Why Gaza Strip War Never Ends - Essay Example

After Israel occupied the Gaza strip, the UN Security Council did come indeed come out with its resolution no-242 calling for the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the Gaza strip (UN, 2009). But there were not many condemnations from the western world and no threats of serious repercussions if the resolution is not implemented. Therefore, except doing the formality of discussing the issue at UNSC and passing a resolution, there were no efforts to get the resolution implemented. This caused much heartburn amongst the Palestinians in particular and the Arab world in general. Since the UNSC did not have any forces of its own, it was in no position to make use of force. This ensured that the conflict remained unresolved for a long time. In fact, even now, the international community remains more of a distant spectator.

Hypothesis 2: Third countries (parties) get involved in civil wars (conflicts) only if strategic or economic interests are present.

Indeed, it’s a bitter truth that strategic and economic interests have now acquired more prominence over human beings' sufferings. Otherwise, how do we explain the involvement of US and Allied forces in Afghanistan and Iraq? The cold war between the US and the then USSR ensured that Afghanistan remained a war zone for years together. Similarly, the oil economy is stated to be one of the key reasons behind the presence of US and allied forces in Iraq. The Shia and Sunni conflicts were part of the civil conflict in Iraq for many years. In addition, some policies of President Saddam Hussain also angered the Western world. Taking shelter behind the argument that Iraq has got a huge cache of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), the allied forces attacked Iraq, only to find that there’s nothing of that sort in Iraq and the country is still reeling under trouble. But in the case of the Gaza strip, it doesn’t find favor with any other nation because it has no economic or strategic relevance for them.

Hypothesis 3: Civil wars (conflicts) last longer if the war (conflict) is taking place in the area of the strategic point of interest of several third countries.

The Afghanistan region is a typical example of such a scenario. With the strategic interest of the US, Russia, Pakistan, and India the country has remained a war zone for many. After the USSR found it futile to remain engaged in Afghanistan, it pulled out itself. But, the country became an experimental lab for US and Pakistan and they kept encouraging some anti-establishment forces, which have now acquired threatening proportions. Similarly in the case of the Gaza strip, while on the one hand the US and Britain are supporting Israel for its occupation, several Arab countries are against Israel and supporting the Palestinian movement. The support of some terror groups like Al-Qaida to the fighters in Palestine has further deteriorated the atmosphere. This has made the war last for so long.