Not to let Gaza drop off the agenda: the Cihannüma Gaza Report

In the 40 days that have passed since the Zionist murderer Israel, after a genocidal war lasting 2 years, reached a ceasefire agreement through the mediation efforts of the US and intermediary countries, it has committed close to 500 violations. From the moment it sat down at the table for the agreement, everyone's expectations of Israel did not rule out this possibility, so there is nothing to be surprised at. But what is surprising here is not what Israel has done in keeping with its nature, but the positions and attitudes of the other countries, above all the US, which are guarantors of the agreement.

Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas's political bureau, who agreed in particular to the prisoner exchange deal, had said that in this agreement they trusted not Israel but the guarantor countries. Yet over the time that has passed, the presence of the guarantor countries has produced neither a sanction that would stop Israel nor anything that would stop the massacres in Gaza. Through Israel's arbitrary attacks, people, children, the elderly and civilians alike, continue to be martyred every day in Gaza as if there had never been a ceasefire.

According to the agreement, the occupation army was to allow 600 aid trucks a day into Gaza and, in order for this to be possible, to stop the attacks completely. But humanitarian aid never reached even a fifth of that number, and the attacks never stopped. In the attacks carried out since the agreement was reached on 11 October, 318 Palestinians have been martyred and 788 wounded. The occupation army has also violated the agreement by continually expanding the Yellow Line to which it withdrew. It has begun to treat interfering in every kind of human movement within that yellow line as if it were a de facto right.

There is also an advantage that Israel has gained through the ceasefire it has ostensibly declared: protests against Israel all around the world have decreased seriously. Thus the occupation regime, which continues without pause in any crime against humanity, by appearing to make a ceasefire has largely calmed the anger raining down on it. The Gaza agenda has largely calmed down all over the world, but Gaza is still burning.

That is why Gaza must never be dropped from the agenda. Essentially, even if a genuine ceasefire had been made, one must not let go of the pursuit of the Israeli murderers. Their continuing to live their lives among humanity as normal beings, without paying a price and without serving the punishment for their crimes, poses a great danger to humanity and is a cause of shame and scandal. The Gaza Tribunal in Istanbul has therefore been a very meaningful movement, a very effective step. As a testimony that will pass down through generations, it has put on record, through the testimony at least of those who were not directly involved in the events, their abhorrence of and judgment on these crimes.

The Gaza Report published recently by Cihannüma is also very meaningful as such a testimony. The Cihannüma circle has put on record not only its testimony and stance on these crimes but also its views and proposals on the process of reconstruction in Gaza, which has suffered great destruction. The report, prepared with the contribution of 84 scholars, states that the picture in Gaza cannot be explained with classical concepts such as "war," that it is the final and gravest result of a policy of occupation, siege and systematic annihilation that has lasted for decades, and it is not content merely with naming what has happened so far. It also proposes a comprehensive policy of solution for the restoration of the picture that has emerged since 7 October as the last act of this destruction.

At the stage of assessing the current situation, the report emphasizes that, thanks to Gaza, the real ineffectiveness of international law, the human rights regime and global institutions has been laid bare in all its nakedness. It stresses that Israel's non-recognition of UN resolutions and the US's imposition of sanctions on the International Criminal Court are indicators of this collapse. Indeed, it is foreseen that justice and accountability are also a prerequisite for the lasting solution proposed in the report itself. It is strongly emphasized that Netanyahu's government and Israel's military officials must be tried within the framework of international law. With reference to the examples of Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan, it says "delayed justice leads to new tragedies."

Attention is drawn to what is now a plain fact regarding Israel: Israel is not merely a state, it is the advance outpost of Western imperialism. For this reason, reactions must be directed not only at Israel but also at the global power and imperialist structures behind it. Israel's "promised land ideology," the policy of Destabilization, De-Islamization and ultimately Dehumanization that it pursues, is a typical Israeli (3D, in Turkish "3İ") occupation model. Against this model, the Cihannüma Report builds its own 3İ model on the triad of Persuasion, Construction and Revival (İkna, İnşa and İhya).

Of course, who is to be persuaded, where is to be built, and how is it to be revived? On this, the study by 84 participants, edited by Prof. Dr. Abdulkadir Macit, Prof. Dr. Salih Kesgin, Prof. Dr. Abdulvahap Özsoy and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nurettin Menteş, requires above all, as they themselves have determined, the formation of an international ground that will impose sanctions on Israel. By Persuasion (İkna) the rapporteurs mean the rebuilding of the moral capital of Gazan society. By Construction (İnşa) they mean the renewal of the city's physical infrastructure on the basis of security, housing, justice and reconstruction. By Revival (İhya) they mean the revitalization of the economic-cultural ecosystem, mobilizing for this purpose foundations (awqaf), social solidarity and production chains.

In addition to a special section devoted to Zionism, the report offers an analysis of the current situation and proposals for persuasion, construction and revival, through special files on the Gaza infrastructure destroyed since 7 October: Law, Politics and International Relations; Education and Higher Education; the Media and Communication File; the Culture and Art File; the Health File; Humanitarian and Economic Aid; Science, Engineering, Industry and Technology; and NGOs.

It actually draws a road map for rather comprehensive works, but I think that is also its greatest weakness. Perhaps it was prepared for a situation in which, in the days when "day after" scenarios in Gaza are being discussed, Israel had agreed to genuinely withdraw from Gaza in order to abide by the agreement and keep its word. Yet, as we have seen, in the 40 days that have passed Israel has committed close to 500 violations. It feels no obligation whatsoever to remain faithful to the ceasefire.

What will happen now? Where and how will we be able to apply this report? Cases of non-compliance with the ceasefire have been foreseen only for Hamas. From the very beginning it was said that if Hamas did not comply with the agreement, life itself would be turned into hell for it, but there is no sanction foreseen for Israel's non-compliance, and Israel is enjoying this. Among the countries that are guarantors of the agreement there is no will or initiative to stop Israel either.

The report lists normative goals such as the trial of Netanyahu, Israel's being held to account, and the establishment of a new world peace system. But how will these be achieved? What political alliances are necessary for this? Are the current rulers willing and ready for the necessary political alliances? Some Islamic countries from which great contribution and participation are expected, far from wanting the massacres in Gaza stopped, are expecting Israel to finish Hamas off as soon as possible. Without these actors, who have put their stance on Israel's side for a more effective struggle against Hamas, what kind of sanction can be imposed on Israel?

These are in fact dilemmas not only of the report but of the current situation, which confronts us with them. Politics can of course bring about new situations to the extent that it can untie these dilemmas, and those who show the leadership to untie them will also have made history. This much is certain: however much a situation may look like a dilemma and a dead end, in every case there is relief, and in every impasse there is a way to be passed through, to be taken. Provided that people believe in it. Just as the Gaza mujahideen, despite all their being cornered, managed to put forth a presence that could erase the whole legend of Israel. They did what fell to them; what about us?

Still, we should note the Cihannüma report with our congratulations, and hope, God willing, that the environment they are waiting for in good faith will come about and will set an agenda to put these proposals into practice.