It would not be wrong to see Israel-Palestine conflict as Israel’s illegal occupation in Palestine. Israel has been breaching international law by opting to extend its occupation by building settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. This occupation has left Palestinians with no civic horizon. The systematic oppression of one racial-national-ethnic group over another sustains the persistent Israeli occupation, which has now become an apartheid practice. It involves the major human rights violations and crimes against humanity apart from the ethno-religious and national element. It is not only about the specific ethnic group but, it is about humanity now.
During the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, Israel captured East Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa. In 1980, it annexed the entire city and this move has never been acknowledged by the international community. The violence against Palestinian Muslims has escalated in the past few months. Since 2014, the number of Palestinians killed in disputes with Israelis over the occupation reached an all-time high last year. In fact, the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli terrorism in 2021 was the highest. Similarly, the attacks on Mosque Al-Aqsa continued in the holy month of Ramadan even this year. The protests took place in many countries around the world against the Israel’s violations and it resulted in the temporary ceasefire. The violence continued but the media coverage of the Israel’s violations did stop. Media plays a very important role in this conflict. Media can help de-escalating the conflict by doing conflict sensitive reporting but perhaps it has failed to do so in terms of this conflict.
‘’Ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, and discrimination against Palestinians is essential to stopping the decades-long conflict between the two sides.’’ A new UN independent human rights body recently said. These words are not enough but there is a need of taking action which United Nation has not taken any yet. There is no humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza even. The israel-Palestine conflict leaves a big question mark on the credibility of the institutions like U.N. It is evident that Israel has no intention of ending the occupation. The world needs to give Palestinians a right of self-determination. To deter Israeli aggression and safeguard the life of Palestinian civilians, an international protection structure must be formed. There must be accountability for Israel’s violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
Research Associate, Pakistan House