And what does it mean to recognize a Palestinian state, on paper, while leaving intact the structures of occupation, apartheid,
and the genocidal regime that sustains them? — Al-Shabaka Roundtable: Statehood Without Liberation: Europe’s Response to Genocide
Amidst an ongoing genocide, recognizing a Palestinian state is nothing but a distraction from many nations’ actions: Major Western states continue to arm the Israeli regime or continue to send crucial material such as energy supplies. Some even help disguise Israel’s genocide as “self-defense.” Western states largely ignore or undermine their responsibility under international law. They continue their decades-long collusion with Israel to ensure that a truly independent Palestine can never exist.
What is needed more than anything is to stop the endless attacks on Palestinians, to get Israel out of Gaza and put a halt to the current ground invasion permanently, and to let food, supplies for shelter and rebuilding, and medical aid in though trusted channels such as UNRWA. That doctors in Gaza continue to try and function in destroyed hospitals with little to no equipment and needed medical supplies, while aid sits in trucks just beyond the border with Gaza is ludicrous.
The UN Report, which is based on both the compilation of data and on detailed legal analysis, concludes that “the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have the genocidal intent to destroy in whole or in part, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” The Israeli regime gave its usual disparaging response, claiming the three experts on the commission served as “Hamas proxies” and relied “entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others” that had “already been thoroughly debunked.” But the images that continue to come out of Gaza and the West Bank, despite the Israeli army’s relentless targeting of journalists, tell a different story
In the meantime, a final determination of South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is some years off. However, this recent UN report reminds us that even in the absence of an express order by the ICJ, all states have a duty to act in the face of this genocide. As attacks have begun on the Global Sumud Flotilla, as the famine in Gaza deepens, and Israeli forces and settlers continue murdering Palestinians, it is paramount to state: Israel is not defending itself. It is attempting to destroy the Palestinian people and their history and ties to the land.
As a coalition of Jewish organizations from 20 different countries, we call on our respective governments to:
· Immediately impose a two-way arms embargo and halt all trade agreements with Israel
· Uphold international law, support the BDS movement, and sanction the Israeli regime
· Hold Israel responsible for its war crimes and crimes against humanity they have committed
against Palestinian people in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
· Finally, we demand that our governments do everything they can to protect Palestinian lives,
their lands, and their history.