Obama should give back the Nobel Peace Prize
It was November 2012 when Israel crushed Gaza once again. It was reported that a delegate of nine countries' foreign ministers including Ahmet Davutoğlu would pay a visit to Gaza. Upon hearing this, I also packed my bags and made my way to Gaza to see the situation there and to cover their visit. Passing through the Rafah Border Crossing along with a few journalists, we entered the Gaza Strip at the crack of dawn. As soon as you arrive in Gaza, you bump into the roadside holes which are dug by Israeli missiles. While you are moving toward the north, Israeli herons accompany you. You cannot see them with a naked eye, but you can hear the buzzing sound of their engines. This sound is a message of Israel that tells "You may be shot at any time." Death follows you wherever you go. While you are getting used to the feeling of hovering between life and death, you run into the houses that are ruined by Israeli bombs. As you move further in the streets of the city, you realize the extent of destruction. The houses, media headquarters, playgrounds, outside broadcast trucks, private cars, apartments and all the other things, whatever, you name it, are torn down by Israel. The whole Gaza turns into a ghost city whose streets are full of wreckage. Firstly injured people are freed from the wreckage, and then casualties with their belongings are pulled out of it. While you are watching this entire nightmare scene, your ears become tired of the droning hum. The bombing continues ceaselessly, hitting buildings, claiming lives and causing new wreckage around the city. As if all this is not enough, child slaughterers worsen the already toxic situation and time almost stops in this small piece of land of 360 square kilometers which is blockaded by Israel. Al-Shifa hospital in downtown Gaza is like the heart of the city's trauma. Every single bomb that falls on Gaza causes bustle in the hospital's garden. Following every incursion of Israel, ambulances take injured and dead bodies to the hospital, which gets inundated with the clamors of the relatives of the casualties. In retaliation for these attacks, a Katyusha rocket may pass by you from a distance of a few kilometers, as it heads for Israel. Most of the time, either it drops to an unoccupied area, or it is shot down by Israeli antimissiles. This is a state of insanity. As long as the regional conjuncture connives at the actions of Israel, this state of insanity will be repeated over and over again. It is known that the reason Israel pushed into Gaza is not the abduction and killing of three Jewish youngsters. The reason why Israel has waged war upon Gaza is different this time: it is resolved to hamper the agreement between Hamas and Fatah on forming a reconciliation government. Israel nourishes itself from the opportunity provided by the regional conjuncture. The incorrigible instability in Syria, self-interested policies of the Arab countries as well as unquestioning and generous support of the U.S. all provide Israel with the appropriate conditions to attack Gaza. Israel also makes use of such situations: Egypt's el-Sissi, who came to power with a military coup, does not pose a threat to Israel, the Hezbollah and Iran focus on Syria and Iraq and lastly the developments in Syria and Iraq put Turkey in a tight spot. Israel has never used these facilities offered by the regional conjuncture for peace and it has again resorting to bloodshed, the best solution it knows. Who can stop Israel? It is obviously neither some of the Arab countries, which financially support the military coup in Egypt and do not feel disturbed while cooperating with Israel; nor the Egyptian government that owes its existence to Israel. I do not even mention Iran and Hezbollah, as they conduct the most brutal operations in Syria to sustain the bloodthirsty al-Assad and fuel the atrocity in this way.Turkey is trying to struggle against the deep instability in Syria and Iraq as far as its borders with these countries are concerned. The EU does not have an influent foreign policy and global vision. As for the U.S., the biggest accomplice to all the sins of Israel, it does not have a stance against the goings-on. U.S. President Barack Obama constantly says "Israel has a right to defend itself." He does not even hesitate to say that they are proud of Israel's contributions to the air defense system. Obama also remarks that he is heartbroken for the deceased Palestinians. These futile and well-worn statements are not enough to keep hold of the Nobel Peace Prize that was granted to him in anticipation of contributing to the peace. The children who were shot dead without any pity while playing football on the beach deserve more than this baseless sense of heartbreak. Obama, who has caused heavy frustration for people that are engrossed by the "change" slogan, can start work by giving back the Nobel Peace Prize until the time he deserves it.
Last Update: July 19, 2014 09:47