The genocide being carried out by Israeli forces in Palestine has entered its eighth month, with, on average, a child being killed every 10 minutes and almost the entire population of the colonized Palestine territory becoming homeless. Nowhere and no one is safe in the face of relentless bombardment that has killed over more than 35000 Palestinians and approximately 80000 have been injured.
So-called self-proclaimed champions of peace, the United States, has relentlessly backed Israel to exterminate the population from occupied Palestine, and the silence of Arab countries on war crimes carried out by Israeli forces is deafening.
The shameful capitulation by the United States and lip service by Arab countries have encouraged Israel to continue military oppression and have lurched a series of bombardments including an attack, on UNRWA a refugee camp in Rafah that killed 45 displaced Palestinians on Monday. Only indoctrination cannot inculcate a sense of pressure, but rather more mobilization through the international community can inclusively reduce the atrocities. Israel has enjoyed impunity, with the backing of the United States and the silence of Arab countries over its aggressive military policies.
No Arab country has given an effective response, instead of apoplectic lip service to the Israeli genocide of innocent Palestinians. What is most perturbing is the dubious role of Saudi Arabia, one of the most powerful countries in the Muslim World. The foreign ministry of KSA called on the international community to intervene immediately to stop the genocide, which on the other hand has reportedly opposed any punitive action against Israel.
Ethnic cleansing of the entire population cannot be addressed by anti-Israel rhetoric, the Arab and Gulf states must be proactive and more practical in their response to the devastating situation in Gaza. Yemen’s Houthis group threatened Tuesday to expand its military attacks on shipping if the Israeli Army invaded the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.Despite of resolution passed by more than 150 countries at the UN General Assembly calling for a ceasefire, the Israeli government has continuously bombarded Gaza.
Ironically, it has not been any Muslim or Arab country that has taken up the genocide case to the ICJ, but it is South Africa that has challenged Israeli atrocities, alleging that Israel is breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention and violating the Prevention and Punishment of the Crimes of genocide.
The legal team of South Africa filed a well-documented petition consisting of 84 pages on December 29, 2023, that changed the scenario of continuous bombardment. It further alleged that “acts and omissions by Israel … are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of broader Palestinian national, racial, and ethnic group.”
Israel’s policies in Gaza are seen as South Africa’s apartheid regime’s racial and discriminatory policies. Absurd and aggressive Israeli policies have exacerbated death trolls in Gaza, several Human Rights organizations have said that Israeli policies towards Palestinians amount to apartheid.
Several world leaders have urged Israel to stop the massacre in Gaza, as French President Emmanuel Macron has said on the Rafah camp attack “Outraged by Israeli strikes that have killed many displaced persons in Rafah. These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians”.
Although Pakistan has called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide, it has not displayed any indications of joining or supporting the petition filed by the South African legal team in ICJ. Islamabad needs to mobilize the international community to end the destruction of Gaza and the killing of innocent Palestinians.Israel will leave no stone unturned to stop the support of the South African plea against atrocities. The last weak Israeli foreign minister instructed all of its embassies to pressure the politicians and diplomats in their host countries to make statements against the petition. It will lead to a protracted and lengthy process, there’s no indication it would cease the atrocities and dismantle the Palestinian occupation. But the South African case will help mobilize public opinion across the world against Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza and colonization of Palestine. The international community, especially, Arab countries needs to do more to stop the killing of men, women, children, and premature babies in hospitals and refugee camps.