António Guterres: European Commission (Christophe Licoppe)
So many innocent lives have been lost without justification in Israel’s war on Gaza. More than 42 000 Palestinians are dead, of which most are women and children — with thousands upon thousands displaced and homeless. As disturbing are reports that more than 1 500 people in Lebanon have been killed by the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which have also attacked United Nations peacekeeping troops and their positions. And now the United States is sending an advanced anti-missile defence system with 100 US troops to Israel, as the latter prepares for a retaliatory strike against Iran. An escalation of the war is imminent.
There is no sensible justification for such atrocities. The world can no longer stand by and watch men such as Netanyahu do whatever they so wish, in the name of self-defence — yet refuse to adhere to rules of war and the UN resolutions. None of what we have seen can be a justification for the crimes of Hamas on 7 October 2023.
We should also remember that Israel’s long history of occupation and oppression of innocent Palestinians preceded this attack.
Then Israel attacked the Iranian consulate in Syria on 1 April this year. This act of provocation on the part of Israel, which is a war crime under the Geneva Convention, killed Iranian diplomats and others who worked at that consulate in Damascus. Arguably, Israel has long been looking for an excuse to escalate a full-out war in the region; Hamas handed Israel its long-awaited wish. The Global South, the International court of Justice, and most of the whole world sees Netanyahu and his administration as the aggressor. Because it is a preview to many murders and killings of innocent people by the Israeli government for many years.
And in the midst of all this, there is a man who has stood tall for justice, for human rights, for international law, for peace. That man is regarded as an enemy by the Israeli government under Netanyahu. That man is no other than the UN secretary general. The foreign minister of Israel has now barred António Guterres from entering the country, declaring him “persona non grata.”
The explanation given by Israel is that the UN secretary general had not condemned Iran, after it fired missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted. But Israel got it wrong. Guterres reacted to the attack, saying: “I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation.” And he has previously said it was time to stop the “deadly cycle of tit-for-tat violence” in the Middle East.
It appears that Israel wants to play the victim card – when most of the world now sees the actions of Israel after 7 October 2023 as genocide in Gaza, with the exception of countries such as the US.
The truth is that the atrocities against the Palestinian people by Israel did not begin after the Hamas attack. The people of Palestine have been living under a brutal occupation for decades, long before Hamas came into existence in 1987. It is a grave mistake and the highest level of dishonesty to justify the war on Gaza through the lens of 7 October 2023. This is the narrative that the politicians and the media of the West are using to justify their indirect involvement in this war as they continue to supply arms to Israel.
The gruesome attack by Hamas on that day, in which about 1,200 Israelis and other civilians were killed and hostages taken, should be understood as a brutal and horrific response to the occupation and sufferings that Israel has inflicted upon millions of Palestinians for decades. Israel has occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza for more than 50 years. Since 1967, “Israel’s ruthless policies of land confiscation, illegal settlement and dispossession, coupled with rampant discrimination, have inflicted immense suffering on Palestinians, depriving them of their basic rights”, according to Amnesty International. Before that there was the Nakba of 1948, a full-scale war after the British withdrew and the new Israeli military forces attacked, resulting in more than half of the Palestinian population being permanently displaced. “the permanent displacement of more than half of the Palestinian population”. In December 1948, “the UN General Assembly called for refugee return, property restitution and compensation. However, 75 years later, despite countless UN resolutions, the rights of the Palestinians continue to be denied”, according to the UN.
It is understandable that any people living under this kind of oppression and brutality, will one day rise up in retaliation against their oppressors. Former British prime minister foreign secretary David Cameron said in 2010 that “Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp” after Israel attacked the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The people of Gaza live in an open-air prison and the prison guards are the Israelis. Therefore, the terror attack on Israel one year ago on that dreadful day must be understood in context, rather than just dismissing it as merely hatred for Israel by Palestinians or Hamas. It was the case of prisoners trying to break out of their concentration camp.
Guterres is a man of great courage, the kind we need in this day and age. It is regrettable that he seems to be the lonely voice in the wilderness; that all governments have turned a blind eye to war crimes committed by Israel since last October. One year later, the UN secretary general said, “The conflict in the Middle East is getting worse by the hour — and our warnings about the horrific impacts of escalation keep coming to pass … That is why we cannot and will not give up on our calls for an immediate ceasefire both in Gaza and Lebanon, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages, and immediate lifesaving aid to all those who desperately need it.”
This is the only “crime” — in Israel’s eyes — the man has committed.
Now he has more support. On Friday, the UN independent inquiry said third countries assisting Israel in its unlawful occupation of Palestinian territories are complicit despite war crimes and “possible” genocide being committed. This includes financial, military and political aid or support.
“Israel’s internationally wrongful acts give rise to state responsibility, not only for Israel, but for all states,” said Navi Pillay, chair of the UN Human Rights Council and the head of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The world should immediately use the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly to lead the charge of ending this war. All the victims of this war on all sides need peace, justice and the basic necessities of life.
Aaron Ng’ambi is a geopolitical analyst and newspaper columnist, leadership instructor and a social entrepreneur.