Let's ensure Gaza ceasefire brings reckoning for Israel's crimes

I still remember October 8, 2023 like it happened yesterday. Following Hamas’ attack which took place the day before – the largest in history to have been carried out by Palestinians against the occupation – Israel’s War Minister declared that Israel was fighting "human animals" and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to change the Middle East forever.

Many of us knew the retaliation was going to considerable.

As Palestinians, we are all too aware that every Israeli casualty means heavy collective punishment as revenge.

When I first discovered the exact number of Israeli casualties and hostages taken, I knew that something unprecedented would follow. I even told my fiancée that I predict a long and brutal war would follow. At the time I feared that the Israeli onslaught would last months. In my mind, the killing of 20,000 Palestinians would be a nightmare.

My fiancée told me I was being overly pessimistic. Before that day had even ended, she found out that Israel had bombed her family home in Gaza, and one of her brothers was killed. The retribution had already begun and there was so much more to come.

Beyond what we could imagine

They cut off food, water and oil from Gaza almost overnight. The cruellest chapter of collective punishment and genocide was unleashed while Western powers all pledged unwavering support for Israel.

Two years on, after over 67,000 killed (with more detailed estimations placing the number closer to half a million), and over 165,000 injured, this support for Israel continues still.

Of course we expected draconian measures from Israel, an occupying state that is built on the rubble of our cities and as a result of the ethnic cleansing of our Palestinian ancestors in 1948. But nobody imagined what has ravaged Gaza over the course of the last 24 months.

The genocide has indeed forever changed the region. Israel has destroyed most of the Gaza Strip, has launched attacks on Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon, struck Qatar, and the Israeli army has advanced into Syria.

Meanwhile, away from Western media’s attention, it is ethnically cleansing parts of the West Bank by killing thousands more Palestinians, while massively increasing illegal settlements.

But the past two years have also pushed the dial on something else. It has made clear that Israel’s military operation in Gaza was not an act of defence. It was a well-prepared plan designed to destroy everything and everyone that can give any means of endurance to the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The true face of Zionism

It was this bloodthirsty quest that consumed Israel's leaders and plunged them into the depths of depravity in the eyes of the world.

When the Israeli army showed themselves enjoying running over dead Palestinians bodies with their tanks, and gleefully shared videos of themselves wearing Palestinian women's lingerie, or mocking dead children by playing with their toys, little did they know that this would help destroy Israel's ‘global’ image.

Israel’s genocide has awakened the world to the ugly face of Zionism. Many finally understand that behind the pretence of self-defence, there is a different reality. False claims of antisemitism can no longer be weaponised, nor can distorted biblical claims to our land be made.

Certainly, however Israel attempts to shape media narratives, and the claims that it makes on international stages, it cannot hide its crimes.

What has been filmed and recorded of Israel’s war on Palestinians will forever be archived. The world has been an audience to the livestreamed killing, and that is something that cannot be erased for the minds of the masses.

We will never forget the thousands of dead babies we saw, the emaciated bodies, the mutilated women, the amputated children, the journalists burnt alive, the abducted doctors, the nurses killed by snipers, or the images of dogs eating corpses on the street.

We will never forget them, or forgive those who laughed as they bombed our homes, those who sneered at our trauma, and all those who aided and abetted this.

No, the movement that has grown globally won’t allow or accept it.

 

 

 

 

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People who otherwise lived a comfortable life have risked careers, freedoms, and even their lives to support Palestinians.

We recently witnessed the brave Global Sumud Flotilla made up of 500 activists, journalists and politicians onboard 40 vessels, attempt to break the immoral blockade. They then faced the brunt of Israel’s repression after they were all detained, and some returnees have also recounted the horrific treatment they received.

The mobilisations within student solidarity movements worldwide has also been hard to ignore. It seems that as Israel destroyed all of Gaza’s universities and schools, students in the West made sure their campuses and institutions would be used to condemn and oppose the crimes.

The genocide that has defined this moment has forced a new generation of truth-seekers who cannot be swayed by propaganda. And they have been so crucial to international solidarity, that they’ve even gotten under the skin of the US president.

Similarly, as Israel has completely destroyed Gaza's health system through systematically targeting hospitals and medical facilities, waves upon waves of brave medics have volunteered to provide healthcare in the Strip. The testimonies they have given upon their return have been a powerful contrast to whitewashed mainstream media.

All this considered, no wonder tech firms and their billionaire owners are scrambling to suppress this popular opinion.

Israel’s barbarism in Gaza even forced several Western countries to recognise the state of Palestine. And while I agree that this will not alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians, or end the current genocide or settlement expansions in the West Bank, it does indicate that Israel has crossed too many lines for Western powers not to do something that is at least symbolic.

Freedom and justice now

Let’s be clear, when Israel launched its genocidal campaign, it wanted to completely destroy the Palestinian people - by killing more of them than ever before and expelling the survivors. For that objective they have destroyed entire cities and wiped out thousands of families, mine included. Nevertheless, even now, following catastrophic levels of killing, I believe that Israel’s crimes could actually lead to the end of their occupation.

Despite the latest announcement about a ceasefire deal, Israel’s campaign of terror has not yet ended. And even once the bombardment stops, Palestinians will be faced with Trump’s plan for Gaza, which promises nothing but more neo-colonialism, capitalist exploitation, and an entrenched Israeli, British, and American occupation of Palestine.

The so-called ‘peace plan’ doesn’t promise freedom, justice and accountability for Palestinians.

No matter what happens in the coming days, weeks and months, following the ceasefire announcement, one thing is certain: People around the world have woken up to Israel's crimes and the demand for nothing less than freedom for Palestinians will not be weakened.

Ahmed Alnaouq is the co-founder and director of We Are Not Numbers. He has a Master’s degree in international journalism from Leeds University. He hosts a podcast at Palestine Deep Dive.

Follow him on Twitter: @AlnaouqA

Have questions or comments? Email us at: editorial-english@alaraby.co.uk.

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.