Sunday, November 10th, 2024

Iran-Israel and that… How will the equations of the world change if there is a war?

Article by Swapan Dasgupta
After the terrorist attack on Israeli citizens by Hamas on October 7 last year, there were mixed reactions across the world. On one hand this terrorism was condemned and Israel was appealed to exercise restraint. On the other hand, pro-Palestine organizations across the world demonstrated in the streets and university campuses. These demonstrations featured an abundance of Palestinian flags, the purpose of which was to divert attention from the people held hostage by Hamas and remind the world of the injustice being done to Palestinians.

Why is there no similar anger over Israel’s attack this time?

It is too early to assess the full impact of the environment in support of Palestine created across the world after the attack on Israeli civilians by Hamas. But it is certain that it has strengthened the Muslim identity in western countries and attracted students with leftist ideology. However, it did not become as big a movement as the movement against the Vietnam War or apartheid in South Africa. It is also worth noting that there was not that much outrage across the world over Israel’s action against Hezbollah in Lebanon. What is certain is that there was an appeal for a ceasefire and a demand for restraint from Israel. But this time the anger that was seen a few months ago was missing. When there was speculation that Israel was collapsing from within and Benjamin Netanyahu’s political career was in danger. It was also said that American leaders are trying to distance themselves from Israel.

Israel realized its strength
Although no one will say it openly, Israel’s actions in Lebanon, in which it first sent blast pagers and then targeted the Hezbollah leadership. After this, the world was once again reminded of Israel’s strength and its intentions. In contrast, last Tuesday, when Iran fired 180 missiles at Israel, the joy in Tehran seemed artificial. It is being said that more than two-four of these Iranian missiles could not penetrate Israel’s state-of-the-art air defense system.

It is not known yet whether Iran is a paper tiger or not. But seeing its ally Hezbollah weakening in the fight with Israel, America and other European countries have once again had to reiterate their support towards Israel. This has also affected the US Presidential elections and both the candidates are leaving no stone unturned in expressing their support for Israel. If this causes Muslim and Arab voters living in America to distance themselves from Kamala Harris, then Donald Trump can benefit from it.

What is the resentment about in Europe?
In Europe too, mainstream politicians are beginning to run out of patience with pro-Palestinian attitudes (especially on university campuses). In the name of showing solidarity with Gaza, Muslim identity was promoted in such a way that it created a sense of insecurity among the voters of Europe. Today, in country after country, voters are electing parties that talk about stopping immigration and even demand resettlement, i.e. sending back refugees. Last week, the Freedom Party won in Austria, and earlier in the summer, Alternative for Deutschland had a strong performance in German provincial elections.

In many European countries, people are angry at people coming from other countries. Because of this, the governments of these countries are imposing very strict rules on people coming into their countries, regardless of EU regulations. In many countries of Europe, people feel that people coming from other countries are creating problems for their country. That is why these countries are imposing very strict rules on people coming to their country. These rules are against EU rules which are the same for all countries.

Apart from this, differences regarding foreign policy are also increasing among European countries. For example, when there was a conflict between Israel and Lebanon, the ministers of European countries could not agree on what should be done in this matter. Some countries were supporting Israel and some were supporting Lebanon.

Share on:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *