United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made this appeal on X: “Today marks the start of Ramadan, yet the bloodshed continues in Gaza. My appeal is to honor the spirit of the holy month by silencing the guns & removing all obstacles to the delivery of lifesaving aid. I also repeat my call for the immediate release of all hostages.”
It is a noble and humane appeal, and he should be thanked for making it. The Secretary-General has not been lenient with the Israelis since the Gaza War, but his statements have not changed anything on the ground. Nor has it saved any lives.
His statements do not ensure that the war will stop, nor do they present a legal mechanism for ending it. They do nothing to force the two parties - yes, both parties, Israel and Hamas - to agree to a ceasefire or truce. In the end, these are statements, and they cannot satiate hunger.
True, the Secretary-General cannot send tanks and planes, but he has legal and institutional powers; he could mobilize the international community, and work, for example, with European countries to ensure recognition of the Palestinian state regardless of Netanyahu or Israel’s position on the matter. Indeed, the United States, Britain, France, and other countries have suggested that they are willing to recognize the Palestinian state unilaterally. The UN Secretary-General should work on making that happen, not just post tweets!
I do not say this to disparage the Secretary-General for making statements. However, his statements are not enough to address the disaster on the ground, the death and destruction that Israel is responsible for. More must be done to stop the killing machine and ensure that it does not reach Rafah.
The Arabs must also put pressure on Hamas, thereby denying the Israelis their flimsy excuses, especially since Netanyahu is seeking to extend his political career, even if that means more death and destruction.
There are several reasons for why I say that I do not mean to belittle the Secretary-General, some that recent, and very recent, history has taught us. In 2001, in the fourth week of the US war on Afghanistan following the Al-Qaeda attacks on 9/11, there was a debate about fighting during Ramadan.
At that time, US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld told reporters: “The history of warfare is that it has proceeded right through Ramadan year after year after year after year. The Northern Alliance fought the Taliban for the last five-plus years. Middle East wars have gone on during Ramadan. There have been any number of conflicts between Muslim countries and between Muslim countries and non-Muslim countries throughout Ramadan.”
Around the same time, Senator John McCain told CBS considerations tied to Ramadan and concerns about civilian casualties should come second to the goal of destroying the enemy. So what happened? Al-Qaeda benefited from these statements and destroyed Afghanistan, and then the US withdrew and allowed the Taliban to return to power.
The Americans underestimated the power of the spirit of this holy month the Secretary-General is talking about now. Then they occupied Iraq... It became clear that Saddam did not have weapons, and Iraq did not become a genuine democratic state. Iraq was not the enemy supporting Al-Qaeda in the first place, Iran was.
The bottom line is that Ramadan is a month of benevolence and mercy, but political problems and wars are not resolved with good intentions.
