THIS is with reference to the report ‘China ready to facilitate Israel-Palestine peace talks, says foreign minister’ (April 18). I am confused and wonder how a country can talk about peace, for peace can be between two legitimate countries, not between an occupying force armed to the teeth and the oppressed one.
I wonder if China will even imagine accepting alien occupiers of its land. Will China consider peace with the occupying force? Absolutely not. The proud Chinese would fight tooth and nail to end the occupation. Will the Chinese allow someone to mediate in such a scenario? No, they won’t. Nobody would.
The Great Britain may have left the Arabian peninsula, but in doing so it made sure that it left behind a colony that was subsequently supported by the West at large through extensive military training and financial support.
Israel in the Arabian peninsula was first created and supported by the British empire before the Israelis were embraced and patronised by the Americans. Now reading the writing on the wall with American power and influence on the decline, the Israelis need another superpower for its survival; be it the rulers of some Arab countries, or another empire, like, say, China.
Too many lives have been lost in the wake of British and American machinations, with each of the two using terms like ‘peace’ and ‘two-state solution’ to fool the Arabs and the Muslims at large that they were genuinely concerned about the indigenous people. Such ‘peace initiatives’ serve only the occupiers.
There is only one solution between the occupiers and the Palestinians. The occupation has to end and the occupiers must go back to where they had come from. This is not about Jews wanting a home in Palestine. We should remember that the European Zionists first chose Argentina to set up a home for the Jews. Orthodox Jews even today support the Palestinians and want the land to be given back to the Arabs. They are silenced by hardliners, like Benjamin Netanyahu and others. Today, Israel is unable to control the well-organised Palestinians fighting for their country.
Israel, or should we say the Western military might, cannot kill the Palestinian quest for freedom no matter how many Arabs are killed. Arabs have had enough of the occupation.
China should end any business deal with the murderers of Arabs. The Islamic world is vast and business in this world will bring better rewards for China than an occupation that steals Arab resources to benefit the West.
Israel is not a friend even to the United States since it steals, rebrands and sells US military products, denying Americans any commercial benefits. This is something China should keep in mind before facilitating any peace deal that will benefit the Israelis.
Once Palestine returns to the Arabs, there will be peace in the region. If China wants to help, it should negotiate a date when the occupiers will go back to where they had come from. Palestine will be liberated anyway as today Muslims are slowly uniting against the occupiers and will liberate their land.
Angabeen Ahmad
Karachi
Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2023
