New Delhi: The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas remained the focus of the Urdu press this week, with editorials in all three prominent Urdu newspapers — Siasat, Inquilab, and Roznama Rashtriya Sahara — criticising Tel Aviv for its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Last Saturday, Israel saw an unprecedented aerial and ground attack from Hamas, drawing condemnation from several countries, including India, and prompting Tel Aviv to launch retaliatory strikes in Gaza, a 41-km strip that’s home to more than 2 million people and that Hamas has been controlling since 2007.
In its editorial, Siasat lambasted the United Nations and countries like the US for their inability to intervene and broker peace. “The organisation responsible for world peace is the United Nations and other powers like the United States and its allies,” the editorial said.
All parties involved should be brought to the negotiating table, it said. “But it’s sad that the United Nations is completely unable to give the people of Palestine their rights and stop (Israel’s) aggressive policies.”
Newspapers also gave wide coverage to elections in five states — Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.
Here’s a roundup of all the news that made front-page headlines and editorials this week.
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Israel-Hamas ‘war’
According to an initial assessment, Hamas took at least 100 captives during its attack on military bases and towns in southern Israel last week. In response, Israel launched its counteroffensive ‘Operation Iron Swords’, announcing a complete blockage of electricity, food, water, and fuel to the already-impoverished Gaza strip.
The combined death toll in Israel and Gaza currently stands at over 2,000.
Newspapers covered reactions from various countries — including India — to the Hamas attack. In his reaction Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he was “deeply shocked” and that India stood “in solidarity with Israel”.
In its editorial on 9 October, Sahara said Israel has frequently used some pretext to enter the Palestinian territories to evict the people and to demolish their houses for building “illegal Jewish settlements”.
According to the editorial, the attack is neither sudden nor surprising. “Some people describe the Hamas attack as sudden. Then there are those who put the attack down to intelligence failure and those who think Palestinians are destined to suffer.”
It further said: “First, attacks of such a scale and fashion cannot be carried out in a day. Second, Israeli soldiers attack Palestinians every day. Not a day goes by when 2-4 Palestinians are not killed by Israel, or when illegal buildings are built on their land, or when the Al-Aqsa Mosque is attacked. Is it possible that there won’t be retaliation from the Palestinians?”
The Al-Aqsa mosque holds a significant place in both Judaism and Islam. Situated in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City, its religious significance for Jews stems from the fact that it stands on a hill, known as Har ha-Bayit, or the Temple Mount — the holiest site in Judaism.
The mosque is the third holiest in Islam after Mecca and Medina — Muslims believe that it’s from here that Prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven.
In an editorial on 11 October, Siasat called out the “double standards” of the international community. Israel, it said, has repeatedly imposed sanctions and blockades on Gaza and the occupied West Bank, but the countries that are now supporting it didn’t “open their mouths” to protest the move.
“Today, in response to Hamas actions, a decision is being taken to stop development aid to Palestine,” the editorial said. “To them, Israel’s decision to cut off food, water, and medicine from the Palestinian people does not seem inhuman.”
Countries like Denmark and Sweden have suspended development aid to Palestine.
In its 12 October editorial, Inquilab slammed the Modi government for “changing” its stand on the issue. Calling Israel a “usurper” and an “aggressor”, it said economic interests and moral principles should have their own individual space.
“Live and let live is a concept that no nation should compromise on for economic gain. They (the Indian government) discuss Hamas’s methods but not the Palestine issue,” the editorial said, adding that after hearing the Palestinians scream, “no one can deny they (Israel) destroyed Palestinian lives”.
In another editorial on 13 October, Inquilab said Israelis are angry at their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “The (Israeli) public accuses him of failing to protect them.”
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Elections
Despite the Israel-Palestine crisis, campaigning for the forthcoming elections got significant coverage on the front pages and editorials of the Urdu press. Newspapers also covered the Rajasthan government’s announcement of a caste census in the state, where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s Congress is hoping for another term.
In an editorial on 10 October, Sahara said while the upcoming assembly polls can help gauge people’s political mood, they can’t accurately predict the outcome of the next year’s general election. This, it said, is because the situation around the world has started affecting the politics of the country as well.
In its editorial on the same day, Siasat that political parties would use various tactics to sway people and get their support. “Efforts will also be made to cover up failures by misleading the public,” it said. “Voters will have to compare political parties’ past records and their efforts to fulfill promises (while casting their ballot).”
On 11 October, Inquilab’s editorial took a jibe at Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In particular, it focused on the BJP’s reported “reluctance” to project him as a CM candidate yet again.
It was by “God’s Grace” that Chouhan’s name came up in the BJP’s fourth list of candidates, the editorial said.
“Otherwise there was a fear that the BJP’s top leadership would deprive him of a ticket,” it said, adding that Chouhan himself must be feeling that “one day he could get a letter that he has been appointed to the BJP’s ‘Margdarshak Mandal'”.
Comprising Modi and veteran BJP leaders like L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, the ‘Margdarshak Mandal’ is a body of mentors within the BJP.
In its editorial on 12 October, Siasat said the BJP had finally started to realise that it can’t win elections on PM Modi’s reputation alone. This, according to the editorial, is an indirect admission that Modi’s popularity was slipping.
However, according to the editorial, this puts the BJP in a dilemma, especially when it comes to its state leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan. “Eliminating its state leadership altogether could also hurt the BJP’s electoral prospects.”
In another editorial the next day, the newspaper said the BJP appears to following a policy of gradually depriving Muslims of election tickets. This strategy has helped the party win some states but also lose some others, it said.
“However, the most important thing in this game is the political acumen of Muslims,” it said. “Muslims should be made aware of who’s using and exploiting them and who’s making them scapegoats for political power.”
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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