Palestinians are the people the world would like to forget.
They are usually at the centre of conflicts in the Middle East. In the latest — the war between Israel and Hamas — they are once again caught in the middle and are dying in scores. They are shaming the world.
History suggests that this shame won’t last long. The world will eventually tire of the Palestinians and will relegate them once again to the margins.
But for the time being, the world is watching them die. Every time suspected Hamas fighters are shelled or bombed, Palestinian civilians are collateral damage. Israel says this is unfortunate but necessary. It blames Hamas, saying its fighters are deliberately trying to shield themselves from attack by hiding in hospitals, schools and mosques.
Critics say that nothing justifies Israel’s murderous air campaign, which they say, offends the laws of war.
Nothing comes easily to the Palestinians. Even the name is controversial. For much of the world, including Canada, there is no such place as Palestine. There is a Palestinian Authority. But its writ covers not Palestine but a chunk of land usually called the West Bank.
In any case the Palestinian Authority has almost no authority over the West Bank. The real authority in this Palestinian territory is Israel.
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The second important Palestinian territory is Gaza, which is run by Hamas.
Hamas once won an election there that it says justifies its control over Gaza. But its legitimacy is challenged by many countries, including Israel and Canada, who regard it as a terrorist organization.
The third group of Palestinians in the region are the refugees and their descendants who fled Israel or were driven from it when the Jewish state was created in 1948.
Most live in neighbouring countries like Lebanon or Jordan.
The final group of Palestinians in the region are those who did not flee Israel in 1948 and their descendants. They are Israeli citizens and have the right to vote. Israel calls them Arabs.
All of which is to say that Palestine is a complicated business.
This week’s vote in the United Nations General Assembly was welcome. The world should condemn the killing in Gaza of thousands of civilians. At the very least, the world should insist that both sides in the Israel-Hamas war lay down their arms and cease firing.
True, a ceasefire will prevent Israel from killing thousands of Hamas fighters. But more to the point, it will also prevent Israel from killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians, whose only crime is to live in Gaza.
That is to say, it will prevent these killings if Israel agrees to stop the bombing and shelling. But Israel does not agree and has served notice that it will not abide by any ceasefire resolution.
In short, the 153 nations, including Canada, who voted for an immediate cease fire did the right thing. But unless someone is willing to enforce this unenforceable UN resolution, it will accomplish nothing.
Which is the perennial problem facing those who would try to address the Palestine question. Talk is cheap. Getting something done is not.
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