Palestinian Apartheid. Palestinian Genocide. The two of the most contested phrases, albeit a widely accepted notion amongst human rights scholars and experts for decades. Today, Palestine is inhabiting the headlines and the streets over the sheer brutality of the violence perpetrated by Israel surfacing from Gaza. Since the series of attacks staged by Hamas on October 7th killing 1,400 Israelis and kidnapping of several hundred hostages, the retribution has escalated into an annihilation in Gaza slaughtering over 6,500 people and counting, with nearly half of these casualties being children. The rain of bombs has displaced over 50% of the Gazan population and wiped-out 45+ bloodlines. On its East, West Bank is undergoing military raids led by the IDF (Israeli Defence Force).
The dire need is for Israel to implement an immediate ceasefire buttressed by the release of Israeli hostages, propelled by international pressure from states, IGOs, and corporations. Yet as the hostages are in the process of being released, Israel does not intend to permit entry of humanitarian assistance and aid into Gaza and put an end to the carnage, instead continuing to spew venomous dehumanization of Palestinians slipping through the tongues of Israeli Ministers and Generals, enabled by the Western powers.
To comprehend the inhumanity and the support it receives from the Western world, one must understand the history which ultimately, and inevitably, culminated to the grave humanitarian disaster we are witnessing today – about how the oppressed transformed into the oppressor; how Israel became a colonialist and genocidal institution.
The Snowball of Past & Present
Israel’s existence in 1947 was consolidated by the events of BC when the Jews (Bani Israil) fled from the Egyptians and settled within the borders of modern-day Israel/Palestine. As centuries passed, humans dispersed to travel the world, and the population became Palestine, a melting pot of all Abrahamic religions.
Palestine’s liberation from British occupation came with the shackles of a foundation for a State establishment in Palestinian territories for Jews (Holocaust Victims) underlined by the United Nations. The declaration engendered the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which ultimately placed Gaza under Egyptian territory, and West Bank under Jordan.
Throughout history, Israel has faced multiple wars/conflicts with its neighbouring countries and has been isolated in the Middle East. Yet, these circumstances have encouraged two-state solutions which would institute Israel and Palestine as two separate sovereign states. The most prominent attempt was the Oslo Peace Process. The two-state solution was promising till dissatisfaction and distrust culminated into another breakout of violence and the consequent termination of the agreement in 2008.
Over the decades, Israel has become a melting pot of various races and ethnicities for their law of attaining nationality solely dependent on their religious affiliation – for being Jewish; while Palestinian population is primarily comprised of Muslims, but of Christians too. The religious distinctions are the prime driver of the instability in the Apartheid regime being labelled as a religious ‘conflict’. But Palestine and Israel are not equals; their lives have been starkly diverging since Israel’s inception.
In 1948, around 750,000 Palestinians were expelled as Zionist forces annexed 78% of historically Palestinian lands, now referred to as Nakba. Throughout, the IDF has incessantly occupied sizeable Palestinian territories. Today, 5 million Palestinians reside in the remainder of the land (West Bank & Gaza), enclosed by checkpoints operated by IDF, where the natives must undergo multitudes of paperwork and security checks to leave, in an attempt of isolating and segregating Palestinians – the world’s largest open-air prison. Palestinians do not have authority over necessities like water, fuel, and electricity. Its access is controlled by Israeli authorities. During times of escalation, Israel restricts supplies from reaching Palestine, a precarious situation during emergencies.
In the past 20 days following Hamas’ attacks, civilian towns, schools, hospitals, and places of worship are being indiscriminately bombed. As basic supplies such as water and fuel are cut off, and humanitarian assistance is impeded by Israel, the situation is criminally grave.
There are over 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza alone, with 5,000 of them due in a month. With the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure, these women, and spiralling injured persons are at serious risk, particularly without access to necessities. The bombing of Al Ahli Baptist hospital produced the biggest casualties from a single attack in Palestinian history, plundering between 500-800 lives. The IDF has also bombed St. Porphyrius Church, one of the oldest churches in Gaza, killing the hundreds of civilians who seeked refuge inside.
Israel is justifying its crimes by avering to their previous ‘warnings’ to evacuate places where the civilians are seeking refuge, stating the ‘possible’ presence of Hamas in these areas. However, in the process of eliminating Hamas, they are massacring innocent Palestinians. Not a single retaliatory attack by Israel in the past 3 weeks adhere to the international law. All of the brutalities are heinous war crimes and crimes against humanity. The sheer scale at which lives are being lost and ruined, befalls as a textbook example of a genocide – and a harrowing reminder of our perennial failure in protecting communities from the worst of human capabilities.
Propaganda Machinery
The reporting of Palestinians’ reality is laborious and daunting – usually at the expense of one’s life. In 2022, journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed during her reporting of an IDF raid at a refugee camp in the city of Jenin in the West Bank region. Since, tens of other journalists reporting on Palestine have been killed by Israeli forces, disrupting the dissemination of the truth and enabling Israel to control the narrative.
While the religious composition of both nations creates room for an impeccable fallacious guise of the conflict stemming from religious differences, its sole motivation is land dispute. The Palestinians asserts their ancestral land, whose ancestors were subjugated by British colonial rule, while the Israelis believe in their God-given right over the lands, based on the principles of Zionism. This ideology identifies Jewish identity as both religion and nationality, but its initiation comes at the expense of Palestine’s existence. Modern Zionist rhetoric is weaponized by Israeli politicians to express their disdain for Arabs, proliferating hostility. Apathy for the plight of Palestinians is facile when they are considered to be ‘children of darkness’ whose ‘barbarism’ is to be weeded out. Hence why affiliating with Zionism today insinuates one’s support for the systemic genocide Palestinians are facing. Zionist agendas have been denounced by some jews for transgressing Jewish principles and espousing borderline supremacist notions – ‘other’ing Palestinians.
The dehumanization of Palestinians comes unconstrained owing to their Arab identity. The post-9/11 propaganda, bolstered by Western media outlets, is yet to evaporate from our minds. The plight of Palestinians - their spilled blood - echoes desensitized human losses in Arab/Muslim countries. They are dispensible subhuman ‘terrorists’, and the children are mere colossal collateral damage the world seems to be willing to sacrifice. This key is instrumental to Israeli propaganda.
It is deception. Israel has previously backtracked about the cold-blooded murders of children and journalists; it has lied about the seizing of Palestinian lands at Sheikh Jarrah; and it is presently peddling on statements about the bombing of hospitals and churches more senile than the State itself. In the coming days, these deceptions will continue, vilifying Palestinians and defending their grossly brutal behaviours under the pretext of a sovereign states’ ‘right to defend’ themselves from ‘terrorists’, later reiterated by Western leaders themselves. But who are the terrorists? Where are the terrorists? The indiscriminate attacks in Gaza elucidates Israel’s belief of all Palestinians being terrorists. But that cannot be qualified defence, that is defined as genocide.
International Opportunism
Words are the most lethal weapon in the international realm. It is the lifeline between war and peace, of enmity and friendship, and of confinement and emancipation. The genocide of Palestinians is often labelled as a conflict or a war, insinuating a symmetry of violence. But quick research, with a sprinkle of sensibility, highlights an asymmetrical butchering by one of the most advanced militaries in the world against a population with military capabilities in negative.
The exacerbation of the unimaginable violence is pushing countries into affirming their stance. Many have condemned the deaths of Palestinians (without implicating the responsible entity), emphasizing the imperativeness of an immediate ceasefire and provision of aid, while a few condemn Israel for their atrocities. As the ferocity seeps through the borders and onto Lebanon, the neighbouring nations are forced into action, altering the ever-volatile geopolitics of Middle East.
The brunt of the humanitarian crisis is felt by Egypt, who was initially involved in warning Israel against Hamas’ attacks. While they have declared support to Palestinians in Gaza through aid, they have rejected welcoming Palestinian refugees by closing the Rafah Crossing (Gaza-Egypt Border) under the expalanation of Gaza ceasing to exist if the Palestinians left their homeland.
Since the recent brutalities, Saudi Arabia has halted normalization agreements with Israel, calling for the pre-1967 borders illustrated by the UN to be reinstated (image below). The settler violence has brought Saudi Arabia and Iran closer in discussions against Israel, buttressed by the rapprochement in April. Iran’s vocality against Israel by threatening serious ‘pre-emptive actions’ could potentially expand the war, and consequently disrupt the stability of the entire region, added by Israel’s attacks at Lebanese borders.
If one were to take a quick peek at Arab reactions throughout the journey of apartheid, one may well be content for a globalized world where our lives are intertwined. If history can teach us one possibility, it is that of an oil embargo against countries endorsing Israel, particularly during a time where energy reliance on Russia is deficient. In 1972, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia imposed the same against western countries for assisting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The damages to western economies resulted in the British shortening their workdays, and rationing of oil to the public in the US.
While diplomatic relations in the Middle East are realigning, the ramifications of this viciousness is further impactful in the global realm, particularly contingent to the current posturing of world hegemons in regards to the genocide. The Western nations’ stubborn refusal in holding their closest ally in the Middle East culpable for their vile actions, and their usage of passive language in condemning the perpetrations comes with the cost of unveiling their hypocrisy and callousness to the lives of the people in the Global South. They are overtly associated with the role of aiding Israel militarily and economically - of an accessory reinforcing the heinous violations of human rights and international law which they ostensibly considered themselves to be the watchdogs of. With Biden’s visit to Israel, it is evidently clear where they stand - beside Israel’s crimes against humanity.
All the while, rivalling hegemons Russia and China have communicated with Arab nations in explicit support of Palestine and condemnation of Israel, against the backdrop of Soviet Union’s ties and Mao’s undeniable admiration of Palestine. The emancipation of Palestine is one sympathized by former colonies – which happens to be a good majority of the world - even Ireland. By being at the forefront of protecting Palestinian lives and subsequently designing a narrative of speaking on behalf of the voiceless, Russia and China’s stance in this inhumanity is weakening the reliability of the US and its allies. In essence, the Western world’s desperation to support Israel has eroded the waning trust from the global South by further proving their suspicions, impelling them towards their adversaries. Nevertheless, these political power games are being played at the expense of human lives.
Humanity's Failure & Shame
We preach ‘Never Again’ yet have continuously failed to ensure humanity is never failed again. The world had 70+ years to prevent the genocide we are witnessing in Palestine, but they remained idle, blind and incapable while civilians are massacred in a world as vibrantly diverse over segregationist ideas of an ethno-state. Harrowingly, we witness a generation who possesses the knowledge of the world and its past under its fingertips parade in favour of Israel, justifying its actions; but the souls of the numbers speak for itself. As the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has affirmed, the Hamas attacks did not transpire ‘in a vacuum’. It is a result of 75 years of Israeli occupation.
It is indeed strange for the land of olive trees to never have experienced the idea it symbolizes: Hope & Peace. We must fear for the future Palestine holds because none can say for certain if the nation, its people and culture will persevere again as their aspritations are crushed under the rubbles. Although, if humanity triumphs, we yearn for a day where Palestinians finally meet peace, freedom, and independence - a day where from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. Israel & Palestine: Moral Plight of Perennial Genocide
