Guest Post: Israel Palestine Conflict

This is a guest post representing the opinions of its author.

In recent weeks, the Israel Gaza conflict has been brought back to the forefront of the news cycle. This has come after seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen were killed by an IDF attack. Although, as Layla Moran, Britain’s only Palestinian MP, says ‘it shouldn’t have taken three British white men to be killed for this to come to the fore’, it is clear that this event has been a turning point in public opinion.

We have seen horrors on social media, and in the news. Children with disfigured faces, premature babies left to decompose in nurseries and countless individuals suffering from severe injuries who will live out the rest of their lives as amputees, yet no ceasefire! From bombing hospitals to attacking aid workers and civilians waiting for food distribution after weeks of starvation, how much more atrocious do the Israeli attacks on Gaza need to be to classify them as terrorist acts? 

With the American and the UK governments supplying Israel with arms, even after they have defied the ICJ ruling to prevent genocide, I feel little hope that such authorities will hold Israel accountable for their war crimes. However, I believe, it is the masses who have the power and moral obligation to put pressure on their governments to stop this genocide because it is their tax money that is used to fund these atrocious activities. The question to ask ourselves is whether our conscience can forgive us for being silent while we know there are reasonable grounds to believe a genocide is happening? 

Even educational institutions can be considered complicit in this humanitarian catastrophe through their connections to  ammunition companies who are the providers of weapons used in Gaza. For example, BAE Systems has made record profits, born partially from this conflict, and is affiliated with the University of Birmingham, describing UoB as a ‘key partner in academic innovation.’ The university’s silence on this matter has made me view its equality, diversity and inclusion campaigns as inefficient and shallow. I find myself in utter shock and disbelief upon realising how biased and selective the western activism is. 

Classifying Israeli war crimes as self-defence is a prime example of this. The UN has said there are ‘credible’ claims that Palestinian women and girls have been sexually assaulted whilst held in Israeli detention. Health workers have been killed, and doctors report that children have been targeted by snipers. Targets of bombs have included refugee camps, schools and hospitals, using white phosphorous on civilians. Israel has been hindering aid access to millions of people. How can this be called self-defence? These are crimes against humanity which shall never be forgiven nor forgotten, only an urgent call for a ceasefire can save the world from further harm.