The government of South Africa has requested that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issue an urgent order declaring that Israel is in breach of its obligations under the Geneva Conventions for its massive slaughter of Palestinians living in Gaza.
The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) commends this move.
Israel, it is alleged, is attempting through its relentless bombardment of life and property to destroy “in whole or a part” the Palestinian community and identity. This is a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.
As of Tuesday, according to various sources, more than 22,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli armed forces or by armed settlers. Of this number, some 9,000 are children and 6,500 are women.
Access to food, fuel, water, electricity and medicines has been severely restricted by the Israeli authorities since the outbreak of hostilities almost three months ago in response to a deadly attack by Hamas on October 7. A significant segment of the population in Gaza faces the grim prospect of starvation.
Hospitals, schools, other public amenities and much of Gaza’s infrastructure have also been destroyed. Indeed, Gaza including its farmlands have been laid to waste. This tiny strip of land – 363 square kilometers – has become almost uninhabitable.
Such colossal destruction has convinced a lot of people that what is happening in Gaza is blatant ethnic cleansing – and a continuation of a process that began with the creation of Israel in 1948.
Collective punishment
Even before this tragedy linked to October 7, 2023, Gaza was under Israeli siege, from land, sea and air. The siege that began in 2006 was Israel’s way of punishing Gazan voters for electing Hamas to rule the territory.
Incidentally, the 2006 general election was certified by observers from the US and the European Union as free, fair and truly democratic. But it was an outcome that Israel did not want.
The Israeli response exposed that regime, which the West regards as the only genuine democracy in the region, for what it really is: bereft of commitment to democratic principles.
The Gaza election not only unmasked Israel. It also revealed the hidden ugliness in the democratic face of the US and the European Union. Because Hamas had won, these two so-called democratic entities decided to impose sanctions on Gaza.
That is not the end of the story. Starting from 2008-09, Gaza has been subjected to a series of assaults by Israel. The present assault is the sixth. Any attempt by the people of Gaza to assert their basic rights is met with fierce suppression.
Gaza has never been allowed to develop its own economic strength. This explains why there is massive poverty in the strip, with youth unemployment exceeding 60%. A total of 2.3 million people are squeezed into this small space, making it one of the most congested places on Earth.
What exacerbates Gaza’s poignancy is the fact that the majority of its inhabitants are descendants of the refugees from the initial Israeli occupation and annexation of Palestine in 1948.
It is because more and more people have come to know the Gaza story that there is increasing sympathy and support for the beleaguered Gazan population.
The 153 nations that demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and in a UN General Assembly vote on December 12 reflect the global concern for the plight of the Palestinian people.
South Africa has been at the forefront of this concern for many decades. The leaders of post-apartheid South Africa were among the most vocal in the Global South to denounce Israeli treatment of the Palestinians.
Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu realized that Israeli discrimination and marginalization of the indigenous Palestinians was akin to apartheid.
It is partly because of their own experience with apartheid that the people and leaders of South Africa display such rapport with the Palestinian cause. Other nations in the Global South should also come forward.