Israel has lost its moral standing because of the excessive force it has used against Palestinians and the seizure of their homes and land, and a show of military power never brings lasting peace. That was the warning former US president Barack Obama gave Israel.
Obama was recently in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to receive an honorary degree from Queen’s University. At an event there, in conversation with the well-known journalist Susan McKay, he voiced his anger over the Gaza war. The destruction and bloodshed in Gaza would pain anyone, Obama said, adding that the situation had grown out of anger built up over many years.
Acknowledging the persecution Jews suffered in Europe, Obama noted that Palestinians had also suffered no small injustice in losing their land. Israel has seized ordinary people’s land and misused its power, he said, so it is entirely natural for Palestinians to fight to get their lost land back.
Being ahead in technology or strong in military power is not the last word, Obama added. The Israeli government’s way of thinking, “we are strong, so we will do as we please and give way to no one”, may bring short-term gains, he said, but in the long run it is destroying Israel’s moral standing.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report