Ras Mubarak Criticizes Govt’s Stance on Hamas Attack in Israel

The former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, has criticized President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the information conveyed on behalf of the country by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and Regional Integration regarding the Hamas Attack on Israel.

In an open letter to the President, he said the statement is a “disgrace” to Ghana which has over the years carved a niche as a “non-aligned” nation.

He holds that joining the West to declare support for Israel is also “immoral.”

“To have allowed your Foreign Minister, or her assign, to issue a statement in our name, expressing support for a rogue state that has zero respect for international law and gets blanket immunity to murder more Palestinians and annex their territory, is completely at variance with our nuanced position as a non-aligned nation, even though we have over the years and at the UN, stood with the Palestinians as a matter of principle, judging by our own abhorrence of racism and imperialism.”

Position
Ras Mubarak blames Israel and the rest of the world for the continued conflict between the two MiddleEast countries.

According to him, the West’s decision to grant Israel blanket immunity when the Oslo Accords were signed formulated the breeding ground for the war to persist.

“The recent escalation in violence should never have happened, had persons in privileged positions in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceana, like yourself, over the years, insisted on the respect for internationally morality and the rule of law, and not continuously propped up a rogue regime that has become emboldened, becoming an exception to international law.

“Had the world held apartheid Israel accountable for its obligations under international law, and its commitments when Israel Prime Minister – YItzak Rabin, and Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, signed an agreement at the lawn of the White House in Washington thirty years ago, we would not have been where we are today. Israelis would have been living side by side Palestinians,” a part of his letter read.

He believes the West’s response to the conflict so far has accentuated their racist and imperialist colors.

Imposition of Sanctions
He suggests Akufo-Addo rally his fellow African leaders to immediately impose diplomatic sanctions against Israel for its “continued egregious violation of the dignity of Palestinians.”

MoFA Statement
Ghana joined the West to condemn what many have described as a surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The attack on Saturday claimed hundreds of lives, while many others were abducted in Ofakim in the Southern District of Israel near Gaza.

Hamas, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction and designated as a terrorist group by the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), European Union (EU), and Israel, breached the wire that separates Gaza from Israel in multiple places, according to BBC, firing thousands of rockets at their unsuspecting victims.

Israel retaliated with airstrikes targeting housing blocks, tunnels, a mosque, and homes of Hamas officials in Gaza, killing many people in the process.

The government of Ghana through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration on Sunday said it was “deeply saddened” by the development, which threatens to ignite a conflagration in the protracted conflict.

“Ghana unequivocally condemns the attacks and calls on the Hamas leadership to immediately cease the attacks and withdraw its militants from southern Israel,” it said

Affirming its support for Israel, the West African country urged Israel to exercise restraint in its response to the attack.

It called on the parties to drop their weapons and return to the negotiation table.

“Ghana takes this opportunity to call on the two sides to the Israel-Palestinian conflict to return to the negotiation table.”

Oslo Accord
The Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, commonly referred to as the “Oslo Accord,” was supposed to lead to final status negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) under the supervision of the 42nd President of the US, Bill Clinton.

The deal was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Negotiator Mahmoud Abbas in September 1993.

By the agreement, the US Department of State said, “Israel accepted the PLO as the representative of the Palestinians, and the PLO renounced terrorism and recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace. Both sides agreed that a Palestinian Authority (PA) would be established and assume governing responsibilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over a five-year period. Then, permanent status talks on the issues of borders, refugees, and Jerusalem would be held.”

However, it collapsed in November 1995 when Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, an Israeli who opposed the Oslo Accords on religious grounds, triggering a string of terrorist attacks by Hamas, the Department’s archived information says.