DILLY-DALLYING over finding a consensus on the Israel-Hamas war raging on for over 40 days, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has now come up with a standard and politically safe response by calling for urgent corridors throughout Gaza to allow unhindered humanitarian access to the strip. The resolution, overcoming the political deadlock, is a middle way out for UNSC but it totally lacks comprehension of the ground reality where Israel is doggedly fighting a battle for survival against deadly Islamist extremism. No wonder, Israel has rightly rejected the UNSC call for humanitarian pauses as long as the Hamas militant group holds the hostages captive in the Gaza strip. The situation again reflects the inability of the UNSC to go past an assumed narrative controlled by the big powers who hold the veto right. It also raises urgent calls for total reform of the UNSC with its expansion and inclusion of emerging powers like India. The UNSC might take a distant view over the armed conflict but it must also take into consideration Israel’s position in the overall picture. The tiny country has been fighting wars with the Arab world since its independence 75 years ago.

 

The conflicts have transformed into a battle with Islamist extremism which is unleashed on the Jewish nation in various forms from all around Israel. The latest attack of October 7 was also an unprovoked assault by Hamas which is strangely getting no concrete rebuke from the UNSC. The toothless tiger continues to wallow in geopolitical filth even as the powers controlling the high table stonewall a sturdy response to terrorism. In wake of the indecisiveness, Israel is not bound by any of the UNSC resolutions in the ongoing conflict. For, it is a fight for self-defence and every country has the right to preserve its sovereignty and people from forces inimical to its safety. Despite the intervention of various actors in the mediation, the conflict remains a knotty affair as Hamas refuses to release hostages in its captivity. Such stubborn attitude characterises the existence of Islamist extremism as the terror groups only go by a poisonous doctrine twisted out of religious books.

 

The sad part is, instead of condemning the extremists and launching a united fight against such perpetrators, the international community is still divided over the issue. This mixed response is clearly driven by a vicious agenda where humanitarian angle is promptly sacrificed at the altar of geopolitics and geoeconomics. Israel just cannot afford pauses in the conflict as it gains upper hand with the march of its forces into the Gaza strip. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have already inflicted untold damage on the Hamas infrastructure and its leadership by blowing up terror hideouts and gaining control over the Parliament building. The raids on hospitals in Gaza have also revealed that the buildings were being used for stocking up weapons and missiles. It is the inherent trait of the Islamist extremists to use innocent women and children as shields to carry out their covert activities.

 

By ripping off the mask from the face of Hamas, Israel has done a commendable job to bring out harsh truth for the international community. Yet, bodies like the UNGA and UNSC continue to look at the truth with eyes wide shut. The rejection of the UNSC resolution by Israel is in sync with its non-negotiable policy against terrorism. Providing pauses in the name of humanitarian aid would be like playing with fire as the extremists might use it to reorganise and regroup for fresh attacks on Israeli cities and towns. In view of the low credibility count of the Hamas and Palestinian bodies, the world must back the Israeli position.