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STAGGERING statistics from the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip indicate that 1,893 Palestinians died, including 430 children; 9,805 were wounded (including 3,000 children); 10,000 houses and 134 factories were destroyed with the estimated total cost of the carnage put at $5 billion following the latest Israeli incursion into Gaza.
Predictably, the world stood by and watched the senseless slaughter of unarmed Palestinian people by Israel and not even a whimper of condemnation was heard from the so-called international community with the United States and its allies defending Israel’s right to defend itself and in the process sanitising the genocide that was clearly underway in the Gaza Strip.

At about the same time, there was a crisis brewing in the Crimea region of the Ukraine where a pro-Russian movement was rising up against the Western-sponsored leadership in Kiev resulting in a civil war which rages to this day.

A lot of hullabaloo and dust was raised by the US, Britain and their European allies resulting in debilitating sanctions being imposed on Russia for supporting what they termed rebels who were keen to be part of the wider Russian Federation.

Today, the US and its allies are at it again —rallying the world for another “war on terror”, this time targeting militants from the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq.
Ironically, the so-called terror targets are a creation of the US’s intelligence services with evidence pointing to Uncle Sam’s hand in the arming and training of both the IS militants and Al-Qaeda.

These groups were sponsored to deal with the Russians in Afghanistan and the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria but have turned against their benefactor in a spectacular manner.

It is therefore preposterous for the US, the United Kingdom and their allies to expect the world to help them deal with their mess. We find it abhorrent that world leaders appear to have been rail-roaded into endorsing this new war on terror without questioning the rank hypocrisy and sickening double standards displayed in the Palestinian conflict.

At the United Nations this week, world leaders have been queuing to applaud this outrage and we feel it’s about time someone stood up to the bully boys of the world.
In his speech to the UN Assembly, President Mugabe slammed the western alliance for its deafening silence over Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

The President did not echo the platitudes of Western leaders who pontificated about the “war on terror” and the situation in Iraq and Syria where US-created and sponsored groups have turned weapons against their settler benefactors, but instead drew the world’s attention to the tragedy in Gaza, which the Western leaders skirted like a plague even as they bristled about Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

“We continue to witness the suffering and persecution of the people of Palestine at the hands of Israel. We have witnessed the callous murder of women and children in shelters where they seek refuge from Israel’s bombs.

“We have witnessed the brutal and random destruction of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, and while these heinous acts were being perpetrated by Israel, the so-called civilised world maintained a deafening silence, and we ask why?” Cde Mugabe said.

While the United Nations Human Rights Council has resolved to probe Israel for possible war crimes in Gaza in the wake of the devastating death toll, we feel the world body has been lethargic in its dealings with Israel and has been kow towing to the whims and caprices of the US – a powerful ally of Israel.

Despite these shocking statistics and compelling evidence that war crimes were committed in Gaza, the UN is yet to condemn Israel for the atrocities.
We agree with President Mugabe that lasting peace in the Middle East can only be achieved through a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders and any other manoeuvres to change demographic realities through settlements or use of force will only prolong the suffering of the Palestinians.

The US and its allies should stop their double standards and treat both sides of the Palestinian conflict as equals. Their naked support for Israel’s scorched earth policy towards Palestine will only prolong the crisis.

The people of Palestine have suffered enough and it is time the world listened to their voices.