March
11, 2024
- Amid a surge in Israeli attacks on Gaza, Jordan warns curbs imposed by Israel on worshippers’ access to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem during Ramadan is pushing the situation towards an “explosion”.
- UNRWA says “hunger is everywhere in Gaza” as Ramadan begins and reiterates calls for an “immediate ceasefire” during the holy month.
- Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’s political bureau, blames Israel for failing to reach a ceasefire deal before Ramadan, saying: “We don’t want an agreement that doesn’t end the war on Gaza.”
- At least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed and 72,654 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, and dozens continue to be held captive.
World Is Watching UN’s Response to Israel’s Crimes
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasts that he single-handedly blocked a
Palestinian State from becoming a reality even though it is recognized by more
than 130 countries and enjoys the status of an observer state in the United
Nations.
In
his 16 years in power, Netanyahu has ramped up illegal settlements, effectively
annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem; funneled
millions of dollars to prop up Hamas and undermine the Palestinian Authority;
and concluded the Abraham Accords with four Arab governments willing to
sideline the Palestinian cause: Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and United Arab
Emirates.
On
Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a bloody attack in southern Israel, which
disrupted the status quo — one that was acceptable to Israelis but agonizing
for Palestinians. According to Israel’s latest count, 685 Israeli civilians,
373 members of the Israeli security forces and 71 foreigners were killed as a
result of that attack and the Israeli security forces’ delayed response to it.
Since
then, Netanyahu and his extremist government have waged a vengeful war on Gaza
and a possibly genocidal war against its entire population.
Israel’s
American, European and Arab allies are seeking to resurrect the two-state
solution as a path to peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Netanyahu
objects to such proposals, saying that a Palestinian State “would give a huge
reward to unprecedented terrorism.”
One
can equally say — if not more so — that the Arab states and Muslim world’s
renewed offer to recognize and to make peace with Israel along the 1967 green
line would also give “a huge reward” to Israel’s unprecedented barbarism.
Crimes
from A-to-Z
While
the list of crimes by Hamas is long, including the deliberate killing of
civilians, indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas and the taking of men,
women and child hostages, the list of crimes by Israel and its armed forces and
armed settlers is much longer. From A to Z, they include:
Acts
of plausible genocide, according to the International Court of Justice and a
United States federal court
Blockading
Gaza for 17 years and denying food, water and medicine since Oct. 7
Collective
punishment of the civilian population of Gaza
Dropping
hundreds of 2,000-pound bombs on densely populated areas
Extrajudicially
executing detainees as evidenced by mass graves of blindfolded zip-tied victims
Forcibly
displacing nearly 2 million Palestinians from their homes
Giving
arms to militant Israeli settlers to attack Palestinians and confiscate their
homes
Harming
Palestinians by deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to
destroy them
Incessantly
and disproportionately bombing Gaza for 152 days
Jailing
thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children, without charge
Killing
more than 30,000 Palestinians: mostly women and children in 152 days
Leveling
70 percent of Gaza’s homes
Murdering
more than 12,000 children, making Gaza a “graveyard of children”
Not
allowing convoys of humanitarian aid to reach the starving people of Gaza
Occupying,
annexing and constructing settlements on Palestinian territory
Parading
semi naked men in a degrading and humiliating manner
Quoting
biblical references to Amalek for revenge against Palestinian “men, women and
infants”
Refusing
to take the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice
Spreading
debunked lies of beheaded babies and other lies
Taking
the lives of 162 U.N. staff and nearly 100 journalists
Using
starvation as a weapon of war with half a million Gazans facing a looming
famine
Vowing
to “erase Gaza” and other genocide-inciting statements by Israeli officials
Willfully
destroying Gaza’s hospitals, schools, universities, mosques and churches
Xenophobic
and racial discrimination amounting to apartheid
Yelling
with joy at destruction of civilian infrastructure
Zealous
use of “anti-Semitism” label to silence journalists and human rights defenders
International
Legal Proceedings
During
the tenure of its former prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, the International Criminal
Court (ICC) opened an ongoing investigation into alleged crimes by Hamas and
other Palestinian militant groups as well by the Israeli armed forces and armed
Israeli settlers. The current ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, has vowed to continue
that investigation, including into the events of Oct. 7 and its aftermath.
The
International Court of Justice has two ongoing proceedings directly involving
Israel and Palestine. The first is a December 2022 request by the U.N. General
Assembly for an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the
policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,
including East Jerusalem.
The
second is a December 2023 case brought by South Africa against Israel alleging
violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide. The World Court, as the ICJ is also known, has recently concluded
that genocide allegations are plausible and ordered provisional measures to
protect the Palestinian people in Gaza.
In
December 2023, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 2720 demanding the
immediate, unconditional release of all hostages and calling on all parties to
protect civilians and enable the immediate humanitarian assistance to
Palestinians in Gaza. In the resolution, the council also reiterated its
“unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-State solution.”
Also
in December 2023, the 10th emergency special session of the U.N. General
Assembly adopted its second resolution since the current crisis began. With 153
member states voting in favor, the assembly called for an immediate
humanitarian ceasefire; reiterated its demand that all parties comply with
their obligations regarding the protection of civilians and humanitarian
assistance; and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all
hostages.
There
are increasing calls for the deployment of a civilian protection force in Gaza
and the West Bank as well as recommendations to impose diplomatic, financial or
other measures, including an arms embargo on Israel. A resumed meeting of the
10th emergency special session could recommend such measures under the “Uniting
for Peace” resolution [adopted in 1950].
The
world is watching and waiting for the U.N. to fulfill its responsibility to
protect the civilians in Gaza. We are looking to the U.N.’s principal organs
and the international courts to hold the perpetrators of mass atrocities
accountable — whether they be Palestinian militants or Israeli soldiers and
armed settlers.
By
holding the perpetrators and their leaders individually accountable, we can
ensure that the peace and security that most Israelis and Palestinians yearn
for can be pursued and achieved without rewarding the crimes of Hamas or the
crimes of Israel.
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