By Afshain Afzal

Everything was going on smooth for the planned announcement of the statehood of Palestine with its capital as Jerusalem. The United Nations Security Council is debating for a permanent membership of Palestine as full UN member to be decided this month. A case against Israeli genocide of orthodox Palestinian Muslims and other war crimes is pending in the International Court of Justice while interim measures have already been announced against Israel and in favour of Palestine. And many Western nations announced that they would recognize Palestine this July while many others are debating for the same. With such favourable political and security environment for the Palestinians’ right of self-determination, why the drama of killing of sons and grandson of expelled Hamas former leader, Ismail Haniyah took place and parallel tug of war through Lebanon and Syria were in progress and finally Tehran’s attack on Israel to defeat the Independence of Palestine and holy lands?

It is important to explain the Israeli and the Western attempts to install proxies in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and some countries in Africa to create division or a balance of power in the Islamic world. One of the actors, Ismail Haniyah, who was expelled from Hamas for his connection with Israel and violation of Hamas’ policy of peaceful struggle and presently living in self-exile in Qatar was backed and provided a chance to emerge as a Hamas leader after the planned genocide of many Hamas leaders, their families and orthodox Palestinians in Gaza and Lebanon. On 10 April 2024, it was projected that Israel carried out a drone attack on a vehicle at Al-Shati camp in Gaza, and martyred three sons and four grandchildren of Ismail Haniyah who were traveling in a car. On 1 April 2024, there was propaganda that Shin Beth along with Israel's Defence Force raided the house of Ismail Haniyah's sister, Sabah Avad al Salman Haniyah at Tel Sheva and arrested her for her links with Hamas. If we recall Daily Telegraph reported in the past that the three sisters of Ismail Haniyah have Israeli citizenship and some of their children served in the Israeli Defense Forces. There is no doubt that Ismail Haniyah is working for Israel and countries that have clash with the ideology of Hamas.

With this background, the Iranian forces carried out over 200 attempts to target positions inside Israel through missiles and drone attacks but failed to kill or injure a single Israeli. The US elite Air Defence batteries with "Iron dome system" were guarding Israel's land, sea and airspace. It is not yet clear if it an advertisement for the American weapon system or posing Iranians as a leader of the Islamic world or both. As also earlier highlighted that USA will never attack Iran, except an attempt for regime change as Washington has high strategic goals, which the Western nations cannot accomplish without the assistance of Iran. Isn’t it strange that despite Iranian direct attack on Israel that amounts “declaration of war” and has the potential to engulf the entire Middle East as a War Zone, the actors are silent and would remain so?

In a post-attack scenario, Iran justified the missiles and drones 14^th April attacks on Israel's military targets and said that her armed forces have carried out a series of military strikes on Israeli's military bases in response to 1 April armed attack against diplomatic premises of Iran in Damascus at the invitation of the Syrian government as its inherent right of self-defense as recognized under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. Iran also confirmed that she adopted defensive measures at a time when the Israeli occupying apartheid regime's pattern of relentless genocidal campaign against Palestinian people, accompanied with repeated military aggressions against neighboring States and fanning the flames across the region and beyond. It was clarified that Iran would take further necessary defensive measures to protect its legitimate interests against any act of military aggression or unlawful use of force.

Two important derivatives that Tehran spelled out in her post-attack official statement: 1st April’s armed attack on diplomatic premises of Iran in Damascus was carried out at the invitation of the Syrian government; and that Iran adopted defensive measures at a time when Israeli carried out genocidal campaign against Palestinian people. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirming the Israeli attack on Israel said that more than 200 missiles and drones were launched toward Israel, many were intercepted by Israel’s aerial defense systems including fighter jets. The spokesperson claimed that no deaths or injuries were reported as result of Iranian strikes. Meanwhile, the US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson and other officials claimed that US air defense systems in the Middle East had also intercepted some Iranian drones. In another development, Israel closed its airspace, after Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon closed their airspaces. Reacting over the Iranian attack on Israel, António Guterres, UN Secretary-General strongly condemning the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by Iran, called for an immediate cessation of these hostilities.