If there ever was an area that fits the description “volatile”, it’s Israel and the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank that’s home to about 5 million Palestinians – who live under military occupation by the Jewish state. The Brits had ruled the area as “Palestine” – which was all Arab after the Jews had left for greener pastures thousands of years ago. During those years there was no struggle by the latter to stay and keep their “Holy Land”.
After Hitler gassed more than six million of them during WWII in Europe – where most had ended up –they decided to “return” to the Biblical Israel – their “Zion”. They declared a “law of return” under their Zionist ideology. Now can you imagine what’d happen if folks occupying land thousands of years ago started coming back to claim it?? Like the Native Peoples that had occupied all of North America?? Well, the Brits unilaterally decided to allow the Jews to pour into Palestine. So, you ask what about the people who were living there?? Arab Palestinians??
Simple…they were to be displaced to make way for the Jews!! Imagine the consternation of those people who were living there from “time immemorial”!! The surrounding Arab States of Egypt and Jordan launched a war in 1948 to recover Palestine and held on to the West Bank (of the Jordan River) and the Gaza Strip near Egypt. However, when they launched another attack in 1967 to deliver justice to the Palestinians, they were defeated and the Jews took control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The Palestinians weren’t only ghettoised in their own land, but the Jews continued to form new settlements in the two areas – under protection of their army – driving Palestinians further into their ghettoes. Today, there are over 500,000 Jewish settlers. The Jews also declared Jerusalem – which had been divided into Muslim and Jewish sections as capital of Israel!! Against these injustices – which were condemned by the UN but supported by the US – the Palestinians under the group Hamas attempted to fight back.
Well, as we know from the news that Hamas launched an attack on the Jewish settlements that resulted in about 600 Jews and 300+ Palestinians dead. Remember there were over 700 attacks by Jews on Palestinians in 2023 alone – and plans for another 5000 settlements!! Hamas probably attacked now because the US is brokering a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia – which Palestinians fear would undercut their cause among Arabs.
Not surprisingly, the far-right Israeli Government – under the hawkish Netanyahu – has declared a full out war against Hamas. Deadly rocket attacks are raining down on Palestinian settlements.
This ain’t gonna end well.
…business with Africa
Guyana’s gonna be hosting the second AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum over two days this month’s end under the theme “Creating a Shared Prosperous Future”. The first was held in Barbados a year ago where the AfriEximbank announced a line of credit of US$1.5 billion being opened up to grease the wheels of African businesses to exploit opportunities in Caricom.
Noting that the African Continental Free Trade Arrangement is set to reach US$6.7 trillion in value by 2035, the Caricom Secty General identified the opportunity to “build bilateral cooperation and promote trade, investment, technology transfer, innovation, tourism, culture, and other services.” There was talk of an air-link.
Now, your Eyewitness might’ve been distracted but he hasn’t noticed much – if any – bump in Africa-Caricom trade and businesses. He’d expected all those Opposition social media activists who’re cussing out the PPP Government for practising “racial discrimination” against African Guyanese would’ve seized the opportunities to do business with the Motherland. They’d be welcomed with open arms, no??
No “slave-catchers” there anymore?
…Oil prices
There’s the old saw about silver linings behind every dark cloud. Well, with us now being a “petro-state” and oil prices dropping recently, the Israeli-Palestinian War might just provide the silver lining of reversing that trend!! Yes!!
