IOS Symposium on “Ceasefire and Exchange of Prisoners in Gaza: Implication for Peace in West Asia”

IOS Symposium on “Ceasefire and Exchange of Prisoners in Gaza: Implication for Peace in West Asia”

New Delhi: A symposium on “Ceasefire and Exchange of Prisoners in Gaza: Implication for Peace in West Asia” was organised by the Institute of Objective Studies (IOS) on January 28, 2025 in hybrid mode.

In his introductory remarks, the Chairman of the IOS, Prof. M. Afzal Wani, said that the Institute was engaged in following the issues religiously and working on them. He referred to the death of thousands of people and destruction of huge property in the wake of First World War. Then came the Second World War which caused more destruction and the death toll reached in lakhs. A lot of bloodshed shook the West Asia as well. This ultimately led to the ceasefire and the emergence of peace with certain things for West Asia. He observed that the Institute had specialised panelists to discuss the issue of the ceasefire.

Ex-associate dean, director and chairman, Gulf Studies, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi, Prof. Aftab Kamal Pasha said that a large number of people in the West Bank and Gaza were arrested and killed. Supply of water, food and essential commodities was stopped leading to great miseries faced by the people of Palestine. Describing Israeli attack on Gaza as genocidal war on the innocent people in the garb military action against Hamas, he noted that in the US elections, America hoodwinked the world by propaganda that peace talks were being held in Cairo. It went to the credit of President Donald Trump that ceasefire was called. He called it violative of the international law to force the displacement of Palestinians to other countries. Palestinians were well-educated and a large number of them were Ph.D. holders. Many of them were killed by Israeli forces. Fear in the civilian population disturbed their life. Israeli strikes on the civilian population violated the provisions of Geneva Conventions to honour human rights. He said that Gaza and the West Bank were being grabbed by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Jewish lobby in the United States was active to derail peace process in Gaza. In US administration too, the pro-Jewish lobby was very active. Despite wanton killings, Israeli military could not defeat Hamas and its cadres. In the 15-month long conflict, many Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza. He held that difficult times were ahead in the West Bank and the Golan Heights even after ceasefire. Zionists wanted to realise their dream of a Greater Israel. In order to bolster his position, Netanyahu was planning to call elections to the Israeli parliament. He said that on October 17, 2023 Netanyahu personally supervised the military action. They killed the people, destroyed structures of mosques, hospitals and killed zoo functionaries. This was a genocide in which America was complicit. The purpose of this was to defeat Hamas and then bring peace. Netanyahu committed most brutal crimes. Both Turkey and Syria extended support to Palestinians.

Associate professor and associate dean (research), O. P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Prof. Sukumar Muralidharan, spoke on the future prospects for peace in the West Asia. He said that there was no guarantee for permanent ceasefire in the region. Israel continued to get arms supplies from the US. Though efforts were underway to negotiate peace, but the ground reality of geo-political situation was very complex. So, there were big challenges ahead. Since the terms and conditions of the ceasefire were laid down, there was need for a follow up to them. There was also a need to ensure peace and justice in the area. He focused on ceasefire itself and what the hopes and future prospects of peace were. US assertions were to cover up all crimes pretending to negotiate peace in association with Qatar and Egypt. Major countries of the alliance certified that Israel was not violating the provisions. In July 2024 came the ruling of the International Court of Justice on the reference from the UN General Assembly in which it ruled that the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank was illegal. US administration bowed to certain sanctions against Israel, like visa restrictions against its citizens if they set their foot on the American soil. Several European countries also committed that they would arrest if Netanyahu visited their countries. He questioned the credibility of a State which was arming and equipping Israel on one side of the war unconditionally and portraying itself as a peace negotiator on the other side.

Prof. Muralidharan pointed out that there was no guarantee of good faith from side of Israel because of the turmoil the area was undergoing. There was also a question how the World outside the Western World would deal with the situation. It was not just genocide but war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. If the US archives were declassified then it would be known what the role did Qatar and Egypt played and the actual position taken by them. While one minister of the Netanyahu cabinet quit, some extremist groups within Israel put him on notice to secure release of Israeli hostages and resume war against Palestine. Except for Ireland, most of the Western states were supporting Israel. Netanyahu was still unclear if he would do something to secure political support for his survival. Israel managed to get support from most of the European countries except Ireland and to some extent Belgium and Spain. He said that during the past 15 months and in the last 75 years, Israel did not make any commitment to withdraw from Palestine. U.S. State department overruled the fact-finding mission’s report of the USAID that Israel was violating its commitments. Enumerating the gains from the accord, he said that according to the ruling of International Court of Justice, Palestinians were a group of distinct population. Documentation of Israeli crimes in Gaza by international voluntary organisations, like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch was very significant. He urged the Israeli civil society to intervene and debate the issue.

Prof. Muralidharan held that Israeli actions showed the harsh reality of its crimes in Gaza. He referred to the prospects of salvaging something like rule-based international order and upholding the concept of law and justice. Israel was willing to accept the partition of Palestinian territory, but unwilling to end its occupation. Israel abandoned the commitment to justice and continued atrocities against Palestinians. Israel was clearly a racist apartheid state. Wherever the talks for peace took place, Israel always dominated them. The UN Partition Plan for Palestine was a gross injustice to Palestinians. It was something that the people of Palestine did not want. The need of the hour was to see that the provisions of the accord were followed. He also said that there should be significant efforts from our side to maintain people to people contact. In this context, the Raza Foundation at New Delhi was doing an important work. “Nothing is gained from pessimism. Let us hope for peace and justice”, he noted.

Historian, author, journalist and a political analyst from Lucknow, Mr. Amaresh Misra observed, “We are at a juncture, not only in Palestine, but also at the global level”. He said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, USA became more powerful because of the absence of power balance. “We now have a new World Order”. Referring to Palestine, he note that it had limited governance under the supervision of Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. There was no restriction on American hegemony and Israeli jingoism. America and Israel wanted to impose their will on the world. Both of them had established their supremacy over the world. But, as the 15-months long conflict had shown, the Palestinian warriors brought Israel to its feet. The US also aided and abetted Ukrainian war with Russia. During the period of hostilities, Israel committed grave crimes of genocide of Palestinians. He said that India was also following the Israeli parallel. In defence history, the scale on which the resistance was found among Hamas young boys who were joining army with zeal, was not seen before. He suggested that India should organise seminars and start mass movement in favour of Palestinians that had been done earlier.

Professor of Political Science at Aligarh Muslim University, Prof. Arshi Khan, referred to Article 51 of the Indian Constitution which states that “the State shall strive to promote international peace and security by maintaining just and honourable relations between nations, respecting international law, and encouraging the settlement of international disputes through arbitration; essentially highlighting the country’s commitment to peaceful resolutions and cooperation on the global stage”. There had been genocide in Gaza by the Israeli forces. So many agreements had been signed to restore peace in the area. In 1957, it was said that Palestine would become a land for peace. But nothing happened. If the agreements reached by that time had been given effect to, Palestine would have come into existence as an independent state by 1991. Few Jews, including a Jew of Israel origin, living in the US says Israel cannot become a state. Referring to Lebanon, he said that Hezbollah had its 60 members in Lebanese Parliament. In 2006-07, Hamas had its government in Gaza. Hamas did not kill civilians but caught Israelis. He said that the actual killing in Gaza was around 40 percent. About 90 cemeteries were unearthed to recover bodies. On its killing spree, Israeli army did not spare even schools, colleges, cultural centres and the hospitals.

Prof. Khan held that Israel bombed those areas where captors of Israeli citizens were based. About 500 shipments of arms were sent to Israel by the US. Palestinian territory had shrunk. Religion and identity of Palestinians were not safe during those 15 months of strife. He said that peace was not possible due to Israeli occupation of Palestine. Britain facilitated illegal entry of Jews in 1946 because Palestine was a British mandated territory. Those who came after 1919 purchased long tracts of land and property. He suggested that a federal autonomous area must be created to ensure permanent peace in the region. More concessions to the Palestinians would mean they would face more violence. “Everybody knows who is behind Syrian violence and ISIS. The world should look into the practical solution, otherwise Palestinians will continue to sacrifice their lives.” There were several organisations engaged in the struggle of liberating Palestine. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is one such organisation which is composed of Marxists and socialists. Both Marxists and socialists were supporting resistance in Gaza. Russia was supporting Palestinians, but China and Vietnam were supporting them but diplomatically, in order to keep both parties of the conflict happy.

Prof. Khan pointed out that Iran was directly helping Hamas. Venezuela and South Africa were also among the countries which supported the Palestinian cause. “Unless they support, peace will not be there. People of Gaza have no option but resist Israeli’s forcible occupation of their land”. The US supported Israel though the Jewish state was illegal. One need not go outside to understand the reality in Gaza which had 900 check-points. He concluded saying “The US sends out message—We are fighting against terrorism; We are launching counter-terrorism operations”.

In his concluding remarks, Prof. M. Afzal Wani, reminded of the 20th century prediction that there would be a third world war. He hoped that good sense would prevail over the lobbies to work together. The question was how, after the Second World War, peace was possible and efficacy of the organisations like United Nations and other institutions. Other questions were—how to get out of Gaza war, how economy of the world be put on a sound footing and how to generate more resources. Other questions facing the world were exploitation, imposition of hegemony over other nations, power of business and commerce, and increase of supply chain. This would required a lot of work for this world. There was an urgent need to work between total anarchy and peace. He added that confrontational attitude should not be continued.

The symposium ended with the Vice-chairperson of the Institute, Prof. (Dr.) Haseena Hashia extending a vote of thanks.