From Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah
Most people do not have a very optimistic outlook for 2026, with various turmoils and wars painting a bleak future. The Middle Eastern and African conflicts, the Ukraine war and the US’s aggressive economic and military stances worldwide are just a few examples of current global conflicts.
From the Middle East, Africa and Europe to the American continent, these conflicts and potential wars paint a very unsettling global scenario of the suffering caused by human greed, arrogance and indifference.
The longest and most cruel conflict is probably between Israel’s vastly superior army, backed by the powerful West, and the impoverished Palestinians of Gaza.
History will surely record it as one of the cruellest tragedies inflicted upon any ethnic group, with the world looking the other way despite the global media delivering images of the continuous death of Palestinians every night.
Powerful and rich Western nations, despite being very much aware of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, can only muster hollow token pledges for “recognition of a future Palestinian state”, while allowing Gaza and the West Bank to be obliterated by Israel using weapons and financial support from the US.
Never has the modern world’s hypocrisy and pathetic indifference in the most globally connected age so far been so glaring and unforgivable.
While the world has almost forgotten the formation of the Board of Peace (established by the UN to oversee the administration, reconstruction and economic recovery of the Gaza Strip after the ceasefire), Israel continues to bombard Palestinians and deprive them of food, medication and basic shelter, blatantly going against the overhyped “peace agreement”.
European nations have also increased their purchase of Israeli-made arms and killing machines, based on Israel’s successful marketing of their “combat-tested and proven” weaponry. These sales have gone up by 13% to US$15 billion since 2024.
Europe is the largest purchaser of Israeli-made arms, with India coming a close second.
According to Shir Hever, an Israeli arms specialist from Stuttgart, Germany, 80,000 tonnes of bombs have been dropped onto Gaza since Oct 7, 2023, with other Israeli-made weapons killing at least 70,000 Palestinians.
Gazan lives have been used to prove the effectiveness and success of Israeli-made weapons. This reflects the West’s hypocrisy in pledging to support a Palestinian state while purchasing Israeli weapons and supplying Israel arms to commit genocide in Gaza.
I find it difficult to wish my friends Happy New Year when I know this year will be bleak and full of cruelty.
Now, 37 voluntary organisations have been banned by Israel from supplying food and medicine to Gaza in this cold wet winter.
No religion can be indifferent to cruelty and genocide. If we continue to be silent, we will be considered complicit in this ongoing genocide.
Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah is an Amanah central committee member and chairman of the party’s international bureau.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.