By: Arsalan Awan
As the incessant attacks continued to pummel the Gaza strip, razing every thing to the ground, US president Joe Biden finally called Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the 10th day of the escalating onslaught. Joe Biden discussed to cease all violence and expected a “significant de-escalation” towards an armistice. Netanyahu, however, had other plans in mind as he turned a deaf ear towards Biden’s request and said that he was “determined” to continue bombard Gaza. Hearing this news, a shiver went through my spine and my mind was encompassed by just one question – is this the birth of a new Hitler? My mind screamed “how ironic” as it got inundated with the atrocities Israel had committed and it compared this to what Hitler had done with the Jews. I could not stop to think about the crocodile tears the world community shed over the holocaust but couldn’t see what was happening over in Palestine.
With the recent development, Israel has closed the Gaza-Israel border. The Israeli government claims that it has closed the border to stop Hamas but in reality, they are just not letting the UN aid pass through to help the Palestinians. The Israeli government also claims that the UN convoy will not be safe once in the borders but it’s just one big ruse to not let any help enter the Palestinian side. This too is reminiscent of Adolf Hitler – During his time, Hitler had allocated specific territory termed as concentration camps where the Jews were detained and could not escape persecution there. Netanyahu is now following in Hitler’s footsteps as the Gaza strip feels nothing less of a concentration camp now. The Israeli fighter jets attack civilians; men, women and children alike with not even a shred of remorse. The Israel Defense Force had no hesitation in destroying even vaccination camps in Gaza. Moreover, the continued airstrikes by the Israeli forces is also not letting international organizations to help the civilians over in Gaza.
During the Holocaust days, Hitler had the press in the palm of his hands. When Adolf Hitler took power in 1933, the Nazis controlled less than three percent of Germany’s 4,700 papers. The elimination of the German multi-party political system brought about the demise of hundreds of newspapers produced by outlawed political parties. It also allowed the state to seize the printing plants and equipment of the Communist and Social Democratic Parties, which were often turned over directly to the Nazi Party. In the following months, the Nazis established control or exerted influence over independent press organs. Similarly, just like Hitler, Netanyahu also controls the flow of information within Gaza and doesn’t want to let “real news” to leak out to the rest of the world. This was evident by the appalling airstrike upon the Al Jalaa tower, that housed the offices of both Al Jazeera and Associated Press. The airstrike decimated the entire building band with it all the equipment within the newsroom, thus effectively shutting the Palestinians from the rest of the world. This is nothing but a war crime as journalists are considered civilians and this goes against international laws and the Geneva convention. A war crime is what something Hitler quite often committed and so is Netanyahu. The organization, Save the Children states that the Palestinian children are being psychologically tormented and this is going to leave mental scars as they grow up. Similar, to the children that survived the Holocaust, these children too will have tears stream down their faces when they would think about the “Israeli Holocaust” upon the people of Gaza. As of now more than 500 Palestinian houses have been destroyed with almost 72000 Palestinians displaced. Isn’t this what happened with the Jews in Europe before the world war. But those so-called innocent Jews were however offered a home, they had nowhere to go and they were given abode only to become the monsters they themselves ran away from. I ask my conscience once again, is it not ironic?! Truly hatred Is created when people gather as in the case of Israel in Palestine and world leaders at that time just poured a little oil on it that refueled and ignited the feeling of the holocaust once again but this time it’s the Jews that took over the helm from Hitler.
In response to Joe Biden’s de-escalation call, Hamas’ spokesperson Hazem Qassam said that only then talks for a ceasefire can begin when Israeli forces end the blind aggression against the Palestinians. This comes to show that the Hamas officials are ready to call for a truce but its Netanyahu’s “determination” of mass murder and genocide that is coming in the way of true peace talks. Many countries such as France and Egypt are trying to intervene to bring peace in the land but Netanyahu, similar to Hitler, is not stopping its persecutions against the people of Gaza. It is only a matter of time when the death toll escalates even more if other world leaders do not intervene. A ceasefire now seems like a long-lost dream as Netanyahu is not placing a lid over the violence and war crimes committed against the Palestinians.
This isn’t the only place where we have witnessed the birth of the modern era Hitler. One glance at Kashmir and we quickly realize that Modi too, has been following the same footsteps when it comes to committing genocide in Kashmir on a routinely basis. Kashmir too, has been soaked in crimson as Modi is following the footsteps of Hitler. Modi has been committing war crime upon war crime too but the world leaders are turning a blind eye over at Kashmir aswell. Just like Hitler, Netanyahu and Modi are also very stubborn men but if the resemblance is so canny, one must not forget that history can repeat itself and if we recall history, we will remember how hopeless Hitler had got to the point Germany crumbled away in the midst of WW2. Therefore, to avoid history from repeating itself, it is advised that Israel and India stops it violence or the fall of another Hitler may not be very far away.
The writer is a social activist and a business man based in United Kingdom, he can be reached at arsalansaysazad.com. or a[email protected]