from the United States. On the other hand, Malaysia on the 15th released a statement condemning Israel and proposed the ‘two-state solution’ framework which has been strongly criticized in a conservative society. [3]
The Israeli’s act of striking at civilian locations is a serious violation of the law of war. According to Article 48 of the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian population and civilian objects, all parties to the conflict shall distinguish between the civilian population and the military, and between civilian objects and military objects at all times. Thus, the military operations of each party to the conflict should only be targeted towards military objectives. Article 51 of the same states that civilians shall enjoy general protection from the dangers arising from military operations. The civilian population as well as individual civilians shall not be the target of attack. The parties to the conflict are prohibited from committing acts or threats of violence which mainly purport to spread terror among the civilian population. Article 52 emphasizes that civilian objects which are not military targets shall not be the object of attack or of reprisals. [4]
In addition, Israel disregarded the protection of medical personnel rule enshrined in Article 15 of the Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 by using force to attack hospitals, medical personnel, and wounded patients. It is common sense that parties to the conflict must not obstruct the process of providing medical aid during the war. Therefore, attacking hospital locations is a downright violation of humanitarianism!
Not only does the Israeli military disrespect the minimum rules in the law of war which parties to the conflict should abide by, but it also disregards international human rights laws. Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states that every human being has the inherent right to life and this right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. [5]
The basic principle of the law of war is that parties to the conflict must not attack civilians and civilian objects which are not military targets by force. Israel expressed its willingness to be bound by the Geneva Convention as early as 1984 and signed the ICCPR in 1966. However, Israel refused to comply with these instruments it had signed. Hence, such an offence should be brought to the International Court of Justice for trial.
In Malaysia, on the basis of the Islamic religion, the Malay community has paid more attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict compared to the Chinese community. The majority of the Malay community supports Palestine and hopes that Israel can be destroyed. In just a few days, the Malaysian Muslim community managed to raise RM15 million for Palestine and handed the sum over to five non-governmental organisations. At the same time, the Malay community is indifferent towards the violence in the neighbouring Myanmar Rakhine State and has shown support to the government to deny the Rohingyas humanitarian assistance, which is particularly ironic.
The non-Malay community should be able to observe and understand this matter from a more objective and humanitarian perspective as they are not tied to perceive from the religious point of view. However, perhaps due to the Chinese society’s dissatisfaction towards the biased national policies and their prejudices against Muslims, major Chinese newspapers are flooded with comments mocking Palestine and blindly supporting Israel. If the Chinese community in Malaysia genuinely feels suppressed, they should be more empathetic instead of trying to rationalise what the Palestinians are going through with their prejudices.
In regards to the incident, Israel and Palestine hold different views. Under the circumstance in which the ‘two-state solution’ supported by the United Nations cannot be implemented, any small dispute is capable of triggering a conflict between the two countries. Unending conflicts will only lead to more serious retaliations and confrontations between the two countries, thus creating a vicious cycle of relentless attacks. Israel and Palestine need to cease their attacks immediately to avoid further casualties, and Israel should stop invading the Gaza Strip border. For the sake of long-term peace, Israel and Palestine need to adopt the ‘two-state solution’ to establish two independent countries with the border which was made before 1967 and have Palestine declared as an independent country. [6]
After 11 days of conflict between Israel and Palestine, at least 230 Palestinians and 12 Israelis have died. At 2 a.m. on 21 May, under the pressure from the United States, Israel and Palestine finally agreed to a ceasefire. [7] Israel and Palestine have experienced countless conflicts over so many years, however all these conflicts do not bring any benefits, rather they only leave countless dead or injured.
We deeply mourn the innocent people who have suffered and died in the conflict.
Reference
[1] Aljazeera. (2021, May 10). In pictures: Israeli forces storm Al-Aqsa compound. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/5/10/in-pictures-7
[2] Palestinian Ministry of Health. (2021, May 18). Two hundred and thirteen (213) Palestinians have so far been killed. https://www.moh.gov.ps/portal/two-hundred-and-thirteen-213-palestinians-have-so-far-been-killed/
[3] Prime Minister’s Office of Malaysia. (2021, May 15). YAB Prime Minister’s Address on the Situation in Palestine. https://www.pmo.gov.my/2021/05/yab-prime-ministers-address-on-the-situation-in-palestine/
[4] International Committee of the Red Cross. Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/ihl/INTRO/380
[5] United Nations of Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966 entry into force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49. https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx
[6] Stein, K. (2020, November). Political statements on a two-state solution to resolve the arab (palestinian)-israeli conflict, 1937–Present. Emory University and Center for Israel Education. https://israeled.org/historical-statements-on-a-two-state-solution/
[7] Srivastava, M. (2021, May 21). Israel and Hamas agree a ceasefire after 11 days of fighting. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/8aa0bee9-85e7-4cdf-82d5-e23475312f1c
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