THE momentary peace that began on 24thNovember, came to an end on 8th December after only 10 days. The truce ended when the Israeli Iron dome intercepted rockets launched from Gaza. In response, Israel resumed air and ground attacks on Gaza. Hamas later claimed responsibility for the rockets later, stating that they were a misfire. It is a historical fact that all previous wars including the first and second world wars ended on a table of negotiation and compromise. However, for the desired lasting peace to be achieved in the region, and to protect the civilians in both Israel and Palestine, there is urgent need for realistic proposals and agreements.
Interventions required to bring an end to the Palestine-Israel six-decade war
The UN was created in 1945 to promote global peace. By Article 1(1) of the UN Charter, the United Nations should: “…maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace…” (emphasis mine).
In the case of this region, the UN negotiated the creation of two states (Israel and Palestine- the UN even suggested the name‘Israel’) in 1947. Part of the intention of the UN was to carve out specific borders for both countries. Whereas Israel accepted the proposition, Palestine did not.
Since the creation of Israel in 1948, the major object of the battles between both countries, apart from Palestine refusing to recognise the right of Israel to exist, is who owns the Gaza strip, the West Bank, and the Golam Hights? The second bone of contention is who has a superior claim to Jerusalem?
The ownership of the Gaza strip, the West Bank, and the Golam Hights had been resolved in the Partition Agreement of 1947, and the Oslo Accords of 1998. The Oslo Accords was the first time the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) formally recognised one another and committed to negotiating a solution to their conflict based on territorial compromise. Palestine accepted the statehood of Israel in exchange for the protection of the statehood of Palestine in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, underneath the leadership of the newly created Palestinian Authority. The question of the Golam Height did not arise under the Oslo Accords. However, if negotiations will be opened on border disputes, the ownership of the Golam Heights must be specifically concluded.
The Oslo Accords was a mutually negotiated two-state solution that took 5 years to finalise. The representatives of both Israel and Palestine signed this Oslo Accords. However, the accords could not be implemented because it was opposed by the Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad, on the one hand, and there was the lack of political will of Israel on the other. Also, there was the unresolved question of who owns Jerusalem.
The Hamas has contributed immensely to the continuation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflicts from 1987 till date. The Hamas has also been described by many countries as a terrorist organisation. Ordinarily, a political party which such austere reputation ought not to have been handed political control of the Gaza strip. For peace to reign in the region, the Hamas should relinquish their political control of Gaza. This is where the UN can come in. Israel is committed to the destruction of the Hamas, and for good reasons. The UN can negotiate the surrender of the Hamas, and their abdication of the political control of the Gaza strip, in exchange for Israel’s compromise on its decision to kill all members of the Hamas and a lasting cease fire in the interest of Palestinians in Gaza.
I advise the Hamas to put the interest of the Palestinians in Gaza in top priority in entering negotiations to broker peace in the region. The UN can facilitate this negotiation. If the negotiation fails, The UN must make sure that the Hamas is kicked out of the political scene in Gaza by any means necessary, even if it will require military interventions, pursuant to Article 42 of the UN charter. The political administration of Gaza must then be handed over to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation which metamorphosed into the Fatah and had signed the Oslo Accord.
Likewise, the terms of the Oslo Accord should be revisited and adopted by the states of Palestine and Israel. The question of whether the Oslo Accords will succeed in the region cannot be answered in a hurry. However, it was evident that Israel and the Fatah collaborated in 2007 in a bid to unseat the Hamas in Gaza and have recognised Israel as a stated. This is a good sign, and a respectable beginning.
The intervention of the United Nations and relevant religious leaders on the ownership of jerusalem
One of the most contentious issues in the Hamas-Israel wars is the ownership of Jerusalem. The claims over Jerusalem are tied to religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The initial partition Agreement for the creation ofthe states of Israel and Palestine left Jerusalem under the control of the UN. This was because of the various religious interests in Jerusalem. Both Israel and Palestine desire to have the city as its capital.
After the first Arab-Israel war of 1948-1949, Jerusalem was dived into two, the western Jerusalem, which was under Israeli rule;and eastern Jerusalem, which was occupied by the Palestinians. However, the Israelites took over the control of east Jerusalem during the Six-day war of 1967. In 1980, Israel declared East Jerusalem as part of its complete united capital. Since then, the Israeli development of the East Jerusalem has made it difficult to transfer it to the Palestinians. Likewise, East Jerusalem is populated by Palestinians who want it returned to Palestine. In 2017, the United States recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This has met with stern resistance by the UN.
Israel will have to make further sacrifices at the phase of negotiating the ownership of Jerusalem. There are two options available on the ownership of Jerusalem. First, both Palestine and Israel can cede the control of Jerusalem to the United Nations, as was proposed in the Partition Agreement of 1947. The other alternative is for Jerusalem to be partitioned in recognition of the two-state settlement. If this second option is preferred, there is a need to involve religious leaders in the discussion. All three religions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity have love as their central theme. Hence, the religious leaders to be invited should hold paramount the ideals of love and peace, not a selfish negotiation to favour their religion or sects. They should also put on humanitarian caps, knowing that what ever decision is reached will affect the continued relationship between Israel and the Palestinians, which will affect the civilians in these countries.
The problem I see in the involvement of religious leaders is the fact that there are various sects in all religions involved. In Judaism, there are the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. Islam is made up of five sects, namely the Sunni, the Shi’a, the Ahmadiyya, the Ibadi and Sufism. Whereas the earlier are definite, Christianity poses a peculiar problem of too much pluralism. This will pose a problem in determining who to invite. However, this problem can be pushed away by requiring each of these religions to present a definite number of delegates spread evenly to all its sect. if there are no delegates, or if any religion is unable to agree on who to send, then such religion will be excluded from the negotiation.
The peace in Israel and Palestine is a collective responsibility, one that must be a paramount pursuit for all world leaders. The important consideration should not be just a cease fire, but to additionally find a means to end the conflict once and for all. Lastly, I urge that our position in reaction to the Hamas-Israel wars should be love for Israel, love for Palestine, love for Islam and love for Christianity. Peace promotes development. Without love, there can be no peace and without peace there can be no development.
To be continued…
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AARE AFE BABALOLA, OFR, CON, SAN, LL.D (Lond.)
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