The two-day Israeli-led operation in the Jenin Refugee camp which killed about 12 people harshly laid bare the fault lines and friction that abound in the Middle East.
In 1948, as the world picked up pieces from the ashes of World War 2, the Jews who were dealt a particularly heavy hand established the Independent State of Israel.
To establish this state, however, the Jews, six million of whom perished during the calamitous World War 2, laid claims to vast swathes of land which had earlier been occupied by Palestinians.
Israel, unimaginably persecuted themselves, established the state of Israel on lands they had long laid claims to. But it came at a catastrophic cost which continues to rankle international law and the international community until now.
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But the most forceful impact has been on the Palestinians themselves, who in the face of the Israeli occupation suddenly found themselves displaced and effectively rendered homeless.
Over the years, Israel’s occupation of the disputed West Bank region has become a nightmare for the international community, which has had to tread carefully, having to cautiously balance Israel’s genuine apprehension over its security and the right of the Palestinians to lands they claim are ancestral.
The two-state solution has remained largely a mirage, with sporadic violence putting paid to faint hopes that Israelis and Palestinians would someday sheath their swords and live in peace side by side.
In a region that has known no little anger, bloodshed and bitterness for close to a century now, it is common humanity that must prevail. For humanity to win, all those with drawn swords in the conflict must sheath them and work for peace that is the only guarantee of genuine progress and prosperity.
Kene Obiezu wrote via [email protected]
