The Israeli government’s campaign against the people of Palestine -- being waged under the thin guise of protecting national interests -- has all but mutated into a humanitarian crisis. With Gaza’s health care infrastructure now crippled due to Israel’s ceaseless targeting of hospitals and clinics, there is no longer room for pretense.
The Israeli government has to be held accountable for its human rights violations.
To that end, we must applaud the five nations who have finally decided to stand up for what is right, as South Africa, Djibouti, Comoros, Bolivia, and our own Bangladesh have jointly requested the International Criminal Court to investigate the situation in the Palestinian territories, reviving discussions of a close to decade-old investigation which saw Israel being charged for committing war crimes in Palestine.
As more and more nations finally wake up to the horrors that Palestinians are being subjected to in Gaza by the Israeli government, it is high time that institutions such as the International Criminal Court take this matter with the utmost importance. Indeed, Israel’s own allies should take this opportunity to reevaluate their relationship with an overbearing government that is clearly trying to mask its own failings by attempting to eradicate Palestinians, and join the global call for a ceasefire. Nations such as the United States must understand that blind faith towards any regime does not make for good diplomacy.
Four years ago, history was made when Gambia decided to file a lawsuit at the highest court of the United Nations accusing Myanmar of genocide, especially at a time when so many powerful nations of the world were still unable to take decisive action against Myanmar’s human rights abuses of their own Rohingya community. While international action regarding the Rohingya crisis has been slow to a trickle, the world is now fully aware of Myanmar’s atrocities all thanks to the smallest country in continental Africa.
The Israeli government’s day of reckoning now also approaches.
