The Israel - Hamas war: An open letter to Shlomit Sofa, ambassador of Israel to Ghana

Your Excellency, permit me to inform your high office that probably, nothing of late, disturbs the minds of right-thinking members of society than to see on our television screens the Israeli Defense Force, in the holy land, collectively punish women, children, and noncombatants for the sins of Hamas terrorists in Palestine.

Madam Ambassador, I seek your indulgence, respectfully, to submit to your high office that the diplomacy of Palestinian self-determination must resume. And, this war of collective punishment must cease.

Your Excellency, this war, if it continues, may not be like other previous wars. It may be apocalyptic in scope and possibly destructive of our globe.

It is true, Your Excellency, that Hamas must be punished for its atrocities on October 7, 2023 against Israel but to collectively punish two million Palestinians in a densely populated town of Gaza for the sins of Hamas terrorists certainly, dimnishes the international sympathy for israel, incenses the international community, ignites Arab anger, smacks of a potential regional war and by extension, a world war.

Of course, it is established that the Hamas threat to Israel emanates from Gaza. As such, Israel must eliminate this threat in self-defense.

However, the Gaza strip, since 1967, has been a territory under Israeli occupation. Indeed, the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights postulates that Israel retains effective control over the Gaza Strip by virtue of the control exercised over Gaza’s airspace and territorial waters, land crossings at the borders, supply of civilian infrastructure, and key governmental functions such as the management of the Palestinian population registry". In other words, Israel is indeed in an occupation of Gaza.

Israel, therefore, Your Excellency, if your authority will permit me to assert that Israel cannot claim a right of self-defense against a threat that emanates from a territory it occupies.

As the occupying force, knowing that there are civilians in occupied Gaza, why not arrest and subject all suspected Palestinian to the due process of law?

It appears to reason, Madam Ambassador, that Israel's unwillingness to end the occupation since 1967 has given rise to the Palestinian people to resist occupation and assert a right to Self-determination in international law.

But probably at the heart of this quandary is not a matter of self-determination in International law. At the heart of this matter is a fundamental biblical question: is the God of Israel not the same as the God of Arabs ? Or when God promised Abraham in Genesis 12 that “I will make you a great nation'' was he ethnically referring to Jews only or was He referring to the Semitic or Abrahamic people?

Assuming for the sake of argument that Genesis 12 was meant ethnically for Israel how do we then make sense of the all important ten commandment verse namely love thy name as thyself as far as Palestine as a neighbor of Israel is concerned?

If you will allow me to submit, Israel's greatness also resides in loving their neighbor, Palestine; in sharing the land with Palestine and in sharing democracy with Palestine

It is my humble submission that Genesis 12 must be read contextually with the all-important ten commandment contained in exodus 20: 3-17 for its full effect on Israel's greatness

Your Excellency respectfully put, the God of Israel is also a God of grace, a God of Love and a God who commands us to love our neighbor including Palestine

Even if your Excellency disagrees with this interpretation which I fervently pray that your good offices will not ignore , permit me to articulate to your high office that the Palestinian question on self-determination disturbs our political consciousness.

For us, in Ghana, self-determination is a core principle of international law of which we stood upon as oppressed nations, in the colonial era, to gain our freedom.

In Ghana, of which we have the high honor to have you as the Ambassador of Israel, we were first in 1957 to lead the way for over 50 African countries including Algeria in the north and South Africa in the south to achieve self-determination from colonial rule and occupation.

It is for this reason that Ghana's position at the UN has been consistent with the right of the state of Palestine to exist concurrently with the right of the state of Israel and UNSC resolution 2334 prohibiting Israeli settlement in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.

Respectfully, it is our fervent prayer that in accordance to the U.N. General Assembly vote in 1947 the right of the state of Palestine to exist concurrently with the right of the state of Israel will be achieved, including the U. N Security Council resolution 2334 prohibiting Israeli settlement in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.

Your Excellency, If Russia in the 1990s gave up the vast territories of the Soviet Union it controlled, Israel too can give up the territories - Gaza and West Bank - it occupied since 1967 to Palestine for their self-determination.

I have no doubt that the international community will accord their warmest admiration and confer their highest honor to the state of Israel the day Palestinian self-determination is granted. It is possible, Your Excellency. Yes, it can be done.

Let me conclude, your Excellency, with a prayer that Israel will have the intestinal fortitude and the diplomatic zeal to end this war. Indeed, the power of Israel must only not be measured in her military success it must also be measured in her moral leadership and international prestige among the comity of nations