Indian Analyst: Israel Violates HRs Of Palestinians In Gaza

New Delhi, Aug 30, IRNA -- An Indian analyst of the international affairs denounced on Friday the Zionist regime’s brutal military attacks on the defenceless people of Gaza as a clear violation of the human rights of the Palestinians there. In an exclusive interview with IRNA, Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in Mumbai, said: “No doubt, killing of around 2000 people, many of them children and women, is a clear violation by Israel of the human rights of the Palestinian people.” Kulkarni, who served as an aide to India’s former Prime Minister Mr. Aal Bihari Vajpayee, added: “But it is also a violation of the human rights of the entire humanity. For any gross violation of the human rights of the innocent people belonging to any community anywhere in the world amounts to disrespect for humankind as a whole.” Condemning the Netanyahu governmentˈs military operations in Gaza, the seasoned analyst of the world affairs, said: “The time has come for the governments, institutions and peoples of the world to recognise that human rights are indivisible and also that the most fundamental right to live is inviolable. The wanton disregard that Israel’s government and armed forces have shown to the Palestinian civilians’ right to live in Gaza is condemnable.” Responding to a question on the need for the UN declaring the Zionist regime as a war criminal over its brutal killing of the civilians in Gaza, Kulkarni said: ˈThe United Nations Human Rights Council has instituted an inquiry into Israelˈs conduct during Operation Protective Edge. The inquiry panel, headed by the Canadian human rights scholar William Schabas, will examine any violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Gaza. The panel should also probe actions by Palestinian forces in Gaza. In my opinion, the approach of Hamas to securing Palestinian freedom and statehood is also wrong.” ˈIf the panel proves Israel’s guilt, which is likely, the matter could go to the International Criminal Court. After all, it was a totally asymmetric war between the Israelˈs regular army and rocket-firing Hamas in Gaza. It has killed nearly 2,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Palestinian and UN officials. In Israel, the toll was 67; only three of those killed were civilians,ˈ he added. Kulkarni criticised the partisan role of the United States in the Palestine-Israel conflict, adding, however, that “I am not of the opinion that only the US is to blame. The United States, being militarily the most powerful nation in the world, certainly has its major share of guilt. It could have used ─ and it still can use ─ its influence to play the role of an honest and fair mediator who can, along with other stakeholders in the region such as Iran, encourage and help Israelis and Palestinians find a permanent solution to the problem.” In this context, he welcomed the recent indefinite ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt. Kulkarni lauded the categorical statement of the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon that any peace effort which does not tackle the root causes of the crisis will do ˈlittle more than set the stage for the next cycle of violenceˈ. “For a permanent solution, as the UN chief has stressed, the blockade of Gaza must end and Israelˈs legitimate security concerns must also be addressed. Both Palestinians and Israelis should be able to live in peace, security and dignity,” he added. On India helping to resolve the conflict at the Middle East, he said: “In my opinion, India should play a bigger and more active role in conflict-resolution between Palestinians and Israelis. Again, I think that focusing only on preventing the human rights violations in Gaza will not help. The focus should be on finding a lasting, fair and mutually agreeable solution to the problem.” “India, along with other members of the BRICS group, has taken a sound approach in this regard. This is evident from para 38 of the Declaration of the 6th BRICS summit held in Brazil in July this year. It calls for a two-State solution with a contiguous and economically viable Palestinian State existing side by side in peace with Israel, within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders based on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.” Terming Iran as a major player in resolving the Palestine issue, Kulkarni said: “Some provocative and unjustifiable statements about Israel were made in the past. Happily, Iran now has a better leadership. Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Arab and non-Arab countries in the region should make their positive contribution to the evolution of a just solution to the long-pending Palestine-Israel conflict at the earliest.” The Indian analyst stated: “Mobilising the world-wide human solidarity in support of Palestinian statehood is the best way to resolve the issue.” At the same time, he opined that “the Palestine-Israel conflict should not be viewed through the prism of Muslims vs. Jews. This mistaken approach has allowed extremist Muslim organisations and extremist Zionist forces to complicate the dispute and made its resolution difficult. We must remember that non-violence is the only path that will lead to an end to all the conflicts in the region.”/end