Israeli’s War on Gaza

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A Seminar on the Israeli War on Gaza: Causes and Consequences was organized by Iqbal International Institute for Research & Dialogue at International Islamic University Auditorium Islamabad. Dr. Anwar Hussain Siddiqui, President International Islamic University was in the chair while the panelists included Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy, Ambassador Tayyab Siddiqui, Professor Amna Mahmood Sandhu and Junaid Ahmad. A  large number of intellectuals, diplomats, men of letters and students of International Relations and Politics participated in the session.
Professor Amna Mahmood Sandhu, a teacher in the Department of International Relations and Politics Department of International Islamic University focused on the role of United States in the Palestine-Israel conflict since the World War II. She observed that Israel had fought full fledged wars not only against the people of Palestine, whose land it had grabbed, but also against all its neighbours. Professor Sandhu said that a lot of hope has been placed with the induction of President Barak Obama.
Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, a Professor of Physics at the Quaid-i-Azam University deplored the massacre in Palestine and stated that Gaza was reduced to a slum, and the recent bombing made it into an inferno. It is a strange contradiction that people of Palestine do not have a right to defend themselves, while Israel can use all kinds of air and land weapons to kill the Palestinians at will. He said it is also a contradiction that while US laws clearly identify that US weapons will not be used for aggression, Israel disregards all US laws with impunity and yet gets the largest amount of aide from United States.

Ambassador Tayyab Siddiqui observed that it was indeed surprising that the UN resolutions only approved a cessation of hostilities and did not condemn the Israeli aggression. Mr. Junaid Ahmad observed that Israel had developed a strategy of grabbing Palestinian land through bombing and massacre at regular intervals and since President Obama is at a disadvantage in comparison with his predecessors, there is no way that he could offend the Israeli lobby in United States. Gaza, he observed, was at best an open air prison where Israel killed at will. Mr. Junaid Ahmad stated that through BDS (Boycott, Demonstrations, Sanctions), a nation could register its resentment in Western world more effectively, rather than through force or suicide attacks.