Išerić: Is the Arab League dead?

By Enver Išerić

Events in the Middle East, specifically in Palestine, with Hamas and Israel as the main actors, must concern all of humanity. First, Hamas attacked Israel, and Israel subsequently declared war on Hamas. And before Hamas's attack, Israel had been occupying Palestinian territory for years and decades, killing Palestinians, and organizing the largest "open" concentration camps. This is still the case today. Gaza is the largest concentration camp in the world, where one state is cutting off water and food supplies, where it is bombing residential buildings from the air and killing residents as it pleases and as it wishes.

The pretext for the ongoing attack on Gaza is Hamas's attack. The Israeli Prime Minister said, "Every member of Hamas is a dead man." And his army will assess who is a member of Hamas and how many there are. This practically means that every Palestinian is a potential member of Hamas and should practically be killed.

Israel has "forgotten" its own "Hamas" formed during the thirties of the last century, when the occupation of Palestine practically began, and during the British Mandate over this territory established in 1923, which lasted until 1948.

However, it is completely clear that there are and always have been aggressive actions by certain nations, or states in the world, which is why international organizations were created with the task of preventing the disruption of world peace and the aggressive actions of individual states, protecting human rights, and ensuring peace in the world.

Such world organizations were the League of Nations, founded after World War I (1920), and then the United Nations, founded after World War II in 1945.

In the same year, the Arab League was founded as a regional organization of Arab countries, comprising 22 states, with the aim of "bringing relations among member states closer and coordinating their mutual cooperation, preserving their independence and sovereignty, and discussing Arab affairs and interests in a general manner."

Regarding the latest military actions by Israel in the Gaza area against the civilian population, the Arab League issued a statement after a meeting, calling on Israel to cease military operations and the siege of Gaza, emphasizing that the consequences would be dire. The United Nations General Assembly has not been convened, nor has anyone requested it. A Security Council session was held, where opinions were divided, and the session was held behind closed doors.

The United Nations General Assembly meets "for regular annual sessions as well as for special sessions when necessary. Special sessions are convened by the Secretary-General at the request of the Security Council or the majority of the United Nations members." The Security Council has not taken any measures on this issue, and the majority of United Nations members do not consider that the situation in Palestine, which has lasted for 75 years and has recently "escalated" and threatens to turn into a major catastrophe with mass war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law, warrants convening a special session of the United Nations General Assembly and does not deserve discussion in that international body.

Such a situation benefits Israel, especially considering the fact that many countries support its actions, calling it the "right to defense," while Israel disregards the positions of the Arab League as "last year's snow." Therefore, we could conclude that Israel is stronger than the entire Arab League, as it plays the role of the main "Arab policeman" in the heart of the Arab world.

International organizations are losing the meaning of their existence because they are unable to perform the tasks and achieve the goals for which they were founded. Does anyone have the strength to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue? Can the member states of the Arab League reach an agreement, at least on an economic and diplomatic blockade of Israel, to "persuade" it towards a permanent solution to this issue with two states in the territory of former Palestine, namely Israel and Palestine? Or is the Arab League dead? Can the United States of America, as the world's largest military and economic power, mediate and find a satisfactory and lasting solution? They can. And they should, because the scenes from Gaza are simply unbearable to watch anymore. Or has someone already found a solution: Destroy and displace all Palestinians and not allow them to have their own state! And let the members of the Arab League enjoy their illusory unity, and live in real disarray and enmity.

The situation the world is in is pathetic and sad.