IN shadowy Damascus, where the night air was once filled with the promise of tomorrow, a grim new chapter has unfolded. The recent targeting of Iran’s embassy by the Zionist government isn’t merely a tactical escalation – it’s a clear, calculated prod to bring Iran deeper into the mire. Why, you might ask? Because to bring Iran into the fold is to stretch this already horrific conflict further, painting Israelis as perennial victims while rallying unwavering support from their stalwart ally, the United States, and its consortium of global north cronies.

The mainstream media laps this up, dedicating more airtime to the strategic machinations of statecraft than to the visceral human cost paid in the currency of innocent lives – children, mothers, fathers who will never see another day. These are not mere collateral damage; they are the direct victims of a war machine that chews through the bones of the forgotten.

This extension of conflict serves one purpose: it grants the architects of this horror – the Zionist policymakers and their enablers – more sand in the hourglass. More time to perpetrate what are, undeniably, some of the gravest crimes against humanity of our time. Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure teeters on the razor’s edge of geopolitical strife; his survival hinges on the perpetuation of conflict.

Yet, here lies the rub: humanity’s gravest error is in taking sides. In siding, we lose sight of the essential human truths – compassion, empathy, decency – that should otherwise guide our hands and hearts. The horrific tableau of what some dare call “collateral damage” has unveiled the ghastly face of genocide against the innocent. It has laid bare the stark reality that it is always the innocent who suffer most when the arms trade dictates foreign policy, when rifles and bombs become the tools of “peace”.

We stand now at a precipice, gazing into the abyss that threatens to swallow more innocents, more futures. Yet, we must not – cannot – forget the Palestinians, whose suffering has been long and profound. They have endured the unbearable with a resilience that is nothing short of heroic. They need us now more than ever.

It’s time to dismantle the war machines, to unseat the leaders whose moral compasses are so skewed that they cannot see the blood on their hands. It’s time for new leadership, for leaders who embody our shared values of justice, empathy, and a staunch commitment to peace.

We will not be drawn into the labyrinth of your conflicts, nor will we stand idly by while you draft the blueprint of yet another human tragedy. End this cycle of violence. End it now. Or step aside – make way for those who will lead with honour, for those who will treat every human life as sacrosanct. Because we should be building bridges, not walking over the dead to construct more walls.

Remember, no ideology or religion justifies the slaughter of the innocent. As a global community, our mandate must not be to pick sides, but to unanimously condemn the atrocities committed in the shadows of geopolitics. We must strive for peace – not just for some, but for all. In this, let us be guided not by the prospect of strategic advantage, but by the simple, powerful pursuit of humanity. – April 16, 2024.

* Abbi Kanthasamy reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.