Mohammad Shaaf Najib
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.” – Elie Wiesel
Israel’s occupation of Palestine has now continued for decades. Though, the recent wave of attacks since early May by Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip and Palestinian population was much deadlier than before. As per the United Nations (UN) estimates, by May 17 Israel had demolished 94 buildings in Gaza, comprising 461 commercial and housing units. Besides, around 40 schools and 04 hospitals have also been completed or partially damaged, resulting in in over 900 targeted strikes, killing 217 Palestinians, including 63 children, with another over 300 injured.
The global community’s deafening silence towards Israel’s attacks of Palestine has been severely questioned by public at large, but it has not come as a surprise. While a few countries have come out in support of Israel, others have chosen to maintain absolute silence. This support, vocal or silent, though shall not be confused with a principled stance by these nations, instead as an attempt to protect and further their mutual vested interests with Tel Aviv.
Israel has, over the past many decades built great economic and diplomatic relations, especially with the western world. The European Union (UN) is Israel’s largest trading partner accounting for 29.3% of its trade in goods in 2020, as 21.9% of Israel’s exports landed in EU nations while 34.4% of Israel’s imports originated from the EU. This trade amounted to a total of 31.0 billion Euros, out of which 19.5 billion Euros worth of goods were imported by Israel from EU nations, while Israel’s exports to the EU totaled 11.5 billion Euros. Additionally, the trade in services between EU and Israel in 2019 was estimated to be around 15.9 billion Euros, with services worth 9.3 billion Euros exported by the EU to Israel.
In parallel, the US-Israel love affair is also very well known. Israel is USA’s most important ally in the Middle Eastern neighborhood – which is rather hostile towards the west, and particularly USA – and an important trading partner. USA is the single largest recipient of Israel’s exports, with over 32% of Israel’s total exports in goods during 2019 amounting $18 billion landed in the US.
Moreover, USA has backed Israel countless times on the political, economic as well as military front. US has been handing out annual grants to Israel since the 1980s, making it the largest cumulative recipient of US aid since World War II. USA’s political support on international stage has also made Israel to carry out its brutal atrocities in Palestine. Recently, the US has managed to block a joint statement by the UN Security Council (UNSC) calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, despite the council’s three meetings within a week. Besides, the US has used veto power in UNSC 42 times in matters concerning resolutions relating to Israel, out of the total 83 times in which a veto power has been used. The Biden administration has also sanctioned the potential sale of $735 million in precision-guided weapons to Israel. It appears that US lawmakers are expected not to block the move despite Israel’s continued attacks on innocent Palestinians.
Israel is not the only country pinning hopes on US military support though. The 04 Arab countries, UAE, Sudan, Morocco and Bahrain, recently decided to forge ties with Israel only last year. While the slogan of peace, love and understanding was raised by these four as a justification for beginning of the diplomatic relations with Israel; On the contrary these countries were highly motivated by factors having nothing to do with peace, love and understanding. In fact, it was based on rather narrow interests, including the promise of either advanced weapons or diplomatic favors from the United States.
Canadian government is also no different; stuck by the idea that Israel is the victim. This comes at the back of strong, multidimensional bilateral relations between the two countries, including extensive people-to-people ties between the two. Not only do thousands of Canadian nationals and families reside in Israel, Canada is home to a slightly larger number of Jewish population than the entire population of Israel, which has always formed the basis of a bridge in relations between the two countries.
On the other hand, Pakistan, one of the few very vocal voices against the Israeli oppression has not been able to create much impact despite continuous calls for action. Pakistan’s economic and global diplomatic position is not a hidden-fact, and that has resulted in its cries for Palestine being predominantly left unheard. The Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) statement on Israel’s aggression was an absolutely weak expression of condemnation, represent the clear lack of fire in the organization’s belly. Turkey’s government also has been active on diplomatic front to try and force an international intervention. At the same time, Turkey also enjoys great trading relationship with Israel, as the latter is among the top 10 destinations for Turkish exports. A clear gap between their words and actions nullifies the impact, if any, of their diplomatic attempts to tread Israeli violence in Gaza.
In conclusion, Israel has managed to convert itself into a major trading and diplomatic partner for the world’s largest powers, thus handicapping them with regards to its violence in Palestine. Tel Aviv has been far ahead in this game, leaving no stone unturned to ensure as many voices against its actions continue to be silenced as possible.
The author is a Staff Economist at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics
