We have reached a turning point in the way political leaders in the West interact with the military actions that Israel is waging against the Palestinians in Gaza. This situation is infuriating for two reasons: first, it took so long for an official response to emerge from Western capitals, and second, once the magnitude of the tragedy became clear, Western reactions were completely ineffective.
The nightmare in Gaza has been ongoing for 22 months, during which time Israel's brutal use of violence and its punishment of innocent Palestinians has been relentless. From the beginning, Israel's intent to commit genocide was evident when it demolished hospitals, universities, and entire neighborhoods using 2,000-pound bombs, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their neighborhoods and homes, ordering the cutting off of electricity and water, and preventing the entry of food and medical supplies. All of this was known in 2023, yet no action was taken.
At that time, when we called for a ceasefire, the U.S. Secretary of State told me that a ceasefire would be "unfortunate" and that the United States would not support such a move. By mid-2024, when the UN Security Council voted twice on a ceasefire resolution, the United States was the only country to oppose it. The third attempt, put forward by the United States, was approved but was never implemented. This entire step was merely public relations propaganda. In summary, the world knew that this war against the people of Gaza needed to end, yet, aside from voting on futile resolutions at the United Nations, the world did nothing... So what has changed now?
The images of destruction and eyewitness testimonies that were familiar to those following the news on social media are now being presented in mainstream media. As a result, it has become difficult for Israeli propagandists to convince the public that the scale of destruction is exaggerated or that stories of human suffering are fabricated. In most European countries, the percentage of supporters of Israel's actions in Gaza has dropped to less than a third.
Despite Israeli propaganda efforts, the reason for this sharp decline in support for Israel is not the large presence of Muslim immigrants in Western Europe. What has changed is that European and American audiences now know what Israel is doing in Gaza and are horrified by it. They reject the flimsy excuses offered by their leaders, who had hoped they would not have to do more than cast an occasional vote at the United Nations or express concerns or weak condemnations of some "isolated" Israeli actions. As pressure mounts, with images of starving Palestinian children and aerial photos of widespread destruction dominating coverage of the war on Gaza, Western leaders are struggling to find a way to respond. The troubling aspect is that their motives seem closer to a desire to appear as if they are acting rather than a genuine desire to effect real change. For example, the British threat to recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire is merely a symbolic gesture. The German threat to review cultural and trade relations is equally superficial. Continuing to call for "resuming negotiations leading to a two-state solution," while everyone knows that Israel does not care about this solution and feels no pressure to accept it, is a limited Western display of efficacy.
Even if the entire United Nations (except for the United States, of course) recognizes a Palestinian state, nothing will change on the ground, except perhaps to provoke the anger of Israelis and push them to take harsher actions in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. At this stage, what is required to end the genocide, save lives, restore respect for international law, and bring some rationality back to the region is for Western countries to take concrete steps to punish Israel and force it to change its policies.
These steps should include: ending the aggression against Gaza, a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, allowing the entry of international peacekeeping forces and humanitarian aid, and starting reconstruction efforts. While the above steps align with the Arab peace plan, a group of 30 countries met in Colombia and went further, endorsing a comprehensive package of proposals aimed at ending "the era of impunity... and enforcing international law," with 13 of the participants agreeing to take measures banning the transfer of arms and other forms of support to Israel. The group called itself the "Hague Group" and pledged to take concrete actions "to ensure justice for the victims of crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory.
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Western measures to end the war in Israel!