
While the extreme distress and injustice suffered by the people of Gaza from Israeli aggression and attacks has been in the news worldwide, the increasing sufferings of Palestinians during the same period in the West Bank have received relatively much less attention. Hence it is important to listen to what a leading Israeli peace activist and poet, who also happens to be a famous scholar on India’s history, has to say regarding the recent situation in the West Bank. In a recent interview with Stanly Johny (see interview titled ‘West Bank a cauldron that can explode any moment’, The Hindu, January 12), Israeli scholar and peace activist David Shulman has stated, “On the West Bank, we have Israeli colonization that has been going on for several decades. All of the Israeli settlements, without exception, sit upon stolen Palestinian land, and the settler population has grown to several lakhs (one lakh=100,000) planted in the midst of a Palestinian population on the West Bank of some two-and-a-half million. The extremist settlers…are driving the Palestinians on the West Bank into a situation of horrible precariousness.”
Further he says, “There is a system in place that supports this. That means the Army, the police, the military courts, the Israeli media, public and social media and the government, which funds and supports the settlements.”
What are the future possibilities? Shulman says, “The goal is to take as much Palestinian land as they possibly can with as few Palestinian people living on it as possible. That has been true for a long time. But since October 7, this situation has exacerbated enormously…The West Bank has become a cauldron that could explode at any moment.”
Shulman goes on to warn that it is “extremely likely” that there will be a third intifada (uprising) that is more intense and fierce than the earlier two. He adds, “And it could happen anytime, because the Palestinian people are not going anywhere, and their life is no longer bearable.”
In an overview assessment of the existing situation he says, “I think sometimes that today, we in Israel may be experiencing something like South Africa at the height of the Apartheid system. Just a few years before the system collapsed.”
Unfortunately the prospects of internal reform in Israel to avoid worsening conditions are also dim. As Shulman explains, “We have a dysfunctional political system, which is like a crazy jigsaw puzzle. The structural situation perpetuates the logic where the extreme right has complete control over what is happening. It’s an absurd situation. (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu has devoted his life to preventing the emergence of a Palestinian State. There are two things that he really cares about. That is one, and second is the perpetuation of his own government. And they are linked.”
In such a situation are those governments and organizations, particularly in the west, really helping the people of Israel by extending relentless support to the Netanyahu-led highly aggressive agenda? Will they not be helping the people of Israel and the future of Israel in much more meaningful ways if they instead help to strengthen the voices of peace within Israel? These voices of peace within Israel have repeatedly come up with alternative thinking which can bring hope of peace, justice and safety to both sides. We all should listen to these voices of peace, and so should the world’s top leaders.
Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Earth without Borders and A Day in 2071.