Hana JALLOUL MURO

S&D Member of the EU Parliament, Secretary for International Policy and Development Cooperation of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Vice-President of the Socialist International

One year after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and the beginning of the ensuing Israeli military offensive in Gaza, over 41,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis are dead. For decades, the Palestinians’ tragedy has been left to fester, with little meaningful international action to end their suffering and bring about a just solution.

It has now been 365 days since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and the beginning of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government’s terrible military offensive in Gaza. The number of people killed since then has continued to rise: 1,200 Israelis were murdered on 7 October, and nearly 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since that day, according to data provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). A recent article in The Lancet estimates that the number of deaths related to the conflict (due to malnutrition or lack of healthcare) reached 186,000 by June 2024.

Although the humanitarian tragedy of this year of war is chilling, with the highest daily death toll of the 21st century, there is one crucial point to highlight: the Palestinian people have been trapped and abandoned in this spiral of violence since 1948. That was the year the state of Israel was created, and when the Nakba (Arabic for ‘catastrophe’) occurred, which saw 15,000 Palestinians killed and 750,000 expelled from their homes. In 1967, Israel occupied Gaza and the West Bank, forcing another 300,000 Palestinians to leave their homes. Since October 2023, the Israeli government has caused the forced displacement of almost two million people in Gaza, without providing safe passage, a final destination or basic humanitarian needs.

Faced with this situation, the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed in July what we have known for decades: the Israeli government is violating international law in various ways through the occupation and colonisation of, and the subsequent apartheid regime in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. This apartheid is manifested through institutional discrimination. It is recognised and prohibited by several international treaties, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and various United Nations resolutions. The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid of 1973 and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of 1998 also consider apartheid a crime against humanity.

In the West Bank, this has been carried out through the confiscation of more than a third of the land, the demolition of homes, the expansion of illegal settlements, and movement restrictions within the territory, which materialised in the form of more than 645 checkpoints. Additionally, there is a two-tier legal system that privileges Israelis and suspends basic civil rights for millions of Palestinians. This situation has worsened in the past year, with more attacks, murderers and military incursions by the Israeli army. Just a few days ago, Israel bombed the West Bank, killing 18 people, adding to the more than 600 killed since October 2023, according to OCHA and the Office of the United Nations High Commissions for Human Rights (OHCHR). Gaza has been under an air, sea and land blockade for over 16 years, imposed by Israel since 2005, when then-Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon dismantled settlements and withdrew soldiers from the strip. A year later, Hamas won the elections. Since then, there have been three terrible conflicts in 2014, 2021 and 2023. 

An immediate ceasefire and the end of hostilities is necessary. It is urgent to release the hostages and return the deceased to their families. Undoubtedly, Israel has the right to live in peace and security. Jews have been persecuted for centuries and continue to suffer hatred in many parts of the world. But that does not mean we should refrain from denouncing the fact that what the Israeli government has been committing in Palestine for years is illegal and dangerous. It sets a precedent, delegitimising international law. And this does not mean, as Netanyahu insists, that it is a symptom of anti-Semitism.

It is important to highlight that Arabs, including Palestinians, are also a Semitic people. The term ‘Semite’ refers to a group of languages and peoples that includes both Jews and Arabs, which underscores the fallacy of accusing those who criticise the Israeli government’s policies towards Palestine of anti-Semitism. To advance towards a lasting peace, it is essential to end the occupation, halt the expansion of illegal settlements and return to the 1967 borders, as outlined in United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. These actions are necessary to ensure a future of peace and justice for both Palestinians and Israelis. They must be able to coexist in peace, security and prosperity. 

All peoples and countries should live in peace, and that includes the Palestinians. We have seen them suffering so often and so extensively that we have become indifferent to it. In the international public opinion’s social imagination, it seems that Palestinians are doomed to accept their fate and continue to suffer occupation and violence. But that does not have to be the case. We must break with the established global inertia and take meaningful steps, such as recognising the state of Palestine, as Spain and other countries have done this year. Otherwise, once again, we will have to look back in shame and remember that we did nothing. 

Photo credits: Shutterstock.com/Loredana Sangiuliano