Western support of Israeli criminality is insufferable, but Arab passivism is a tragedy
The world has once again woken up to the criminality of the Israeli government, as the IDF carries out one of the most aggressive bombardments of Gaza, killing over 10,000 civilians, 70% of whom are children. This act of violence and injustice is not new to the Palestinian people, but its scale has trumped any conflict that has come before, making it the deadliest episode of violence in Israeli-Gaza war history. Any horrors that were carried out by Hamas on October 7th have been dwarfed by Israel’s reaction, which can only be labeled as war crimes.
It was never a surprise that the United States alongside many other Western leaders threw their full support behind Israel, repeating the robotic phrase ‘Israel has a right to defend itself’. It's particularly unsurprising considering the character of the current US administration. Joe Biden has long been considered a friend and supporter of Israel, infamously declaring ‘if Israel did not exist the United States would have to invent an Israel to protect its interests in the region’. The greatest misconception of the international community is that the United States is a neutral actor in this conflict, rather than the pillar behind the existence of the State of Israel and its biggest advocate on the international stage.
Nevertheless, what this episode of violence has exposed is the sheer level of hypocrisy of Western governments, particularly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Whereas Western leaders were more than willing to condemn Putin’s actions with the most robust language and deem them war crimes, when Israel bombed schools and hospitals, it was considered “inappropriate for politicians to comment on legal matters”, and “every war has civilian deaths”. When Putin targeted civilian infrastructure cutting off water, electricity, and food to Ukrainian cities, the President of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen called them “acts of pure terror”. Yet when Israel deliberately blockaded Gaza from these basic necessities, a blockade that resulted in the deaths of 39 babies on ICU beds, she was completely silent.
Defenders of the state of Israel employ two main ploys to suppress criticism of the Israeli government and their policies.
1) ‘Israel has a right to defend itself’
2) ‘Antisemitism’
Firstly, it is indeed the case that every nation under international law has a right to defend themselves, highlighted by Article 51 of the UN Charter. Yet what is missed from this is that this right is void to occupying nations. In this case, Israel under international law is occupying land reserved for the Palestinian people, thus making their right to self-defense baseless. It is very important to emphasize that this conflict did not begin on the 7th of October. It began 75 years ago with the unjust creation of a state on land careless of the indigenous people, resulting in almost six decades of oppression, injustice, and the creation of an apartheid state. This in no way justifies the actions of Hamas, but to twist the narrative and paint Israel as the victims is extremely disingenuous.
Secondly, to question the state of Israel is perfectly reasonable considering the historic injustice of its creation. The 1917 Balfour declaration that promised a ‘Jewish homeland’ not once took into account the Arab indigenous people, rendering them stateless. Israel is a colonial settler state, the last genuine remnant of 19th-century European colonialism, serving a strategic interest for the United States in the Middle East. To somehow equate antisemitism with the historic nature of the establishment of a state and its current policies is a completely and grotesquely distorted point of view.
Nonetheless, it is without a doubt that the United States and Western powers will continue to showcase their support of Israeli criminality and expose their hypocrisy. What is most frustrating, however, is the response, or thereby lack of one, by the Arab world.
I am not one quick to jump into criticism of Arab leaders in the positions they take, especially in regard to the Israel-Palestine issue. There is no doubt that there are strategic and diplomatic interests to juggle and difficult decisions to make when deciding what battles to face. Taking the approach of Iran’s complete anti-Westernism stance is by no means an intelligent strategic move, leaving them in complete economic and political isolation. The Arab world knows what war with Israel has done to their domestic affairs. Egypt’s armies were decimated after the Arab-Israeli wars. Lebanon was ensured by civil war. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by his nephew most likely under the influence of the CIA. Iraq was invaded by the US. And now more than ever, with the growth and investment of Israel’s military and nuclear capabilities, the Arabs couldn’t risk an all-out war.
But in reality, that is not what the world is asking for. The world is asking for Arab leaders to take a stand. To finally stand up to Israel and its crimes against humanity and say enough is enough, ‘Israel can no longer continue to oppress the Palestinian people and cause havoc in their backyard. This comes not with mere words but genuine action and credible solutions. It means diplomatic, economic, and political pressure. The fact that the Abraham Accords was signed in 2020 and the road to normalisation began without any concessions on the Palestinian issue is the greatest betrayal of the Arab people. The continued occupation of Palestinian land by Israel is the most profound symbolism of the tragedy of the Arab world. A tragedy of weak leadership and political instability. Despite the frustrating reality of Palestinian leadership, it is imperative that Arab leaders stand by the Palestinian people who stand on the front lines against neo-colonialism and the evil of Western strategic interests.
