Israel’s Blood Vengeance

Israel's Blood Vengeance

Washington, DC., October 4, 2024 ——

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that the war in Gaza (and now in the occupied West Bank and Lebanon) is a preventive measure to keep Iran from invading Israel. In his address to the US Congress in July, Mr. Netanyahu issued such incitements as “Israel’s war is America’s war”, called student protesters “Iran’s useful idiots”, and asserted that anyone who disagrees with him is antisemitic, specifically, anyone who believes that Israel has a right to defend itself, but rejects the destruction of the Palestinian people as “self-defense”. Last week, during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) the Israeli government continued to sell its message of blood vengeance, defending its destruction of the Palestinian people.

To date, Israel has killed at least 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza – some 17,000 children and 12,000 women. It has also killed 172 journalists, 500 medics, and 290 humanitarian workers – 219 of them UN staff. Hundreds of schools, mosques, and dozens of hospitals have been destroyed – none of which should EVER be touched in war. The IDF is a professional military and knows full well how to prevent killing civilians, targeting refugee camps, hospitals, schools, and humanitarian workers. Yet it is careless as to how many civilians it kills or international humanitarian laws it breaks to do so.

According to the Israeli PM, every time the IDF has bombed a school, apartment building, hospital, humanitarian aid truck, and refugee camp, it has been to “target a high-level Hamas leader.” Under this premise, and by sheer number, Israel should have already killed every member of Hamas in Gaza. But what is of deeper concern is that using this excuse, Israel could kill every man, woman, and child in Gaza while carrying out its blood vengeance… and with the help of its allies on the Security Council… get away with it.

International law is not flexible. It is not pliable in that it is this way for one state or situation, but less so for another. It does not exempt a country from its applicability because of that country’s status, or who it is allied with. To normalize a war of annihilation is to say that Palestinian lives are worthless, and we know better than that. These are human lives, and it is human suffering. When did we become numb to human suffering? When did we decide that 42,000 civilian casualties – 17,000 of them children – are acceptable? Many rightly argue that if we defend civilian lives and international law in Ukraine, then we must also protect civilian lives and international law in Gaza. If we are going to hold Russia accountable for its violations in Ukraine… then we must also hold Israel accountable for its violations in Gaza. Why must the civilian population in Gaza pay with their lives to the last soul, to appease Netanyahu? And will it be the last soul in Gaza to die before the Prime Minister is satisfied?

Accountability

Both Hamas and Israel are accused of having committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is on trial at the International Court of Justice, and its leaders have been indicted by the International Criminal Court. The ICJ and ICC have conducted separate and intensive investigations into each of their actions since 7 October. Independent human rights mechanisms have condemned them both, and millions are in the streets demanding justice. Truly, if Israel was “justified” in its actions, the legal processes would be more in line with their actions and not intending to hold them accountable.

Without question, Hamas should be held accountable for its actions on 7 October. However, nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Indiscriminate bombing campaigns targeting civilians, the deliberate blocking of humanitarian aid, and using starvation as a weapon of war are unlawful and cannot be treated with impunity.
To show favoritism for one side over the other would be to say that one side’s crimes are justified due to the other side’s crimes. That is a false equivalence, and it is not how justice works. Impunity for crimes against humanity and war crimes… even genocide… is not justice… not for the millions who have been impacted by this war and the tens of thousands who have been killed.

In September, Israel launched a military invasion against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, called for the displacement of Palestinians from the northern occupied West Bank, comparing the situation to the Gaza War. Forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. It is a marker in the definition of genocide, as is intentionally targeting a group (Palestinians) and destroying its members. It is absurd that every member of the Security Council has not stood up and said to Israel, “You cannot do that!” and enforced an arms embargo at best, and sanctions at a minimum, against Israel.

Israel has now declared war against Lebanon in an attempt to irradicate Hezbollah, and in the process already displaced a million people in the first few days. How many countries in the Middle East does Netanyahu intend to provoke into war? And let’s be clear, Hamas and Hezbollah are only proxies. The bigger target is Iran. Israel sees Iran as an existential threat that harbors genocidal intentions against Israel. But the only one committing genocide right now is Israel.

During his appearance to the US Congress, PM Netanyahu made “Never Again” a cry for blood vengeance… a rite for retribution. But the true meaning of “Never Again” is preventative. It is doing all we can to prevent genocide and other mass atrocities from happening, ever again.

Ceasefire and Peace

As Israel incites conflict and violence in the region, monitored efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza came to a halt in Cairo. Hamas rejected the new conditions put forth by the Israeli government and insisted on a previous agreement following a deal drafted by US President Biden and incorporating a UN Security Council resolution. The deal stresses the need for a permanent ceasefire and complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The peace talks ended in a stalemate; neither side would agree to a compromise posed by the mediators.

The refusal to negotiate, reach a ceasefire agreement, and stop the brutal killing, is something that has driven Israel’s population to mass protests in the streets of Tel Aviv, (and all around the world) demanding that Netanyahu accept a ceasefire deal and end the war. However, a ceasefire has not been brokered because he is constantly changing the parameters of the deal, which he very well knows will scuttle the talks.

But there is nothing new to what the Prime Minister is doing. He is not interested in bringing the war to an end. Invading the occupied West Bank and Lebanon is not the action of someone who wants peace in the region. Earlier this week, he delivered a message to Iran, that was one part threat, claiming that there was no place in the Middle East that Israel could not reach, and one part an appeal of sorts suggesting that the Persian people and Israelis could live in peace together after the Persians change how Iran is governed. However, his speech was delivered in English, which indicates that his intended audience was someone other than Iran’s population and the people of the Middle East. But perpetuating war is how Netanyahu maintains power; his political survival and freedom are tied to coalition politics and perpetuating war… and he is very good at playing coalition politics, by holding the coalition close and dividing the opposition to get what he wants.

The US needs to call this out and exert its overwhelming leverage to bring a peaceful end to the war in Gaza, as well as this new exertion of conflict. We saw that just threatening to withhold arms forced Israel to open the border crossings and allow aid into Gaza, even though it was temporary. Once Israel received the weapons to continue their assault, they stopped the flow of aid again. But the US has the power to shift the dynamic. The US holds power at the UN, on the Security Council, and at the World Bank. It is easy to say in one breath, “We don’t condone what is happening in Gaza”, and in the next say “We continue to arm our ally Israel”. It is a point of concern that a superpower can protest the killing of innocent civilians, and protest occupation and illegal settlements, all the while sending assault weapons that they know will be used to kill more innocent civilians.

Israel certainly has the right to live peacefully and securely within its internationally recognized borders. But… it also must adhere to and uphold international law. What it does not have a right to, and should not be afforded impunity for is occupation, and annihilation of a people because it does not want them to have Statehood, and it certainly does not get a pass to genocide. Impunity should not be an option… Israel must be held accountable.

There is a sense of impunity, that everyone, everywhere can do what they want and there is no accountability for their actions… and not just in the Middle East. We see this happening in Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Haiti, and elsewhere. And while there are global demonstrations and protests demanding an end to the violence, it seems that the international community is impotent to do anything about it. The right time to do the right thing is right now.

With gratitude… Lara

Photo Credit: Team TGR in Gaza – taken by Jason Nzari
#thinkingoutloud #larakajs #IsraelsBloodVengeance #Conflict #Gaza #IHL #Israel #Genocide #ICC #ICJ #UNGA #ceasefire #peace

Lara Kajs is the founder and executive director of The Genocide Report, a nonprofit NGO in Washington DC. She is the author of Stories from Yemen: A Diary from the Field, and the forthcoming, Assad’s Syria: Displacement, Torture, and Mass Execution. Ms. Kajs frequently speaks about atrocity crimes, forced displacement, and international human rights. Follow and connect with Lara Kajs on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn

2 comments

  1. Wow! Informative, compelling, persuasive…in agreement with your assessments…these year-long, violent, heart-breaking atrocities need to stop. Violence is spreading worldwide like pancreatic cancer–quick and deadly. So sad that humankind is not so kind. A new moral, invasive, surgical operation on the hearts of male leadership is quite necessary to removing cancerous plagues of global violence.

  2. Nearly a year on the ground in Gaza and there is no sign that this war is going to end. While DC mourns the loss of 1,200 – it might consider mourning the 42,000+ killed in Gaza – 17,000 children.

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