International rhetoric implies Israel is not an aggressor

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory (OCHA) has published a brief but detailed document by the World Health Organisation regarding the bleak situation in Gaza, two years after Israel embarked upon a murderous rampage during “Operation Protective Edge”.

Already operating under severe restrictions due to the illegal blockade imposed upon the enclave, the medical shortages during and in the immediate aftermath of Israel’s aggression have extended to the present day – the difference being that instead of a multitude of Palestinian victims bleeding on the floors, there are now a considerable number of Palestinians that have been left with permanent disability and placed on a waiting list as a result of the intentional deprivation and damaged infrastructure wrought by Israel.

According to Dr Mahmoud Matar who is quoted in the report: “Some patients are still suffering two years after their injury and need ongoing care. Many others are still waiting for their prosthetic limbs. The state of prosthetics in Gaza is very precarious.”

Less visible, but equally important, is the estimation by WHO that “20 per cent of the population (360,000 people) in Gaza may have suffered mental disorders and require some form of mental health support or psychosocial intervention.”

The combination of passive aggressive tactics employed by Israel and the international community, ensuring that Palestinians in Gaza are perpetually deprived of care, let alone proper cure, is evident in the interference and corruption surrounding the Gaza reconstruction mechanism. Far from providing at least temporary alleviation, the UN has increased hardship by promoting futile efforts and propaganda, thus increasing international reliance upon illusions. Reconstruction of health facilities remains a work in progress and, given the trickle of aid as opposed to the millions pledged in the aftermath of the aggression, it is unlikely that health services in Gaza will be able to provide a service that caters for basic health needs, let alone chronic pain, disability and life threatening illnesses.

Ma’an news agency reported that UNRWA attributed the deteriorating situation “partially a result of the [Israeli enforced] blockade which limits outside training opportunities, and of the internal Palestinian divide, which has left public employees recruited by de facto authorities, including health staff, without regular salaries.”

It is convenient that international organisations have followed their role so diligently that dissociation has become an integral part of the process. WHO and UNRWA perform different roles, yet an acknowledgement of what has exacerbated the plight of Palestinians in Gaza would have contributed to a fairer perspective and added to the context of the deteriorating humanitarian situation.

However, apart from posturing and churning out bleak statistics, this dissociation is precisely what international organisations strive to achieve. It is not lack of accuracy, but precision to the point of distortion that is oppressing Palestinians. The refusal to merge as a single united voice against oppression is another form of complicity aimed at shielding Israel from accountability. After all, it is not just “Operation Protective Edge” that can be blamed as the perpetrator of the disaster in Gaza. It is Israel, the entity so meticulously planned and protected by the international community, that has subjugated Palestinians and desecrated their territory. Indeed, international organisations should make it incumbent upon themselves to refrain from pinpointing specific temporary manifestations of colonialism as the culprit and affirm that Israel’s existence is the primary instigator of Palestinian discontent, deprivation and dehumanisation.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.