By Dr. Sawraj Singh

First of all, we have to decide who won the current Palestinian and Israeli war. I think it is obvious that the Palestinians have won the war. Perception of the people as to who won the war is very important. Immediately after the ceasefire was declared, the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and in Israel took to the streets to celebrate the victory even when the time was 2:00 AM. Skies over Gaza and the eastern part of Jerusalem were filled with fireworks. There are more reasons to celebrate after ultra rightwing leader Benjamin Netanyahu was ousted from power this week.                                                                                                                                

There was no such feeling among the Israelis. The right-wing Israelis criticized the agreement because they felt that Israel did not achieve its goals. They saw the ceasefire as a victory for Hamas. Many Israeli citizens felt that Israel left the mission incomplete and the ceasefire was premature. A poll conducted by a TV channel showed that more than 70% of people disagreed with the decision of ceasefire at this time. Many felt that Israel should have continued the fight for at least two to three weeks more.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

The world opinion overwhelmingly favored the Palestinians. Most of the world seems to feel that Israel was the aggressor and the Palestinians were the victims. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations were much larger than pro-Israeli demonstrations in most of the countries in the world, even in the European countries and in the US, this trend was obvious.                                                                                                                               

In the United Nations, the sentiment that the Palestinians were the victims and Israel was the aggressor was apparent. Many member nations wanted to stop the Israeli aggression as soon as possible. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, repeatedly called for a ceasefire as soon as possible. China, as the Security Council President, pushed very hard for the ceasefire and a resolution sanctioning Israel. However, the US tried everything to delay the ceasefire in order to give Israel more time to achieve its objectives, and to prevent the UN from passing any resolution criticizing Israel.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

However, growing world pressure as well as mounting pressure within his own party, the left wing of the Democratic party, forced President Joe Biden to pressure Israel to agree for an unconditional ceasefire. This is a sort of defeat for Israel.                                                                                                                                

Besides the Palestinians, Russia and China can be considered the winners. Both have gained influence and prestige and have improved their international standings. They have moved closer to the Muslim world. Russia warned Israel that more civilian casualties were unacceptable. Russia called on Israel to immediately end settlement of Palestinian territories and maintain peace at Jerusalem's sacred sites. Russia also warned Israel that if it takes the war to Syria, then the Russian interests and security could be at risk. Therefore, Russia could declare war on Israel. The Muslim countries feel that during this conflict, Russia has solidly supported the Palestinians, their fellow Muslims.                                                                            

The western countries have made a lot of hue and cry about China committing atrocities against its Uyghur Muslim population. They want the Muslim countries to condemn China for the atrocities. However, when the Muslim countries saw China, as the President of the Security Council, firmly supporting the Palestinians while the western countries were supporting Israel, then they understood the hypocrisy and double standards of the western countries. They also understood that China is their friend.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

In the meeting of the Organization of the Islamic countries, the American friends took a back seat while the countries that opposed Israel and western hegemony played the leading role. Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia were prominent there. Turkey suggested that the Islamic countries build a joint military force to defend the Palestinians. The Turkish President Erdogan called the Russian President Putin and suggested that they should teach Israel a lesson.                                                                                                                 

Some western European countries also came out in support of a ceasefire. Norway and Ireland supported a resolution favoring a ceasefire in the Security Council. France also came out in support of the ceasefire. India also moved closer to its traditional pro-Palestinian stand. It advocated a two-state solution. This did not go very well with Israel. India was missing in the list of 25 countries whom Israel thanked for their support.                                                                                                                                                                           

The 11-day war between Israel and the Hamas has focused the attention of the world and the world media to the plight of the Palestinians. Most of the world sees them as the victims of Israeli aggression. There is broad support for the Palestinians. Russia and China, who supported the Palestinian cause, have enhanced their influence and standing in the world. The western countries who were perceived as supporting the Israeli aggression not only faced growing isolation in the world, but also met with a lot of internal dissent. Israel should be particularly concerned with the dissent in the American Congress because America is its main supporter and without America's help, Israel's existence is threatened. This is a very good reason for Israel to mend its ways.                    

Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at sawrajsingh@hotmail.com.