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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 SEPTEMBER 2024 The Gaza killing fields must stop Editorial UN Secretary-General António Guterres could not have been clearer in his assessment of global events that are reaping misery and suffering on millions of people and threaten- ing to plunge the world into "an unimaginea- ble" powder keg. The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues unabated. It is a war that has ground to a stale- mate and that sees large swathes of Ukrainian territory under Russian military control as ci- vilians die and communities are shattered. In Sudan, warring factions are using sexual violence, rape and torture as tools of coercion against civilian populations, while people struggle to find food and safe shelter. In the Middle East, the carnage perpetrated by Israel in Gaza persists, now overshadowed by the looming threat of all-out war between Israel and militant group Hezbollah in Leba- non. Meanwhile, Israeli hostages taken by Ha- mas in October last year remain captive. In Haiti, a country is being held hostage by criminal gangs and in Myanmar, Yemen and the Democratic Republic of Congo ongoing conflicts just keep claiming lives, displacing people and causing untold suffering. These challenges and others like climate change and nuclear posturing are solvable but in Guterres's words, it requires mechanisms of international problem-solving to actual- ly solve problems. And to get there, the UN chief identified the three major drivers of un- sustainability that must be confronted – im- punity, inequality and uncertainty. Perhaps, his assessment on impunity rings loudest at the moment. "Today, a growing number of governments and others feel entitled to a 'get out of jail free' card. They can trample international law. They can violate the United Nations Charter. They can turn a blind eye to international hu- man rights conventions or the decisions of in- ternational courts. They can thumb their nose at international humanitarian law. They can invade another country, lay waste to whole societies, or utterly disregard the welfare of their own people. And nothing will happen. We see this age of impunity everywhere — in the Middle East, in the heart of Europe, in the Horn of Africa, and beyond," Guterres told the opening of the 79th session of the General Assembly in New York last week. Nowhere is impunity clearly on show as it is in the Middle East, where Israel continues to do as it pleases in Gaza, the West Bank and now teasing an invasion of Lebanon that risks drawing the region into war. Israel knows there is a solution that will al- low its citizens to return safely to their homes in the north of the country – all it needs to do is stop the aggression in Gaza. The terror attacks Hamas perpetrated on 7 October last year inside Israel and the taking of hostages can never be justified. The uncon- ditional and immediate release of all hostages is a must. But neither can the collective pun- ishment of Palestinians be justified. Guterres described the scale of the killing and destruction in Gaza as something "un- like anything" he has seen in his years as sec- retary-general. More than 200 UN staff have been killed alongside thousands of innocent Palestinians – including women, children and the elderly. At the same time, Israel continues to pursue a policy of land-grabs from Palestinian com- munities in the West Bank, eroding the pros- pect of a viable Palestinian state ever seeing the light of day. Guterres is right when he says that the in- ternational community must mobilise for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and un- conditional release of all hostages, and the be- ginning of an irreversible process towards a two-State solution. The key to this solution lies with the United States. If it continues with its uncondition- al support of Israel, any moral posturing on Gaza and the Palestinian plight by the US is as credible as a prostitute preaching virginity. Benjamin Netanyahu has shown time and time again that he has no regard for what the US says but he will have to stop and listen if the tap of military support is closed shut. Sim- ilarly, Iran must stop its funding and arming of militant organisations like Hamas and Hez- bollah. The only way Israel can ensure its own long- term safety and security is through a nego- tiated solution that sees Palestinians freed from oppression and living in their own viable State. Quote of the Week "The level of impunity in the world is politically indefensible and morally intolerable. Today, a growing number of governments and others feel entitled to a 'get out of jail free' card. They can trample international law. They can violate the United Nations Charter…They can thumb their nose at international humanitarian law. They can invade another country, lay waste to whole societies, or utterly disregard the welfare of their own people. And nothing will happen." UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressing the opening of the 79th session of the General Assembly, in New York. MaltaToday 10 years ago 28 September 2014 Ten hunters remanded in custody over illegal Valletta protest TEN hunters were yesterday remanded in custody after being charged with involve- ment in the illegal protest held on Sun- day in Valletta against the government's decision to suspend the autumn hunting season. The proceedings were not taken lightly by the accused – one of them reacted to the end of proceedings by shouting and taking off his jacket, which is mandatory wear in the courtroom. He was removed by the police. Tensions continued to flare outside the court- room, when relatives of the accused began to hurl insults and threaten members of the press who were covering the hearing. One of the relatives threatened a PBS cameraman by shouting, "I know where you live!" Journalists and camerapersons were asked by the police to keep back while the hunters were being escorted to the prison van but two MaltaToday reporters had to be escorted by the police to their cars as relatives continued to threaten them. The hunters, all men, whose age ranged from 19 to 44, were charged with forming part of an illegal protest dur- ing which they showed disrespect to the government, with conspiring with others to commit a crime and break the law, and with insulting the Prime Minister and the government of Malta. ...