A pivotal moment for the Palestinian struggle

» Declan Kearney

This ceasefire is not yet permanent. Zionist military and settler terrorist aggression in the West Bank is escalating.

Last Friday, in the Hague, Netherlands, a ground-breaking event took place with the formation of ‘The Hague Group’ by nine key states from the global south, including Namibia, Honduras, Chile, Colombia, Belize, Bolivia, Malaysia, Senegal, Cuba, and led by South Africa as an inter-governmental bloc to support the positions adopted by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC) on Israel’s actions against Palestine, and to mobilise the full weight of international law to end the genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing and occupation being suffered by the Palestinian people. 

I participated and spoke on behalf of Sinn Féin. During this visit, I also had constructive bilateral meetings with the Namibia’s Justice Minister, South Africa’s Deputy Foreign Minister and the Palestinian Ambassador to the Netherlands, who is based in the Hague. 

The launch of ‘The Hague Group’ came almost one year to the day since the ICJ issued provisional measures concluding, ‘a plausible case of genocide’ by Israel in Gaza.

This comes at a pivotal moment for the Palestinian struggle for justice.

The welcome ceasefire after 15 months has created a breathing space.

And for a period at least, an opportunity for the children of Gaza to look towards the sky with hope, and not fear.

This time must not be squandered. 

Everything has changed in the global context. ‘The Hague Group’ is a powerful demonstration of that.

The hypocrisy and double standards of the West have been laid bare as never before. 

Progressives and democrats have mobilised internationally in unprecedented numbers in support of the Palestinian people.

That has been brought about by their unbreakable spirit of resistance. 

At the same time, the leadership of South Africa in taking its action at the ICJ has focused global attention.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Republic of South Africa. It has acted with the courage of a moral super power. 

The unprecedented rulings of the ICJ and the ICC are direct products of South Africa’s actions.

We are witnessing, to borrow a phrase; ‘the arc of history bend towards justice’.

But the long walk to freedom of the Palestinian people is far from over.

These landmark rulings from international courts demonstrate what one state, (and now supported by others) can accomplish.

However, these are beachheads, not final destinations.

This ceasefire is not yet permanent. Zionist military and settler terrorist aggression in the West Bank is escalating. 

The plan to annex all of the West Bank is being implemented in plain sight. 

As Israel observes a ceasefire in Gaza, it has opened up a new front of genocidal war against Palestinians in the West Bank for over two weeks. 

An all-out offensive has been launched against towns such as Jenin and Tulkarem resulting in massive destruction to property and loss of civilian lives. 

Among key lessons which we can take from the struggles for self-determination in South Africa, and Ireland, where national democracy has still to be achieved, are the importance of co-ordinated international initiatives and solidarity.

We, who are in solidarity with Palestine, whether as governments or non-state actors, need to bring a new dynamic to our global action.

That can now be pursued through ‘The Hague Group’.

Those who have brought this initiative about are to be commended.

A unified position from progressive governments in solidarity with Palestine and in opposition to Israeli injustice must be a strategic bulwark against the Western governments which arm, fund and give cover to Zionist settler colonialism.

In recent days, US and Israeli contempt for international law has been taken to a new level. 

US President Trump’s statement while standing alongside Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House foreshadows a new strategy for the systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. 

It is an explicit rejection of Palestinian national rights. 

This mindless intervention is in clear violation of international law, including the Geneva Convention, and the Rome Statute.

The Palestinian struggle has arrived at a crossroads.

Collectively we must make sure that it moves forward.

There are four important strategic priorities to ensure that happens.

Firstly, global solidarity with Palestine needs to be maximised in colleges, workplaces, state parliaments, union branches and elsewhere.

We must not stop talking about Palestine.

Second, humanitarian and medical aid has to be intensified.

Gaza must be reconstructed, UNWRA must be defended.

Third, political unity within the Palestinian national liberation struggle among all political movements and parties, and civic society, is more essential than ever.

Continued disunity is a strategic and political failure of leadership. All of the Palestinian people at home and within the diaspora deserve better. 

Finally, a governmental bloc which is united on the need for co-ordinated inter-state actions and pressure to the end the genocide, apartheid and occupation in Palestine is needed.

United Nations Secretary General António Gutteres is correct in saying that Trump’s plans would make the creation of an independent Palestinian state impossible forever. 

Democratic and progressive international opinion must intensify efforts to maximise the leverage of international law in support of the Palestinian people and to isolate the aggressors. 

‘The Hague Group’ provides that strategic platform and it must now be developed and strengthened.

Its inauguration should serve as a call to urgent action.

An immediate collective focus is required to expand the membership of ‘The Hague Group’ among states throughout the global north and south, and to ensure that it has a transformational impact within our international and multilateral institutions.

But its critical mission must be to create the conditions in which all the children of Palestine can enjoy a peaceful, democratic future, in a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.