THERE is little else one can add to the stark conclusion reached by the Amnesty International secretary general regarding the situation in Gaza: “this is genocide. It must stop now.”
Amnesty has documented Israel’s savage campaign in the occupied Palestinian territory and published the findings in a report titled ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza. The findings rip to shreds the argument Israel’s powerful Western friends proffer to justify the genocide: that Tel Aviv is acting in self-defence.
As the report notes, Israel’s civilian and military leaders have made genocidal statements calling for or justifying genocidal acts against the Palestinians; it has recorded over 100 such declarations. And as the data contained in the report highlights, the Israeli war machine has done its best to translate genocidal intent into action in Gaza.
The report covers the period between October 2023 and June 2024. It meticulously records the testimonies of victims and witnesses, health workers, as well as analysing visual and digital evidence. What emerges is a picture of mediaeval brutality unleashed upon the civilian population of Gaza by the Israeli state. It says: “Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity.”
During this brutal slaughter, Israel has killed over 13,000 children. Independent tallies suggest over 44,000 people have been killed during the rampage, while thousands more are likely buried under the rubble. It should be noted that this is not the first time solid evidence of Israel’s genocidal practices has emerged; two UN reports arrived at the same conclusion — that there is sufficient evidence that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza.
The solution, in Amnesty’s view, is “an immediate, sustained ceasefire”. Voices from across the globe have been calling for a ceasefire, but apart from a brief truce last year, Israel refuses to silence its guns, and continues to mercilessly pound Gaza. And with the US constantly coming to its rescue in the UN Security Council, Tel Aviv knows it can get away with murder.
The Amnesty report also censures the US, Germany and the UK for “violating their obligation to prevent genocide” by continuing to ship arms to Israel. Unless these states, and others, cease their unflinching support to Israel, the genocide is unlikely to end. In this regard, the UN General Assembly has recently passed a resolution calling for Israel to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories. Many powerful actors may be underplaying the genocide in Gaza, but thanks to independent voices like Amnesty, the truth has become quite clear.
The Israelis are replicating the horrors their forefathers were subjected to by the Third Reich in Gaza, and must be confronted by people of conscience globally to end the slaughter.
Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2024
