LETTER | Ten months have passed since the start of the callous and indiscriminate Israeli military onslaught in Gaza, resulting in over 40,000 Palestinians killed, the majority of them children, women, and the elderly.
That number does not include those missing, buried under rubble, and bombed to smithereens. It does not include those who have died from hunger and disease due to Israel’s destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and its restrictions on aid flowing in.
The world is witnessing a genocide. Yet, Israel, with military and political support from the US and its European allies, persists with impunity.
Such carnage cannot be justified. The US has shown its moral bankruptcy and hypocrisy as it keeps up a steady supply of advanced weapons to Israel while saying it is working on a ceasefire deal.
As that play drags on, civilians, children, and women are still being bombed by those same weapons. Lives are lost and families are destroyed.
The resistance in Gaza is struggling to regain the rights, freedom, and dignity of the Palestinians, which Israel has steadily stripped away.
The dispossession of the Palestinians has come about due to historical injustices, aided by the imperial powers of the West since 1948.
Thus, the violence committed by Hamas on Oct 7, 2023, did not take place in a vacuum. The underlying reasons and historical injustices have to be addressed. Towards this end, Aliran calls for:
An end to the supply of arms to Israel immediately
An immediate ceasefire and end to the killing on both sides
The formation of an international coalition for the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza
The release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, including potential Palestinian leaders
An end to the facade of prejudiced negotiations without honest brokers
Aliran instead calls for honestly brokered negotiations for a peaceful and political solution that addresses the historical injustices inflicted on the people of Palestine to ensure:
the Palestinians’ right to return to their homes and property
the cessation and reversal of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory
genuine recognition of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination
the right to peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians and their neighbours
Aliran urges everyone in Malaysia to view the Palestinian struggle as a humanitarian issue borne out of historical injustice.
True, there is perceptibly greater support for the Palestinian cause among Muslim Malaysians than among the non-Muslim ethnic minorities. This is a product of the country’s historically communalised and ethnically divided society.
But we should not project our own separateness onto the plight of the Palestinians or, for that matter, onto other struggles that involve oppressed minorities in other places like Myanmar and Sudan.
Everyone in Malaysia should join hands to oppose such injustices and persecution, no matter where they occur.
Malaysia, as the Asean chair next year, should take the lead in condemning not only the genocide in Gaza but also the one in Myanmar, where Rohingya are suffering at the hands of the Myanmar military and the Arakan army.
In such times, acts of compassion should be welcomed. They should not be politicised for political gain. Rather, they should be borne out of genuine compassion and solidarity with our suffering fellow human beings.
The above was first published on Aliran.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
