All of this – the language of genocide, the genocide itself and the threats of committing a greater genocide – is rooted, not in a rational political theory, but in Zionism.
The problem is not the absence of a Palestinian state, but Zionism itself.
What is the use of a Palestinian state, if Zionism, as a racist, exclusivist ideology continues to define Israel, and impose that definition on the Palestinians?
This ideology calls for racial purity of Jews in Palestine, of course, at the expense of the native inhabitants of the land. To achieve this, millions of Palestinians had to be forced into exile, hundreds of thousands needed to be killed, wounded or incarcerated.
Neither two states, nor even one state is possible if Zionism is not entirely defeated – not revamped, not ‘fixed’, but eradicated.
As Palestinians are being killed in unprecedentedly large numbers in Gaza, western politicians are waking up to the necessity of a Palestinian state.
But why now? After all, it was these very politicians and their governments that either defended or remained silent as Israel thwarted every possibility of peaceful co-existence.
Theirs is not a moral awakening, but a distraction, to appear – at least before their own people – to be proactive, while Israel is systematically destroying the Palestinian people.
Former UNRWA official, Chris Gunnes, said about the Israeli war on Gaza that this is “the first genocide in the history of humanity that is livestreamed on television”.
The genocide is worsening now that Palestinians are starting to die from starvation, while an even larger number is dying from disease and polluted water, aside, of course, from those being blown up or shot by Israel.
For the likes of David Cameron, Britain’s Foreign Minister, to talk about the recognition of a Palestinian state as “absolutely vital” for “long-term peace”, is bewildering, to say the least. Those struggling to survive daily are hardly concerned about yet more empty western promises.
The genocide underway in Gaza tells us that the issue is not merely political, but an ideological one. And, while western leaders speak of ‘long-term peace’, Israel entrenches its system of violence and apartheid.
“There cannot be a situation in which children and women approach us from the wall. Anyone (…) must receive a bullet,” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on February 12.
In Gaza, the violence is far more sickening. Euro-Med Monitor, a rights group, reported on February 12 that “groups of ten to twenty Israeli civilians at a time were permitted to watch and laughingly film Palestinian prisoners and detainees in their underwear” as they were tortured and abused by Israeli soldiers.
There can be no rational political justification for any of this.
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