‘Change’ we need

After 8 years of the Bush administration being in power, it has become obvious that they have failed in many different aspects - one being the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. There was never any reason to expect anything great out of this administration with respect to the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, however, not only did nothing positive arise, it was actually quite the contrary; this administration made the Palestinian situation even worse, as they increased their financial and military support to Israel, hence giving Israel the power to do whatever they please. I believe that this conflict will be resolved only when there is an un-biased America, and International support for both sides; therefore the Americans will have to stop aiding the Israelis.

It has also become apparent that Barack Obama will do nothing to change the situation either, as he will be caught up in the Bush administration's mistakes. For example, Obama must end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and take care of the economic crisis. With all of these factors, it seems logical that Obama’s administration will, at least for the first while, keep the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the back of their minds. With Obama strongly supported by the Jewish vote, with a whopping 78% of the Jewish people supporting him, his support base will want to see him doing something for the Israeli side. Additionally, another factor that is beneficial to the Israelis, yet detrimental to the Palestinians, is Obama’s choice in selecting Rahm Emanuel, a well-known vocal pro-Israeli politician who volunteered and served in the Israeli defence force during the Gulf War, as his Chief Of Staff.. In looking at these factors, I worry that this administration will not offer balanced policies in regard to the Palestinian- Israeli situation. I am hopeful that at least if Obama’s administration will be busy with other issues that need resolving, they will not have time to screw up the situation even more.

Moving now to the actual regional conflict; the situation between the Palestinians and Israelis is again heating up. Firing started again at the beginning of November after a 5 month truce between both sides. Gaza is again suffering because of these raids and blockade. The food that is usually supplied to the strip by the United Nations (UN) was depleted since the Israelis maintained a blockade for more than two weeks. Israel is also blocking fuel from entering the strip, which is causing people to be without any electricity and heat - all food that Palestinians had in fridges has gone bad already.

The UN’s new human-rights chief has called for the Israelis to immediately end their blockade of the Gaza strip. The surprising and sad thing is that this came as a shock to the Israeli government. I really do not understand how this came as a surprise to the Israeli government, since they are killing people by not allowing food or fuel in the strip. Obviously the UN has to do something, regardless of the unfortunate fact that they are losing their power on an international level. It seems that Amnesty International and other humanitarian groups are begging Israel to stop the blockade and firing, and begging the Palestinians to stop missile fire.

Since the fights started, damage has progressed on both fronts; however, it is unequally occurring. Since the truce was broken between both sides, ONE ISRAELI solider was wounded and more than SEVENTEEN Palestinians were killed. I really do not see this as a fair fight between two sides, and unfortunately the death tolls and damage on the Palestinian side support my argument.

As in any conflict between two sides, you will hear each side blaming the other for the situation. After reading a lot about what is going on over there, I am finding it very difficult to determine who started the conflict since both sides are blaming one another with full responsibility. In my eyes I see no relevance in who initiated the conflict. For example, if you were a 20 year old person and got hit by a 5 year old child, even if you were powerful enough to destroy the child, it would not be appropriate to attack back. After generations of being stripped of their power, the Palestinians are comparable to a child against a strong power. At the end of the day, a life is a life despite its background, it does not matter if the life is a Palestinian or Israeli, both deserve equal representation on the world front. It is sad and depressing to see the difference in the treatment of a death on one side compared to the other

In the end, it is the job of the world leaders and the United Nations to see a catastrophe such as this, and to demand a ceasefire when one side, no matter who is at fault, is being so brutally attacked. The evidence is present: 1 wounded opposed to more than 17 killed, and half of the food supply being cut, which will inevitably lead to many more deaths. Something must be done.