By Ranjan Solomon
Israel persists with murderous actions against civilian populations in areas that do not belong to Israel. Their occupation of these lands is multiplying with a severity that surpasses imagination. Israeli soldiers and settlers team up, many a time, to inflict unspeakable cruelties on the Palestinians. A major dimension of this tragedy is the acquiescence of the international community. While European governments, USA and Canada are co-opted in different ways by Israel, and western guilt prompts indifference to the Palestinian plight, it is important that civil society, religious and Lay Movements, social movements, trade unions, and student unions fuse to create powerful and visible protests against the continuance of Israel’s savage barbarities- until it gives up its colonial-apartheid policies. These movements must demand the dismantling of settlements and the eviction of settlers from spaces that they absolutely have no rights over. The silence of the international community is tantamount to complicity in accepting the Israeli Government’s systematic violation of international law. UN experts attest to this. They claim: “Israel’s continuous annexation of portions of the occupied Palestinian territory, now focusing on large swathes of the West Bank after unlawfully annexing east Jerusalem, suggests that a concrete effort may be under way to annex the entire occupied Palestinian territory in violation of international law.” UN experts have ceaselessly urged the international community to firmly oppose Israel’s plans for annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank. Palestinian and Israeli human rights defenders, who peacefully bring public attention to these violations, keep being slandered, criminalized or labeled as terrorists.
With the right winger-extremist, Bezalel Smotrich, a mere civilian official who functions as de facto governor of the occupied West Bank, it is visibly clear that he will solidify Israel’s annexation of occupied territory. Annexation or acquisition of territory by use of force or threat is unacceptable. In just the last five decades, Israel has confiscated or endorsed confiscation of Palestinian lands and resources, resulting in over 270 colonies housing 750,000 Israeli settlers.
The Palestinians know deep within themselves that the ultimate victory is theirs. The ‘Days of Palestine’ reports how the Palestinian Youth Movement in Jerusalem will organize a day of anger across the occupied city, with devotees and defenders standing firm against what is called the “Anniversary of the Temple’s Destruction. They have made clear that Israel’s attempts to take control of Jerusalem will only result in hard resistance.
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Ranjan Solomon
28 July 2023