Do International Laws Only Give Israel The Right To Defend Itself, Not Palestine?

By Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam 25 October 2023 On October 7, Hamas Targeted Innocent Israeli Civilians, Breaking International Law And Has Been Condemned Universally. But Where Is The Condemnation For The Mostrous Acts Israel Has Been Perpetrating Every Day Since. Not Only Has It Bombarded Homes, Killed Over 5,000 Palestinians In The Last Fortnight, But It Has Been Regularly Breaking International Laws For Decases By Seizing And Occupying Palestinian Territory, Constructing Unauthorised Settlements, Maintaining An Apartheid Regime, And Deliberately Attacking And Killing Palestinian Civilians Almost Daily? Israel Claims The Right To Defend Itself After Each Attack, Which In Practice Gives It A License To Bomb Civilians, Schools, Hospitals, And Other Civilian Infrastructure. Despite Numerous Israeli Attacks On Gaza And The West Bank, No Western Leader Or Representative Has Said Even Once: "Palestine Has The Right To Defend Itself". The Question Arises Whether International Laws Can Prevent Israel From Killing And Torturing Palestinians, Despite Repeated Violations Main Points 1. The Israeli-Hamas conflict has resulted in over 5,000 Palestinian and 1,400 Israeli deaths, with over 500 killed in just one targeted Israeli bombing of a Christian hospital in the Gaza Strip. 2. The origins of the Jewish arrival are at the heart of the current persecution in Palestine. 3. Israel is intensifying its attacks on Gaza, causing significant disruptions to residents' access to water, electricity, and other essential resources. 4. Leaders and intellectuals, including Irish Sinn Féin leader Matt Carthy, expressed support for Gaza and disapproval of Israel in a Dáil Éireann debate, highlighting the powerlessness of public and political voices in addressing these issues. 5. The strength of international laws in stopping Israel's violent actions is now in question, with some questioning if they serve solely as a means of condemnation. ----- File Photo ------ In the Israeli-Hamas conflict, countless women, children, and innocent civilians have perished. More than 4,000 innocent Palestinians have reportedly been martyred, while more than 1,400 Israelis have also reportedly died. A major Christian hospital in the Gaza Strip was targeted, and more than 500 people—including sick women, children, their relatives, and medical personnel—were murdered in just one targeted attack by Israel. This bloody conflict did not originate in Palestine for the first time. It has been going on for generations. Israel killed roughly 3000 Palestinians in 1948. A tiny Palestinian village was attacked by ten Israeli bombers in 1956, which resulted in the deaths of roughly 100 individuals. Fifty students were killed in an Israeli attack on a small primary school in Egypt in 1970. 3500 campers were murdered at the Sabra and Shatila camps in 1982. In 1988, dozens of Palestinians were martyred by military action in Al-Aqsa Mosque. How do the American and Canadian governments categorise Palestinians as terrorists in the face of all these facts? Even the UN gives Occupied people right to resist occupation even by armed struggle. Initially, the West claimed that Israelis were subjected to oppression, but as people become more aware of the reality, they realise that the advent of Jews in Palestine is the true origin of this catastrophe, what Palestinians called Naqba in 1948. Jews were displaced after the First World War. Europe and Britain believed that the Palestinians had more land than they needed. The former Palestinian territories were governed by Egypt and Jordan when Britain was given the order by the League of Nations to assume authority. The Arab nations were not prepared to host Jews after the First World War. However, Jews were transported to and settled in the Palestinian areas as a result of international pressure. This was the beginning of settler colonisation of Palestine. This was the settler colonialism of the 20th century by Europeans, not dissimilar to settler colonialisms of America, Canada and Australia several hundred years ago, in all of which millions of indigenous people were brutally massacred. Ghettos have since been occasionally established in Palestinian territories as a result. What would the resolution to this case be, then? Most countries, including the US, believe two separate states should be created. Israel, on the other hand, is unprepared. Israel doesn't even take into account United Nations resolutions. The leadership of Gaza, Hamas, is reported to be tired of being persecuted by Israel and has made the decision to take one final stand. In other words, they attacked Israel in a fashion that made headlines around the world. Israel had incurred considerable losses by the time they had recovered after two days. Israel began a retaliation that has not yet halted. The Israeli Prime Minister seems to want to kill all Palestinians to exact revenge for Israelis who died in the Hamas attack, and it appears that his plan worked. Some are perplexed as to why Hamas felt the need for this attack so urgently. Did it have the strength to withstand Israel's expected harsh response? Hamas lacked both tanks and bombs. What then was the competition's preparation like? Where are the other friendly nations that it might have anticipated would assist it now? They include those who support Israel's recognition and those who are prepared to mend fences with Israel. Since numerous nations, notably the United Arab Emirates, have established diplomatic ties with Israel, it appears that the United States is also being accused of doing so. Hamas then started a war to thwart these initiatives. The fact that Palestinians are fighting among themselves is another issue. There are two factions among the Palestinians. Fatah, which is led by Mahmoud Abbas, often known as the President of Palestine, governs the West Bank. This organisation favours using discussions to further the liberation struggle for Palestine. Hamas, however, wants to use force to resolve this issue. The Hezbollah of Lebanon backs Hamas. The United States has sent its fleet to the area in anticipation of a potential Hezbollah attack to prevent Iran and Hezbollah from joining the conflict. Israel is currently continuing to strike Gaza, and even the inhabitants of Gaza no longer have access to water or electricity. Israel intends to seize power in Gaza and appoint Mahmoud Abbas as ruler. The ironic part is that it was once said that Israel founded Hamas during a time when it was concerned about al-Fatah. Additionally, despite the US President's assertion that Hamas does not speak for Palestinians, Hamas is the party chosen by the residents of Gaza to serve as their elected representative. Since most Muslim nations are in the process of forging relations with Israel, it is clear that none of them are courageous enough to engage in combat with Israel and Hamas. The Muslim countries have only condemned Israel's terrible attack on Gaza. Worldwide protests against Israeli aggression are planned, particularly in America and Europe, although they don't seem to be very effective. The majority of people are powerless to do anything other than pray for the safety and security of the Palestinian people since they have witnessed that despite huge protests against NATO forces' wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya in both the US and Europe, there was little effect on the US or its allies. Not just the general public, but also leaders and intellectuals are powerless to do much more than voice sympathy for Gaza and disapproval of Israel. Several leaders and politicians attended a Dáil Éireann debate on October 18, 2023, and most of what they said was simply words of support for Gaza and disdain for Israel. In his speech, Matt Carthy, the leader of the Irish Sinn Féin, presented some convincing points that helped the world hear the voice of truth: Let us be very clear. Hamas breached international law on 7 October. It targeted innocent civilians in the most callous and inhumane manner and its actions have been rightly condemned by right-thinking people around the world. We should also be very clear, however, that Israel has breached international law, not just every day since 7 October, but virtually every single day for decades. Israel occupies Palestinian land, blockades Palestinian territory, builds and expands illegal settlements, enforces an apartheid system that restricts the movements of Palestinians and denies their fundamental rights, and regularly and systematically attacks and kills Palestinian civilians, all against international law. "The question that must be answered by all of us in political life is this. How does the world respond to flagrant abuses of international law? When it comes to the horrendous war crimes of Hamas, the response was very clear and consistent. World leaders queued up to say "Israel has the right to defend itself". One after another the great and the good, including our Government, repeated the words, "Israel has the right to defend itself". That was repeated in statement after statement and tweet after tweet, despite the full knowledge that those words have become contaminated. The words "Israel has the right to defend itself" mean in practice that Israel takes that right as a licence to bombard civilians and to bomb schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. It has now been taken as a licence to enforce the displacement of 1 million people from one end of an open-air prison to another, to deny food, energy and medical supplies to a besieged civilian population and to deny them water to ensure that children, and the sick, disabled and elderly, will literally die of thirst. "Israel has the right to defend itself" has now become cover for Israel having the right to commit genocide right in front of our eyes. "How come we never hear the words "Palestine has the right to defend itself"? We did not hear that when a humanitarian flotilla bringing essential supplies to Gaza was met with a military assault and the murder by Israel of nine unarmed activists, or when Palestinians marched in peaceful protest against an illegal blockade and were again met with a military assault and the murder of 300 of them, or after the countless bombings of Gaza by Israeli forces. We do not hear that even when Israel targeted and murdered four little Palestinian boys playing football on a beach or when Palestinians were dragged from their homes and forced to watch as those homes were destroyed to allow for new illegal Israeli settlements on lands that are clearly defined in international law as part of Palestine. Not after the countless offensive attacks by Israel against the people of Gaza or the West Bank have, we heard anybody in this House or any Western leader utter the words, "Palestine has the right to defend itself". Why not? "I am not asking the Tánaiste to say those words. In fact, it is just as well he does not because we all know that the people of Palestine cannot defend themselves against one of the most powerful military forces in the world that is backed up by even more powerful military forces. The truth is the people of Palestine, just like the innocent people of Israel, do not need the international community to tell them that their leaders have the right to inflict more bombings, pain and suffering. They need the international community to say stop, to say release the hostages, and to say stop the bombings, siege and slaughter. They need the international community to tell Israel to stop the blockade, the apartheid, the annexation and the genocide. They need countries to lead the way. "Ireland should be one of those countries that leads the way. We know colonialism, oppression and conflict but we also know conflict resolution, peacebuilding and nation-building. Due to what we know, and what our history has taught us, our call must be clear: immediate, full and unequivocal ceasefires and a decisive international intervention that leads to negotiations, a lasting and just peace settlement and, at long last, to a free, sovereign and independent Palestine." [https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2023-10-18/19/] Israel consistently violates all international laws, as this speech demonstrates. However, it is now questionable whether international laws still possess the force and strength necessary to stop Israel from acting violently and monstrously, or if they will only serve to express condemnation of Hamas. ----- A regular Columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is an Alim and Fazil (Classical Islamic scholar), with a Sufi-Sunni background and English-Arabic-Urdu Translator. He has also done B. A (Hons.) in Arabic, M.A. in Arabic and M.A. in English from JMI, New Delhi. He is interested in Islamic Sciences; Theology, Jurisprudence, Tafsir, Hadith and Islamic mysticism (Tasawwuf). URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/international-laws-israel-right-palestine/d/130971 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism