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Middle East

The conflict in the middle east is the biggest challenge that the world faces. Resolution of this issue is the key to peace in the region, and its stability will affect many countries around the world. It is more than 40 years since UN resolution 242. That is 40 years of disappointment, failure, and failed opportunities for peace, for which the entire international community, particularly the United States, should take responsibility. It is clear that Palestine is in crisis. There is an obvious political crisis in the region, and there is an economic crisis, with few jobs and little prosperity, but more urgently there is a real humanitarian crisis, particularly in Gaza. The UN has declared Gaza to be"““on the threshold of becoming the first territory to be intentionally reduced to a state of abject destitution.””" Israel has closed Gaza’s borders, surrounding it with a wall that, in effect, makes Gaza an open prison with 1.5 million inmates, and placing the area under siege. The shutdown has left the area without fuel, regular electricity, vital medical supplies and food. More than 70 per cent. of the population are unemployed, and 80 per cent. rely on food from UN food programmes. The largest hospital in the Palestinian territories, the al-Shifa hospital, is on its knees, with scant resources and staff who frequently go unpaid. The hospital has run out of up to 130 of the 450 medicines that the World Health Organisation considers essential, and has less than three months’ supply of another 80. The blockade means that there is a fuel shortage, and fuel is five times more expensive in Gaza than in Jerusalem. Electricity is supplied to Gaza for only 12 hours a day, and the hospital relies on generators, but the fuel shortage means that they, too, will one day stop, with potentially devastating consequences. Dr. Hassan Khalaf, director of the hospital, estimates that if the hospital were to lose all electricity, 80 patients, including 15 premature babies in incubators, would die within 30 minutes. It is not only basic medical supplies that are not being allowed in; vital machinery and spare parts are not getting through, although they would allow maintenance work to be done on damaged equipment that could help to save so many more lives. Added to that are almost daily air strikes and land incursions from Israeli forces that have targeted homes, schools and hospitals and have killed hundreds of innocent men, women and children. The strikes have also damaged water pipes, meaning that raw sewage is being pumped into the sea, destroying the fishing industry and contaminating any fish that are caught. We must be clear that denying people medicines, fuel, food, employment and hope has nothing to do with security. That unjustified action is collective punishment of 1.5 million people because of the actions of a few individuals. We must not allow the people of Gaza to feel as though the world has forgotten them or that they are second-class citizens. The international community must do everything that it can to alleviate their sufferings. Peace is not an impossible dream; peace is possible, but only if the international community and those on both sides of the conflict recognise that every life, whether Palestinian or Israeli, is equal. Every life is equal, and every life is precious. The Israelis must first end the siege, let basic supplies in and show the people that they should have hope. We can then negotiate a fair and just political settlement, so that Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in peace. If either side is serious about peace, the only way is through dialogue. Bombings and the siege will only prolong the problem. We must ensure that we support the peacemakers on both sides of the conflict and help them to fend off the radicals and extremists on both sides, who seek to divide for their own ends. The international community, including America, must recognise three basic principles. First, the killing of innocent people in Palestine, Israel and Lebanon by bombs, missile attacks, assassinations or any other form of violence cannot be condoned and must be condemned. Secondly, Israel has the right to exist within recognised borders and live in peace. That must be recognised by all its neighbours. Thirdly, Palestinians must be able to live in peace, dignity and without fear in their own land, as specified by international law. We should give the Palestinians the support that they need to build institutions, and ensure that those institutions are respected by Israel and the rest of the world.