New Delhi, Jul 29: Asserting that Israel\u2019s military campaign in Gaza amounts to \u201cgenocide\u201d, Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the Modi government for being a \u201cmute spectator to this affront to humanity\u201d, and said this was a \u201ccowardly betrayal of our constitutional values\u201d.
\nShe also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s \u201cshameful silence\u201d in the face of Israel\u2019s relentless and devastating assault on the people of Gaza is \u201cdeeply disappointing\u201d, as well as the height of \u201cmoral cowardice\u201d.
\nIn an article published in the Hindi daily \u2018Dainik Jagran\u2019, Gandhi urged the prime minister to speak out \u201cclearly, boldly and forthrightly\u201d on behalf of the legacy that India has long represented.
\nShe said nothing can justify Hamas\u2019 barbaric attacks on innocent men, women and children in Israel on 7 October 2023, or its continued holding of Israeli hostages thereafter.
\nShe said these must be condemned repeatedly and unreservedly.
\n\u201cBut as members of the international community \u2013 and more so as human beings -\u0093 it is our responsibility to acknowledge that the Israeli government\u2019s response and reprisals against the civilian population of Gaza have not only been egregious, but downright criminal,\u201d she asserted in her article in Hindi titled \u2018Gaza sankat par mookdarshak Modi sarkaar\u2019.
\nOver the past nearly two years, more than 55,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed, including 17,000 children, Gandhi pointed out.
\nMost residential buildings in Gaza have been razed to the ground through relentless aerial bombardment, including hospitals, she said, adding that the social fabric has been completely shattered.
\n\u201cThe events since October 2023 have been disturbing, and in recent months the situation has become even more heart-wrenching. We have seen how humanitarian aid has been weaponised as part of a dastardly strategy. The Israeli Defense Forces have imposed a military blockade on Gaza, deliberately and cruelly blocking the supply of medicines, food and fuel to the population,\u201d the former Congress chief said.
\n\u201cThe wanton destruction of infrastructure and the unbridled massacre of civilians have led to a man-made tragedy \u2013 made worse by the blockade. This strategy of forced starvation is undoubtedly a crime against humanity,\u201d Gandhi said.
\nIn the midst of this devastation, Israel has either outright rejected or blocked humanitarian aid from the United Nations and other international organisations, she asserted.
\n\u201cIn a perversion of every idea of humanity, armed soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces have ruthlessly fired on hundreds of civilians who were trying to gather food for their families. The United Nations itself has expressed grave concern on this issue \u2013 and even the Israeli Defense Forces have had to admit this horrifying truth,\u201d Gandhi said.
\n\u201cAccording to almost all objective assessments by experts on Israel\u2019s ongoing military occupation of Gaza, it is a campaign that amounts to genocide and aims to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip of Palestinians,\u201d she said.
\nIts scale and consequences are reminiscent of the Naqba tragedy of 1948, when Palestinians were forced from their homes, Gandhi said.
\nAll this atrocities are being carried out to serve some of the most nefarious objectives -\u0093 ranging from a colonial mindset to the selfish interests of a few \u201cgreedy\u201d real estate tycoons, Gandhi claimed.
\nShe asserted that the ongoing crisis has exposed one of the most serious weaknesses in the international system.
\n\u201cUN General Assembly resolutions demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza have been completely ignored. The United Nations Security Council has failed to impose sanctions on the Israeli government for its attacks on civilians in Gaza and the large-scale destruction of its infrastructure,\u201d she said.
\nThe International Court of Justice\u2019s order of 26 January 2024 \u2014 directing Israel to prevent acts of genocide and to provide essential services and humanitarian aid to civilians \u2014 has also been completely ignored, Gandhi said.
\nIsrael\u2019s direct and indirect support from the US not only encouraged these actions, but also made them possible, she added.
\nGandhi opined that when international laws and institutions have become \u201cvirtually defunct\u201d, the fight to protect the interests of the people of Gaza is now left to individual countries.
\nDespite the risk of backlash, South Africa has taken the bold step of taking Israel to task at the International Court of Justice, and Brazil has now joined the effort, she noted.
\nFrance has decided to recognise the Palestinian state, and countries like Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on Israeli leaders who have promoted aggression in Gaza, she said.
\nEven within Israel itself, the voices of protest are growing -\u0093 a former prime minister has acknowledged the reality of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, she said.
\n\u201cAmidst this humanitarian crisis and the rising global consciousness around it, it is a national shame that India has remained a mute spectator to this affront to humanity,\u201d Gandhi said.
\n\u201cIndia has long been a symbol of global justice. We are the country that inspired global movements against colonialism, raised its voice against imperialist domination during the Cold War era, and led the international struggle against apartheid South Africa,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cAt a time when innocent human beings are being brutally slaughtered, India\u2019s abdication of its values is a blot on our national conscience, a disregard for our historical contributions, and also a cowardly betrayal of our constitutional values,\u201d Gandhi said.
\nShe pointed out that the Directive Principles of State Policy clearly require the government to take effective steps to \u201cpromote international peace and security, maintain just and honourable relations between nations, foster respect for international law and treaty obligations, and encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.
\n\u201cBut Israel\u2019s blatant disregard for basic concepts of international law, human rights and justice \u2013\u0093 and our current government\u2019s moral cowardice in the face of it \u2013\u0093 is tantamount to a dereliction of our duties to our constitutional values,\u201d she said.
\nIndia has always been a supporter of the \u2018two-state solution\u2019 and a just peace between the people of Israel and Palestine, she asserted.
\nGandhi recalled that in 1974, under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, India became the first non-Arab country to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
\nIn 1988, India was among the first countries to officially recognise the State of Palestine, she noted.
\n\u201cPrime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s shameful silence in the face of Israel\u2019s relentless and devastating assault on the people of Gaza is deeply disappointing. It is the height of moral cowardice. The time has come for him to speak out clearly, boldly and forthrightly on behalf of the legacy that India has long represented,\u201d she said.
\nThe Global South is once again looking to India for leadership on an issue that today shakes the collective conscience of all humanity, Gandhi said. (Agencies)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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