Gulf Wars
By Dr. D.K. Giri
(Prof of Practice, NIIS Group of Institutions)
The war in Gaza is reaching in an alarming stage. Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz is saying, “Gaza is burning”. From credible international sources, it was evident that famine had struck Gaza, there was heavy exodus of Palestinians from the war zone. Now, as Israel begins the ground attack, thousands of Palestinians have begun to flee. Israel Defence Force (IDF) vows to seize the city in the latest escalation of the conflict. Yet, there is no sign of any truce or ceasefire in Gaza. Worse, Qatar which was negotiating between Palestine and Israel has been bombed on 9 September. The question staring the world leadership is quo vadis (where to go from here) in Palestine, in Ukraine, and anywhere else that is gripped in armed conflict. The focus here is on Gaza.
The European Union has warned that the ground offensive by IDF will add to the toll of deaths and destruction and worsen the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the war-torn city. Gaza is inhabited by nearly one million Palestinians, out of which an estimated 350,000 have left the city. European Union countries are boycotting Israel in cultural programmes like Eurovision Song Contest. That is by far a mild pressure on Israel. How to stop the war, killing of civilians, and destruction of Gaza, is the question that world leaders should address?
The attack on Qatar has added a new dimension and caused a dramatic shift of attention vis-à-vis war in Gaza. IDF on 9 September struck a gated compound in Doha’s Leqtaifiya district that was used by Hamas political leadership. This has baffled many Middle East observers as Qatar is an ally of the United States, which, for years, has had informal ties with Israel. The attack, which targeted Hamas leaders, killed a senior Hamas figure, Khalil Al-Hayya, and a Qatari security officer. As per the Israel media, the military assault involved 15 fighter jets dropping 10 bombs and killing six people. The strategy was to eliminate the Hamas leadership in Qatar.
There are various reactions to this new escalation beyond Gaza from world over. The Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has decried the attack as cowardly amounting to an assault on Qatar sovereignty. The United States has upbraided Israel for striking Qatar, a close ally. Qatar hosts the largest American military base in West Asia. Doha was the centre for mediation and negotiations for Israelis and Palestinians. Americans have assured Qatar that there will be no more such attacks. It is intriguing that Israeli Prime Minister should have attacked Qatar which was in friendly terms with Israel.
Observers contend that a ceasefire which was almost on the cards would have threatened the survival of Netanyahu’s fragile government. Prolonging the war would save Netanyahu politically. The Israeli version is that Qatar was hosting terrorists. The head of Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security says, “Qatar chose to host a terror group on its soil, and that had consequences”. He argued that “Doha cannot hide behind sovereignty. Also, Qatar was warned again and again that hosting Hamas was a mistake, and they ignored it”. Quite a few observers accuse Qatar of being both ‘arsonist’ and ‘fire-fighter’. It first props up a terrorist group, then becomes a negotiator and a peacemaker. It has done so with Hamas as well as Taliban.
The dichotomy of Qatar’s approach, the so-called double standard, can be explained in Qatar’s desire to become a global power in mediation and negotiation like Austria and Norway have. Article 7 of Qatar’s Constitution promulgates mediation as a key foreign policy priority based on the principle of encouraging peaceful resolution of international disputes. Qatar promotes mediation of both Track I and Track II peacemaking and conflict resolution, involving both state and non-state actors. In this spirit, Qatar has hosted groups like Taliban, Hamas and opposition groups from Syria during the Syrian civil war.
Netanyahu may be counting on the continuing discord between the Arab countries. But Arab nations are beginning to close ranks after this reckless escalation into Qatar. Israel has engaged in aerial wars before with Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. Now, unexpectedly, it is Qatar that becomes the target. Qatari Prime Minister has swiftly reacted by cancelling contacts with Israeli negotiations while preparing to host an Arab Islamic Summit on 20-21 September. Qatar also has sent a protest letter to the Secretary General of the UN.
The UN Security Council issued a scathing statement condemning the strike in Doha without mentioning Israel by name. The Arab Nations have rallied behind Qatar, expressing their unequivocal support for Qatar’s security and sovereignty. The UAE ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) personally flew to Doha to meet Qatari Emir, Al Thani. Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have condemned Israel’s bombing of Qatar. Note that these countries had cut-off ties with Qatar in 2017 on allegations that Qatar was abetting terrorism in the form of Muslim brotherhood.
What has been India’s reaction to the war in Gaza in general and the bombing of Qatar in particular? Prime Minister Modi has condemned the violation of Qatar’s sovereignty without naming Israel. Many observers suggest that India should be more active in restoring peace and stability in West Asia. Millions of Indians live in the energy-rich region of the Middle East. India also has substantial trade relations with the Arab world, especially in the sectors of energy and manpower. Prime Minister Modi is also friendly with the Israel Prime Minister. The latter, during the last elections, had displayed the hoardings of his friends like Donald Trump including that of Prime Minister Modi.
At UNHRC, India, on 16 September, defended Qatar’s sovereignty. The Indian representative said India “unequivocally” condemned the attack. He added that India was deeply concerned about the escalation of war in the Middle East; “such actions threaten peace, stability and security not only in the region but across the world”. Prime Minister Modi dialled Qatar’s Emir to express his sympathy and solidarity, reiterating that “India supports resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy”.
India’s response is standard diplomacy. But could India, especially, the vibrant and visionary Prime Minister do more than issuing esoteric statements? The whole world is failing to stop the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Donald Trump is desperately trying to fulfil his promise of ending the war in Ukraine.
Arguably, Prime Minister Modi could speak to Israeli Prime Minister in order to find out his ‘war aims’. If having 48 more hostages released by Hamas or Qatar dissociating from Hamas leadership in Doha is what Netanyahu wants, and negotiate with Doha whether they are agreeable to such conditions to end the war in Gaza. It is a worthwhile and doable attempt by the Indian leadership. Reflecting the complexity of any disaster and involvement of vested interests, there is a book by P. Sainath, an award-winning journalist called, “Everybody Likes a Good Drought”, could it be that, “Everybody Likes a Good War”. To be sure, this is sadism and cynicism, but one cannot help such thoughts as one hopelessly watches the deaths and destruction in Gaza and Ukraine. — INFA