This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed “Palestinians abandoned” carried by the newspaper yesterday. The writer, Rashed Rahman, has highlighted the plight of Palestinians in a meaningful way.

The writer has pointed out, among other things, that “Since its founding in 1948, Israel has revealed its expansionist nature by successively expanding its territory after the Arab-Israeli wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973.

The Zionist entity therefore has in practice justified its description as a ‘dagger in the heart of the Middle East’. After 1973, Arab regimes at regular intervals have recognised the Zionist entity and signed peace treaties with it. Some are even now on the verge of taking the plunge.”

I wish to add to his argument by saying that Israel unleashed its expansionist plans the very next day after its founding in 1948. More than 750,000 Palestinians who had lived on their lands for centuries were expelled from their homes.

Neither they nor their descendants have so far been allowed to return. In other words, they have been deprived of their right to return to their land by Israel. Insofar as Arab states are concerned, they’re literally following in the footsteps of Anwar Sadat, who normalized Egypt’s relationship with Israel in 1978. Saudi Arabia is expected to join the Arab-Israeli ‘peace club’ very soon.

Sami Ibrahim (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023