Int’l Community Complicit in Israeli Crimes: Analyst
There has been increasing attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinians across the occupied territories in the past weeks.
One of the latest incidents was on June 24 when dozens of settlers with guns attacked a village north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, under the protection of Israeli forces. They raided Umm Safa village and shot at Palestinians, setting their homes and cars on fire.
Speaking to IQNA in an interview, Zafar Bangash, a prominent Muslim commentator, blamed the international community for failing to address the crimes of the Israeli regime in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Here is the full text of the interview:
IQNA: There have been an increase in settlers’ attacks against Palestinian people in occupied territories in the past weeks as reports also indicated desecration of Quran during one of the attacks. Observers believe that that the policies adopted by the far-right Israeli cabinet in the past year have further emboldened the settlers to conduct such attacks. What is your take on this?
Bangash: I would like to identify the attackers by their correct name: they are not settlers but illegal squatters. Most of them have come from North America and Europe and have illegally occupied the land of the Palestinian people.
There is no doubt that with the induction of the far-right, extremist cabinet headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, attacks on Palestinians have escalated. There are several members of the Israeli cabinet that have emerged from the bowels of the squatter movement. They have made no secret of their desire to kill Palestinians and take over their land. When members of the cabinet openly express such sentiments, there can be no doubt that this would be interpreted by their followers to intensify their attacks on Palestinians.
IQNA: What are the legal and human rights implications of such attacks, and how can they be addressed by the international community and the relevant organizations?
Bangash: Under International Law and International Humanitarian Law, the attacks by Zionist squatters are completely illegal. International Law is very clear: an occupying power has no right to take the land of the occupied people. The occupiers’ claims, whether based on historical, geographical, or other considerations are completely irrelevant.
International Law requires the occupation regime to provide safety and security to people under its occupation. Zionist Israel is in violation of every tenet of this law.
This places a huge responsibility on the international community as well as the United Nations to prevent Zionist attacks on the Palestinians and their displacement from their land.
Unfortunately, the international community is complicit in Israeli crimes and the UN is ineffective because it is controlled by the same powers that back the Zionists’ genocidal policies against the Palestinian people.
IQNA: What are the best strategies and practices to prevent and counter such crimes?
Bangash: International law recognizes the right of people under occupation to resist their occupiers by “any means necessary”. This means that in the absence of international organizations taking any practical steps to prevent such attacks, the Palestinians are left with no choice but to resist their occupiers by all the means at their disposal.
There is also a responsibility on those people and countries that value human life and respect the rights of other people to come to the aid of the Palestinian people. In this regard, the Axis of Resistance comprising Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Ansarullah, Iraq, and Syria have to play a major role.
IQNA: Do you think issuing statements and slamming the regime and its settlers are enough, or should the international community adopt a more serious stance?
Bangash: Mere condemnations are not enough. Zionist Israel’s record over the years shows that it does not care for such condemnations because it knows these are not meant seriously. If members of the international community were serious about such condemnations, they would take practical steps to punish Israel for its war crimes. The first act would be to boycott trade with Israel. Second, stiff sanctions should be imposed on the Zionist entity. And finally, the victims of Zionist aggression—the Palestinians—should be provided weapons to defend themselves. Instead, what we see is that Israeli is pumped with weapons to carry out its crimes. This means the so-called international community is complicit in these crimes.
Zafar Bangash is a noted scholar and commentator in Toronto, Canada. He is the director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) and on the Editorial Board of Crescent International. He was among the founding members, with Dr Kalim Siddiqui of the Muslim Institute in London. He is the author of several books, his latest being: Power Manifestations of the Sirah: Examining the Letters and Treaties of the Messenger of Allah (saws).
