These policies have far surpassed any plausible justification under the pretext of “self-defense,” evolving into deliberate and organized acts of aggression targeting civilians.
They are demolishing homes, imposing collective punishment, expanding illegal settlements, enforcing starvation, obstructing humanitarian aid, and sealing off border crossings.
The impact of these policies extends beyond the suffering of Palestinians; they have gravely eroded Israel’s political and moral legitimacy on the international stage.
Increasingly, global public opinion, including voices within the West, has turned against Israeli actions. The proliferation of media coverage, along with the widespread circulation of daily images of devastation from Gaza on social media, has intensified demands for a reassessment of Western support for Israel.
This support, long rooted in the perception of Israel as a democracy, is being questioned in light of its systemic practice of apartheid and racial discrimination.
Israel’s relentless assault on Gaza — now stretching beyond 20 months — has involved mass killings, widespread starvation, the denial of humanitarian assistance, large-scale destruction of infrastructure, forced displacement, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and systematic torture.
These actions are part of a concerted campaign to dismantle Palestinian national identity and forcibly eliminate the Palestinian presence in both the West Bank and Gaza.
The global response has been one of unprecedented outrage, even among Jewish communities.
Prominent Jewish-American intellectual Peter Beinart has warned that equating Jewish identity with a state that engages in occupation and apartheid will yield disastrous outcomes, not only for Palestinians but for Jews around the world.
Such identification, he argues, breeds hatred that does not distinguish between Israel and Jews.
Similarly, renowned scholar Noam Chomsky asserted that Israel’s actions create fertile ground for anti-Semitism and that the images of starvation and destruction in Gaza provoke generalized anger that can unjustly target Jewish communities.
From within Israel, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak has openly called for Netanyahu’s dismissal, warning that his far-right coalition exhibits fascist tendencies, undermines democratic principles, and poses a grave strategic threat to the nation.
Human rights activist Jessica Montell, former director of HaMoked, stated that collective violence does not bring security — it deepens isolation and fuels hatred.
Jewish-American columnist Bret Stephens echoed these concerns, declaring that Netanyahu’s government is driving Israel toward moral isolation. He noted that the killing of children in Gaza places Jewish communities in an ethically unbearable position.
This growing criticism has not remained confined to elite discourse. Student movements and Jewish communities in Western countries have increasingly spoken out.
In the United Kingdom, the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) expressed concern over rising hostility toward Jewish students, which they attributed to their association with Netanyahu’s policies.
In a historic demonstration, Holocaust survivors and their families gathered outside Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, calling for the principle of “Never Again” to be extended to Palestinians.
They cautioned that reducing Judaism to the identity of a state that practices oppression has become a moral burden on Jewish communities worldwide, especially amid the haunting images of famine and destruction dominating global headlines.
Beinart further emphasized that positioning Israel as a reflection of Judaism, while it commits mass atrocities, unfairly transfers responsibility to Jews across the world.
In a powerful and deeply emotional statement, British-Australian actress Miriam Margolyes — herself a descendant of Holocaust survivors — declared: “I am 88 years old, and I have never been more ashamed of Israel than I am now. It has transformed from a state born of Holocaust survival into one practicing systematic genocide.”
“In the end, Hitler won — he succeeded in turning us from a persecuted people into a murderous state,” she added.
Her plea to Jews worldwide — “Shout, beg, scream for a ceasefire” — resonated widely within Jewish communities and was seen as an authentic expression of the profound moral conflict many Jews are experiencing in response to Israel’s extreme policies, which betray the humanistic values of Judaism.
A damning report by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, titled “Our Genocide,” concluded that Israel is committing a deliberate and systematic genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The report documents mass killings, forced displacement, starvation, and the destruction of critical infrastructure and services, in addition to the targeted erasure of Palestinian cultural and social identity.
This, the report argues, reflects a calculated policy — endorsed by public statements from Israeli political and military leaders — that reveals a clear intent to dismantle Palestinian society, amounting to the crime of genocide under international law.
Internationally, several Western nations have begun to express official concern. In Belgium, King Philippe described the catastrophe in Gaza as a “shame upon humanity.”
In France, President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would formally recognize the State of Palestine during the upcoming 2025 UN General Assembly session.
He described the move as a fulfilment of France’s historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, stressing that the envisioned Palestinian state must be viable, demilitarized, and acknowledge the State of Israel.
Macron emphasized that the recognition would not be merely symbolic but part of a broader diplomatic initiative involving European and Arab states to revive the two-state solution, which has been stalled for years amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In the United Kingdom, 36 members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews signed an open letter denouncing the aggression and warning of the potential loss of Israel’s moral compass. Over 220 Parliament members called for the recognition of a Palestinian state and the suspension of arms exports to Israel. Senior legal figures signed petitions accusing Israel of serious violations of international law.
In the Netherlands, for the first time, Israel was officially categorized as a national security threat in a government report citing propaganda manipulation and interference with international justice.
The country witnessed mass student protests and court rulings to halt the export of military equipment to Israel. Polls showed that over 60 percent of Dutch citizens oppose the aggression and support imposing sanctions on Netanyahu’s government.
In Italy, political, academic, and media circles have increasingly criticized the Italian government’s support for Israel, particularly under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing administration.
Members of the Parliament condemned what they described as “moral silence” in response to atrocities in Gaza, asserting that continued arms support constitutes complicity in possible crimes against humanity.
Legislators from leftist parties, including the Democratic Party and Five Star Movement, called for a reassessment of military and diplomatic ties with Israel.
Prominent Italian universities and cities witnessed mass protests demanding a severance of ties and the imposition of international sanctions on Netanyahu’s government.
Influential Italian newspapers such as La Repubblica and Il Fatto Quotidiano published critical reports on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and challenged the pro-Israel bias in official media.
Prominent Italian intellectuals and artists also released a joint statement demanding an immediate ceasefire and holding the Israeli government accountable for the suffering inflicted on Palestinian civilians.
In Spain and Ireland, both governments endorsed the recognition of the Palestinian state as a necessary step toward restoring global balance and ending the cycle of violence.
Ireland’s parliament unanimously voted in favour of statehood and called for ending ties with companies complicit in illegal settlements.
Spanish Minister Ione Belarra labelled Israel’s actions as genocidal and urged the prosecution of Netanyahu.
Barcelona’s mayor suspended institutional relations with Israel, while public surveys showed that over 70 percent of Spaniards support imposing economic sanctions.
In Norway, Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, warned that Israel’s use of excessive force and the blockade on Gaza could constitute war crimes, criticizing the international community’s silence in the face of immense suffering.
In the United States, while official support for Israel continues, internal fractures are emerging. Over 400 government employees signed an internal letter of protest.
Senator Bernie Sanders called for halting military aid. The Democratic Party remains deeply divided, with over 60 percent of young Democratic voters believing Israel is committing war crimes.
Leading universities like Harvard and Columbia are facing mounting pressure from students and faculty to break their silence on the issue.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres described the situation in Gaza as a “monumental humanitarian disaster,” warning of continued bloodshed amid famine and unrelenting suffering.
On 23 July 2025, Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari reported to the UN Security Council that the situation had become “more tragic than ever,” citing intensified Israeli military operations, the repeated targeting of UN facilities, and the deaths of nearly 1,900 Palestinians — 294 of whom died while seeking aid.
Khiari called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of captives, and the urgent opening of humanitarian corridors within the framework of a revived two-state solution.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned of a high and rising risk of atrocity crimes due to the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war.
UNICEF described the situation as a “war on children,” reporting hundreds of deaths daily and the displacement of millions from essential services.
World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain urged immediate action, warning that nearly 470,000 people in Gaza face catastrophic famine, and thousands of children are on the brink of death due to acute malnutrition.
Over 100 international NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, and Oxfam, described the situation as “mass starvation” deliberately inflicted upon civilians, warning that the closure of humanitarian corridors has turned Gaza into a “trap of death.”
Adding to the crisis, some Western governments have rejected the rulings of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court regarding Israeli war crimes and genocide.
A few have even imposed sanctions on the ICC and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, as though criticism of Israel is inadmissible, posing a severe threat to the credibility of international justice and law.
Despite growing moral calls among civil society, some European governments continue to provide unconditional political and military support to Israel.
Germany, for instance, has not only backed Israel but also suppressed pro-Palestinian protests and refused to recognize a Palestinian state, while pressuring media, unions, and universities to avoid criticizing Tel Aviv’s policies.
Such double standards undermine the credibility of nations that proclaim support for human rights and freedom of expression while remaining silent in the face of Israeli violations.
What Israel is currently perpetrating under Netanyahu’s government is not legitimate self-defence — it is a calculated form of violent extremism that cultivates hatred, undermines international law, and threatens both the Palestinian people and Israel’s long-term interests.
It fuels the resurgence of abhorrent anti-Semitism, destabilizes global security, and betrays the very values the West claims to defend. Western powers must now exert severe pressure on the Israeli government to open border crossings, allow humanitarian aid, end the war, and move toward the implementation of a genuine two-state solution.
Israel must abandon the delusion that it can eliminate the Palestinian cause or forcibly remove an entire people from their homeland.
In this bleak moment, the Palestinian tragedy is no longer the plight of an occupied people alone — it is a mirror reflecting the collapse of the international moral order.
Continued silence in the face of these crimes not only jeopardizes the future of Palestinians but also shatters what remains of the credibility of international law and global institutions.
Justice cannot be selective. Double standards do not foster peace; they breed resentment and perpetuate violence. Human dignity must be upheld for all, or we risk living in an age where values are extinguished in plain sight and injustice rules without consequence.
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*The writer is a senator and a former assistant to the minister of foreign affairs.
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