Let’s not normalize genocide

February 21, 2024

JAKARTA – The international community seems to be resigned to the fact that there is absolutely nothing they can do to stop Israel’s genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

It is now almost five months since Israel began pounding and destroying Gaza, with the death toll fast approaching 30,000. None of the United Nations bodies can stop Israel even as it now plans to assault Rafah in Gaza, where 1.4 million people live, including many who have been displaced multiple times since the war started.

The Palestinians in Gaza, and in the occupied West Bank – where Jewish settlers, with the help of Israeli soldiers, have been killing and evicting Palestinians – are practically alone in this world.

The rest of the world is left to helplessly watch the atrocities happening before their eyes through television and videos streaming on the internet. The bombings and destruction, the deaths and the injuries and the crying of exasperated children and women have become daily staples on television and online since October. Genocide will soon become normalized if it has not already.

The UN is rapidly losing its credibility and soon its influence to ensure peace and stability around the world, although not for lack of trying. The Security Council has rejected almost all resolutions against Israel pertaining to the conflict in Gaza because of the United States exercising its veto rights.

The General Assembly has done slightly better, coming up with several resolutions denouncing Israel and demanding a cease-fire. The International Court of Justice ICJ) in its provisional ruling last month referred to the ongoing Israel operation in Gaza as leading toward a genocide.

None of this has made any