The Palestine question is a moral question of our times: Stanly Johny 

The author and journalist Stanly Johny said the new administration under Donald Trump will not have any effect on the current situation in Palestine

With a potential ceasefire underway between Israel and Hamas, journalist and author Stanly Johny said that “any ceasefire dialogue at this point should be taken with a bit of salt.” 

In a session with journalist Mandira Nayar, at the Banglore Literature Festival, Mr. Johny talked about his new book Original Sin: Israel, Palestine and the Revenge of Old West Asia, where he delved deep into issues that included the current state of the Palestinian conflict, his experiences as a journalist covering these events, and India’s stand on the conflict. 

Temporary one

“We have to keep in mind that even if there is a ceasefire, this is going to be a temporary one because Israel does not have any plan to withdraw from Gaza because they already have a presence in two corridors one being the Rafah corridor which is on the border with Egypt, and in Northern Gaza which is now destroyed. This clearly shows that the conflict in Gaza is not going to be resolved anytime soon,” he said.

Mr. Johny shared his experiences of travelling in the area and witnessing the travails of locals in the West Bank and went on to talk about the larger questions the current conflict raises.

“I called the book The Revenge of West Asia because the Palestine question is the central question of West Asia. It is a moral question of our times. Look at the numbers... around 45,000 people were killed in Gaza in the last 13 months, 1,00,000 people have been injured, and the entire population of Gaza has been turned into refugees. At this point there is practically no livable building standing unless it is controlled by the Israeli military.” 

Silence of big powers

He further pointed out how despite international organisations like Amnesty International and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) calling out Israel for committing genocide, big powers have been mostly completely silent. “From the occupation to the latest war, if you look at it from any dimension, you can clearly see that this is an important moral question which is not being addressed deeply by the world powers.” 

Over the months several journalists have been killed while trying to report on the issue, while others have been left with a deep psychological impact. “While reporting we try to detach from what’s happening, but it’s still very difficult when you see this kind of human suffering that happens on both sides.” 

“At the end of the day, we are trying to tell the people what actually happened, and you might even be attacked for that; someone may call you a pro-Jihadist or a Zionist for that.”  

Mr. Johny spoke about how the new administration under Donald Trump would not have any effect on the situation. “You don’t expect any qualitative change from Trump administration, but at the same time there is a dichotomy where Trump will remain pro-Israel but he would not want the U.S. to be involved in another prolonged war in West Asia.” 

India’s stance

Speaking on India’s stance on the Palestinian issue, he pointed out how India used to be a strong champion for the Palestinian cause which has changed from 2015 onwards. “Till 2015, India’s position was that India supports the creation of an independent, sovereign, Palestinian State... However, from 2015 onwards, India’s position changed...”

“We also have to remember that India’s West Asia policy has three pillars. One is Israel, the other is the Arab World and the third is Iran. If you want to be a major power and respectable power in the Global South, it is imperative that whatever government is in Delhi, should maintain a balance between these three pillars, which is a sensible foreign policy choice,” he said.

Published - December 14, 2024 10:28 pm IST