by Adiel Ismail
Israel’s despicable actions for the past 11 months in Gaza are unfathomable, yet they have been seen in real-time by hundreds of millions of people around the world. Sadly, more than 40 000 Palestinians died, with no one intervening.
In 1982, my wife visited Jerusalem and was requested by Palestinians to bring their suffering to the attention of the people of South Africa. But most people turned a blind eye to their plight, allowing the suffering to continue for over seven decades!
Notably, several American activists have stood up for the Palestinians and tragically paid with their lives in the process.
These include 23-year-old Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Rafah, Gaza, as she tried to prevent Palestinian homes from being bulldozed.
In 2009, Tristan Anderson suffered severe brain damage and physical disabilities when an Israeli soldier shot him in the head with a tear gas canister during a demonstration in the West Bank.
Furkan Do an, a 19-year-old Turkish-American student, was killed in 2010 by Israeli forces aboard the MV Marvi Mamara, which was part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla that attempted to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian aid.
The Israel Defense Forces have potentially violated several international laws, which include:
– Banned weapons such as white phosphorus or other munitions in densely populated areas.
– The forcible displacement of large numbers of civilians in Gaza, either through direct military action or by demolishing homes and essential infrastructure forcing Gazans to abandon their homes.
– Obstructing or restricting humanitarian aid deliveries and access to medical care in Gaza.
– Attacking medical facilities, ambulances, and health-care workers, which resulted in casualties and little medical care for the wounded.
– Indiscriminately attacking civilian areas which resulted in significant civilian casualties.
– Destruction of cultural sites and religious places in Gaza.
– Significant environmental damage which negatively impacted water supplies and agricultural land in Gaza.
But the support for Palestinians has spread like wildfire across the globe after witnessing the killing of thousands of innocent children on social media while the support for Israel on the global scene appears to be diminishing.
In conclusion, will the current winds of change usher in an end to the lawlessness witnessed in Gaza?
You be the judge.
* Adiel Ismail, Mountview.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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