Israel is the worst rogue state ever

There have been many rogue states in the world but by any reckoning Israel  is the worst of them. A commonplace definition of a rogue state is a country  that wilfully violates international law and conventions  and inflicts  harm on neighbours or to the global interests to further its national  interests. In the course of these violations deaths and destruction  are caused to other countries  over disputes, real or imagined, instead of negotiated settlements of disputes bilaterally or through international forums. For rogue states, use of military force  rather than diplomacy  is the preferred  choice. Rogue states may be 'lone rangers' acting alone but often they have allies who join them in their marauding ventures or give support from behind.

Israel established its credentials as a rogue state at its illegal birth in May,1948. The land of Palestine became a British mandated territory in 1920 after the defeat of its former ruler, the Ottoman  Caliph. Britain had earlier, in 1917, promised a Jewish state in Palestine through what came to be known as the Balfour Declaration, named  after  then British  prime minister. It had no legal significance as Palestine was then a part of the Ottoman  Caliphate. In 1947 the United Nations (UN) proposed a division of Palestine into a Palestinian  and a Jewish state, giving Jerusalem a neutral international status administered by the UN. But before any legal statute had been made David  Ben Gurion, the Jewish leader, declared independence in May 1948 over an area larger than  proposed by the UN. An Arab-Israeli  war ensued in which Arabs were defeated.This led to  occupation by Israel over even a larger area than earlier, leaving East Jerusalem and the West Bank under Jordan and Gaza under Egypt's control. About 700,000 Palestinians  were expelled by the Israeli  government  from the land they occupied  both after the establishment of the state of Israel and after the  1948 Arab-Israeli war.   To the Palestinians uprooted from their homes and lands this has come to  be known as the Naqba - the catastrophe. In the course of this displacement, thousands of Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli militias like Irgun,who were active in grabbing land even before Israel became a state. After the 1967  Arab - Israeli war, victorious Israel  occupied  East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, literally corralling the Palestinians there within closely  guarded  and controlled  borders.

With each territorial success Israel became reckless  and embarked on a plan for enlarging the territory  of the state  by annexing land occupied. Following this policy, land and properties in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have been incrementally annexed  with  acceleration seen in recent months. The Golan Heights, occupied  from Syria after the 1967 war and annexed  with the approval of America, has  recently been extended  after the fall of  Assad regime.

The barbarity and monstrosity of the state of Israel  perpetrated on   the Palestinians  have  reached their nadir after the October 7  incursion by Hamas in 2023  from Gaza across the border, leading to killings of Israelis and taking them as hostages. Under the pretext of hunting  down Hamas, Israel  has  in reality unleashed   a war against all Palestinians  in Gaza using land, air and sea  for attacks that have  been incessant except for two brief periods of ceasefire. In this no holds barred war, Israel has received unstinting  support from America and European  countries on the ground of 'right to defend'.

In the two-year old war in Gaza more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed  including over 20,000 children. It has become  evident  by now that under the pretext of 'right to defend', what the Israelis  are carrying  out is ethnic  cleansing with a view to annexing Gaza. President Trump's  diabolic plan to rebuild Gaza into a Mediterranean Riviera has given further impetus to Israel's  ambition to own the strip after displacing and expelling the Palestinians. The current onslaught to occupy Gaza city and the order for evacuation by one million people to a concentration camp to the south is the final act in this macabre play of greed,  theft and mass murder.

A rogue state like Israel,  having powerful allies, has its sights on multiple fronts to forestall any reprisal. So, even as it  was waging the full scale war in Gaza, Israel continued bombing Syria, Lebanon and Yemen where resentment  against the Israeli war in Gaza was growing. In the process, it even killed senior  army officers in the Iranian embassy in Damescus, prompting a pro forma reply from Iran. But its roguish nature came into full play when it made a pre-emptive  attack against Iran bombing its nuclear  power facilities in the midst of a bilateral discussion  between America and Iran on the latter's nuclear programme. The targets of the attack  included not only strategic sites but  humans, including scientists and leaders. In fact, Israel has been  carrying  out assassinations  of  leaders and experts  of  countries perceived by it as  enemies for a long time. In this respect it is at par with any secretive terror organisation that operates with no rules  of engagement. Its most recent case of high profile assassination  includes the prime minister  of Yemen and most of the cabinet ministers . Israel's use of assasianation as a tool  to deal with  political problems  must be  encouraging other rogue countries to adopt  or refine the same.This fall out  or ramification is the most sinister  aspect  of the rogueish conduct of Israel. It is a game that others can play, making it doubly  dangerous. Like a rotten apple,a rogue state can vitiate  the  entire ecology of global order.

True to the ethos of a rogue state, Israel  too, believes in the  use of  force rather than negotiation, a point alluded to earlier. It prefers to gain by  use of force because this involves no give and take.  That is why it  tried to kill the negotiating team of Hamas in Qatar last Monday where the team had gone to discuss  the latest  ceasefire proposal of president Trump. Whether America was informed of this attack beforehand is irrelevant. The main point to consider here is why has Israel tried to kill Hamas negotiators  now and not on earlier  occasions when they had gone to Qatar for negotiations? There  can only be one  answer  to this: nearing the last act of ethnic cleansing in Gaza Israel does not want to compromise through a ceasefire for the sake of saving the lives of 20 hostages.

But Israel has made a great mistake, the consequences  of which it cannot escape. The Arab countries that kept silent as it slaughtered Palestinians and flattened their cities have now roared back in unison,  condemning  the brazen bombing in Qatar and warning about consequences. Even  president  Trump seems  to be highly embarrassed, promising Qatar that it would not happen again. Countries like the UK, used to talking  tongue-in-cheek, have bluntly condemned Israel for violating the sovereignty of  Qatar. With the  General Assembly  of  the UN in session the timing could not be more inopportune for Israel.  Except America, Israel will find no other country holding its brief in the UN.  Exasperated  with its unmitigated  record  of  roguish conduct, the General Assembly  may even resolve  to expel Israel  from the comity of nations.

Israel came off with flying colours in most of its murky enterprises  in the past. Blinded by hubris, it may have overplayed its  hands. Israel  may  be on the verge of  comeuppance with its last show of bravado in Qatar.

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