TEACHER at the Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, Gadjah Mada University, Sigit Riyanto, said that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is the only form of colonialism currently occurring. For him, this is justified from a legal perspective as well as considerations of respect for human rights (HAM).
According to Sigit, the conflict taking place there is not only between Israel and Palestine, but also Israel and citizens of the world. This is because there have been many violations of coercive legal provisions and norms that must not be deviated from, including the provisions regarding genocide which Israel itself ratified.
Moreover, since 1948, Israel’s territory has continued to expand, while Palestinian land has actually narrowed. Sigit conveyed this in a discussion entitled Guessing the Future of Palestine which was held online by the Center for Democracy, Constitution & Human Rights Studies, Faculty of Law, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Wednesday (8/5).
“Israel’s occupation of Palestine is the only colonialism that exists on earth today,” he said.
“Because since 1948, at least 90% of Palestinians have been expelled by the Israeli army, it can be traced in history and other information regarding the Nakba incident,” he continued.
On the same occasion, lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, UGM, Siti Mutiah Setiawati, explained that the conflict between Israel and Palestine would only end if there was no foreign interference, for example the United States and its allies who continued to support Israel. This is because Western support for Israel continues to weaken Palestine’s position.
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For Siti, what is happening between Israel and Palestine is not merely a territorial dispute, but rather Israel’s seizure of Palestinian territory. “This conflict is not about usurping. If we are usurping, we both have rights, if it were the Jews who seized territory belonging to the Palestinian people,” he explained.
On the other hand, he also did not deny that the conflict between the two countries was motivated by religious issues. Moreover, the Jews in Israel use religious reasons as they believe in their right to the Palestinian territory.
“Because their god, Yahweh, promised the Palestinian region only to the Jewish people,” said Siti.
In Jerusalem, West Bank, religious conflict is increasingly felt by the presence of important sites for the Abrahamic religions, namely Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Siti explained that Jerusalem is where the Wailing Wall and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are located, as well as the location where Jesus Christ is believed to have been crucified.
“In my opinion, this conflict has an element of religious conflict. I also use the religious element as a reason because Israel often attacks religious holy places, attacking the Mosque (Al-Aqsa) in 2021 when the Palestinian Arab congregation was praying at the end of Ramadan,” he concluded. (Tri/Z-7)
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