Editorial
Israel's rejection of UN ceasefire proposal
Sustained pressure on it is the need today
THE refusal by Israel to accept a ceasefire resolution on Gaza speaks of the risks its government is putting the entire Middle East to. In these past few days, close to 800 people, most of them innocent Palestinians, have been killed in Israeli air and ground attacks. And that is not the end of the story. Israeli forces have fired on medical teams trying to extricate wounded civilians from the streets and have also blocked supplies of essentials to the besieged region. It has continued to carry out targeted assassinations and in the process has left hundreds of homes and offices destroyed. But nothing could be worse than the rejection of the United Nations Security Council ceasefire proposal calling for an end to hostilities and an opening of land routes to Gaza.
We share the disappointment of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about the Israeli response to the ceasefire proposal. Tel Aviv's acts have drawn widespread condemnation all across the globe and yet it is obvious the government is least concerned with such worries. Moreover, it is now quite clear that the government has in mind the forthcoming general elections in the next one month and would like to pummel the Hamas into surrender as a way of ensuring its continuation in office. That is a troubling outlook. The more worrying part of the story is that with support for it in Washington, which has just abstained over the Security Council resolution (it was carried by a majority of 14-0), the Israeli administration apparently feels it can do things with impunity. But the attitude has surely not helped. In the past couple of days, rockets, which have landed in the south of Israel, have been fired into northern Israel as well. That is a sign of the conflict taking on a wider dimension. Of course, no one expects Hamas to prevail against the Israeli military machine. But none expects Israel to be triumphant either. By acting the way it has so far, Israel has only dug a deeper hole for itself.
Sustained international pressure must be brought to bear on Israel. It is clearly aiming at an occupation of Gaza despite its denials. It is a goal that the United States, especially the incoming Obama administration, must prevent from being achieved.
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