Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1509678
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 OCTOBER 2023 A bleak scenario: 'Palestinians deserve better than Hamas' Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, a political veteran who hails from the Christian democratic tradition which in Malta has a history of supporting the Palestinian cause, is worried that extremists on either side of the Middle East conf lict will perpetuate a cycle of violence. Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici "I am very very, worried," the vet- eran and well-read Nationalist MP says. He immediately refers me to an interview he had just read with veteran Israeli journalist David Grossman. "As you said in your editorial (MaltaToday Midweek 11 Oc- tober 2023), Hamas's action was a disservice to the Palestinian cause," he says, admitting to being shaken to the core by the "behead- ing of babies in a kibbutz" and the shooting of young people in a rave party. "How can you behead babies? How can you shoot or burn entire families? How can you represent your people on the world stage and commit such acts?" he asks. Mifsud Bonnici also calls Ha- mas's actions "gross political igno- rance" which could backfire. "How can anyone dialogue with Hamas after they butchered people? In- stead of using their growing influ- ence as the ascendent Palestinian force, the attack could eventually lead to a reaffirmation of Al Fatah, which now remains the only possi- ble interlocutor for the Palestinian people." But while this may be an oppor- tunity for Palestinians to return to the fold of the more pragmatic and moderate Fatah, Mifsud Bon- nici warns that while Israel's mas- sive response in Gaza may end up wiping out Hamas, the number of rising civilian casualties may leave a vacuum to be filled by other ex- tremists and terrorists. Like Alfred Sant, Mifsud Bonn- ici also insists that Israel and par- ticularly Netanyahu have grave responsibilities. He points out that the flagrant security breach happened on Ne- tanyahu's watch. But while some have speculated that Netanyahu is toast after the state failed to of- fer Israelis the promised security, Mifsud Bonnici fears that Netan- yahu, who excels in the art of polit- ical survival, may well thrive in his role as a war leader. "Just months ago, he was facing demonstrations in Israel against a reform aimed at strengthening his hold on the judiciary. Now he is re- inventing himself as a war leader, bringing the opposition party into his government." Mifsud Bonnici is also appre- hensive on the Israeli reaction, describing it "exaggerated". He says bombing tunnels used by ter- rorists is acceptable but "bombing children and civilians is not". He is also alarmed by Israel's call on civilians to evacuate and Egypt's refusal to open the Rafah border crossing. "Where do they expect the peo- ple of Gaza to go? Are they ex- pecting them to cross over into the sea and drown?" He also thinks there are west- ern responsibilities for the stalled peace process. But he also attrib- utes this to the absence of a strong Palestinian leadership after Arafat. "Until there is a strong moderate Palestinian force, there can be no concrete move for peace. To win arguments in the international field one needs the kind of legiti- macy which comes from modera- tion." Moreover, the Palestinians also faced increased isolation in the Arab world and no longer garner the automatic support of Arab na- tion. He attributes this to Israel's sophisticated diplomacy and eco- nomic prowess, with Arab nations realising that it is more profitable for them to have trade relations with Israel. This should have been a wake-up call for the Palestinian leadership. Mifsud Bonnici is not surprised by the US's reaction, noting the historical ties between the US and Israel. While noting that the support is sometimes qualified by reference to international law, he fears that such unconditional sup- port can be interpreted as a licence for Israel to wipe out Hamas from the face of the earth without much concern for casualties. He is also convinced though that the US is also using diplomacy to avoid the conflict from spreading. "They sent an aircraft carrier there to send a warning to Iran and its proxies in Lebanon not to inter- fere while Israel carries on with the assault on Gaza." He also reprimands the EU for using funds as token support for the Palestinians to keep them quit. "What real development has taken place in the occupied territories and Gaza considering that they do not even have a reserve of fuel for their sole power station?" He describes the situation as bleak, "a veritable clash between extremists on both sides which does not bode well". "For now, it is useless to talk about peace talks. My fear is that Gaza will be raised to the ground. But when will this stop? When they kill everyone?" On a more local level he also re- grets that despite a sense of soli- darity with the people trapped in the conflict historically expressed by both major parties, Malta's for- eign policy has been less pro-active over the past years. "Sure, we are part of the Europe- an Union. But surely that does not prevent us from being pro-active in doing our part and gain the trust of both sides." And while he supports the le- gitimate aspirations of the Pales- tinians, he insists that "this is not a football match where one has to take sides, but a complex issue with deep historical roots which impacts on real human beings." So, what position should Mal- ta take? "In this case the starting point has to be a strong condem- nation of Hamas. But we should not stop there. We should call for restraint on Israel's side and work to reaffirm the role of Fatah as the legitimate interlocutor of the Pal- estinian people." LUKE VELLA THE Arabic Culture Information Society (ACIS) organ- ised a demonstration on Saturday afternoon at the Msida Square, protesting against the military attacks at the Gaza Strip. The Society said that it is protesting the "indiscriminate bombardment and unlawful siege" of civilians in the Gaza Strip which they said became an open-air prison with 2.2 million inhabitants. "Many lives will be lost if the international community remains silent especially after the blockage of supply of water, electricity, fuel, food and medical supplies. More than 270,000 people are being housed in schools and entire neighborhoods are being wiped daily," ACIS said. The demonstrators who gathered in Msida with flags of Palestine chanted, "Free, free Palestine" and "End the gen- ocide". ACIS President Sanaa El Nahhal thanked the Maltese for "crying with the Palestinians". "Palestinian children, women and men are being killed and Palestine is being destroyed […] Palestine is our land and Palestinians have always been living there. We never took the land away from someone else," Sanaa said. She said that there will be another demonstration in Val- letta on Tuesday between 5.30pm and 8.30pm. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have told people in the north of the Gaza strip that between 10am and 4pm local time there will be two safe routes for them to move south. The region has been mired in violence in recent days, with Hamas fighters reportedly kidnapping at least 150 people during brutal attacks on Israel over the weekend, which resulted in the loss of 1,300 lives. Since Israel's retaliatory air strikes commenced, more than 2,200 people have lost their lives in Gaza, and over 8,700 have been wounded. Reports indicate that a total blockade is being enforced on Gaza, leading to critical shortages of essential resources such as fuel, food, and water. Hanan, a Palestinian-Maltese woman who lived in Gaza said that Israel is killing Palestinians daily. "Palestinians suffer every day. I was living in the Gaza Strip in 2008 and 2012. Believe me I didn't know whether I would wake up alive or dead," she said. Pro-Palestine demonstration in Msida: 'Let us live in our country first and then talk about peace'