Dr A Z Hilali
THE term “ethnic cleansing” was first used in 1992 during the mass assault, expulsion and brutal killing of innocent Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
While ethnic cleansing refers to the forced removal of a population, genocide goes further, aiming at the destruction of a people in whole or in part. In contemporary times, Israel has not only pursued ethnic cleansing but has crossed into genocide against the Palestinians. Through a long-planned ground offensive on Gaza with heavy air strikes, artillery and armored divisions, more than 64,500 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have been killed within a two-year war in the Gaza Strip. The BBC and Al Jazeera estimate that around 762,500 people have been displaced, while essential services in the enclave have completely collapsed. UN experts have warned of widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease, calling Gaza the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis zone.
Gaza’s total population is approximately 2.1 million, of which 90 percent have been displaced. Thousands have been brutally killed and migration continues due to Israel’s unending brutality. The world media indicated that Israel has gained control of around 40 percent of Gaza’s territory and that its military assault will end only after full occupation. Thus, it is evident that Israel has committed deliberate aggression against the Palestinians to expand its territory, as residents of Gaza have been ordered to leave the area. It is important to note that Israel’s imposed war on Gaza is moving toward closure in line with Trump’s 20-point peace plan. However, this will come only after Israel has completed its military operation, destroyed Gaza’s infrastructure and left behind thousands of dead bodies, starving children and women, while pushing the remaining population southward from one “hellscape” to another.
The World Food Organization (WFO) has appealed to the international community for the protection of helpless people and for assistance to recover damaged infrastructure, including health, water, sanitation and communication networks. In fact, Israel’s aggression has destroyed more than 70 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure, including educational institutions, hospitals and residential areas. Sofia Calltorp, Director of UN Women Affairs in Geneva, mentioned that in the present situation, women and girls are facing the impossible choice of starving to death in their shelters or venturing out in search of food and water. The world media has also reported that humanitarian access remains severely restricted, with food, fuel and medicine blocked by Israeli forces. As a result of Israel’s attacks, the area faces an acute crisis of plummeting food consumption, malnutrition and starvation-related deaths.
It has also been proven that Israeli brutal attacks in Gaza have led to numerous cases of human rights violations. Israeli forces have damaged residential areas, hospitals and healthcare facilities. The UN has recorded countless cases of human rights violations, particularly where Israeli forces have used torture against women, children and young people. Reports show that Israeli forces are using cruel and inhuman methods to torment innocent people, which is against the spirit of the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter. According to UN reports, Israel is also using food as a weapon against the people, forcing them to migrate from Gaza. The UN and Asia Watch have provided information that forensic medical examinations of Palestinian dead bodies revealed injuries consistent with inhuman treatment. UN experts noted that there is credible evidence of Israeli forces using inhumane acts against Palestinians with the sole purpose of forcing them to vacate the area. These grievous acts appear neither random nor incidental, but rather orchestrated as part of a “State Policy” to intimidate, instill fear, expel or extract information and confessions.
It is, therefore, confirmed that Israeli forces have committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli security forces have carried out five types of genocidal acts as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide—namely, killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of Palestinians in whole or in part and imposing measures intended to prevent births. Thus, it is also reported that Israeli security forces are involved in acts with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group. Finally, the international community cannot remain silent on the genocidal campaign launched by Israel against the Palestinian people. Each day of inaction costs lives and erodes the credibility of the international community. All countries are under a moral and legal obligation to use every means available to prevent Israel from continuing genocide in Gaza. Let us hope that tomorrow Gaza will be a war-free zone where there will be no more killings and deaths.
—The writer is Ex-Chairman, Department of Political Science, University of Peshawar, KP.
