The world must not accept the ‘new normal’ in Palestine

The tension was palpable when I made my way back to my hometown in the occupied West Bank in January. It made me think of the second Intifada, which I experienced first-hand when I was a child. Constant Israeli settlers’ attacks caused fear, anxiety, and an increased sense of uncertainty. Checkpoints obstructing travel and entry to the town and from there made it difficult for Palestinians to endure hours-long waits and humiliations.

During the olive-picking season, Israeli settlers had burned my family’s property weeks prior to my visit. Following a similar attack last summer and two more the year before, which had destroyed homes, crops, and ancient olive trees.

My father claimed that because the armed settlers were being guarded by Israeli forces, he stood powerless and was unable to extinguish the fire. There wouldn’t have been enough water to put out the fire because nearby illegal settlements divert it, even if the soldiers hadn’t been there to stop any action to save the property.

After October 7, 2023, violence erupted sharply across the occupied West Bank, which has continued to worsen for years. Just the past two years saw the murder of nearly half of all Palestinian children who have been victims of Israeli forces or settlers.

A two-year-old was fatally shot in the head by an Israeli sniper inside her family home this year, and a 23-year-old pregnant woman was also killed by Israeli fire. These are not just isolated incidents, but they are a part of a larger pattern of Palestinian murder occurring at an unprecedented rate.

Israeli military operations target Palestinian homes frequently and place them inarbitrary detention. More than 300 of the 10, 000 Palestinians who are still incarcerated in Israeli prisons are children, the majority of whom are innocent and unable to determine when or when they will see their families again.

At faster rates, homes are destroyed, and homes are attacked in villages. Palestinians’ daily lives have become intolerable because of the expansion of the occupation’s architecture, which includes checkpoints, barriers, and permits. Since October 7, nearly 900 new military checkpoints and barriers have been installed. This has increased an already terrible humanitarian crisis by imposing severe movement restrictions and preventing access to essential services.

What was once unimaginable has turned into “routine” and is now accepted by everyone. Israeli airstrikes on refugee camps, hospitals under siege, and children who were shot in front of their homes are some examples of what’s happening now. Similar to Gaza, violent such incidents have become frequent.

Remember Gaza’s first hospital attack? The first instance of a school that provides shelter for the internally displaced? The first fire from an Israeli airstrike tore through the displaced and alive people’s tents? Now make an effort to recall the final one. Such violent incidents have become so commonplace that they are ultimately accepted as a terrible reality in a foreign country.

In the occupied West Bank, the same thing is happening right now.

As the United Nations representative for Save the Children, I observe how this dynamic is expressed on a global scale. A culture of impunity has been created as a result of Israeli forces’ persistent inability to hold accountable for crimes like the killing of journalists and human rights workers.

Even when Palestine is the subject of international attention, it seems irrelevant. No Other Land, a Palestinian-Israeli film, won the Oscar for best documentary earlier this month.

Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra, who accepted the award, expressed his fear for his newborn daughter’s future, saying that she would not have to go through the same kind of poverty as him.

The attacks on Masafer Yatta, Adra’s community, by Israeli soldiers and settlers have only increased, despite the movie receiving the highest accolades (or perhaps because of it). The international community has not taken any significant action in relation to it.

People can be excused for being enraged by the ongoing brutality that has been occurring for more than a year and a half. Only people can experience numbness. In addition, so many people have been exposed to media scrutiny, which has consistently dehumanized and marginalized Palestinians, severing human connection and empathy.

However, failing to take action against governments cannot be pardoned. They are legally required to uphold international law. Its standards are not negotiationable, and they are not relative.

The truth is that those entrusted with upholding international law’s standards have normalized the shocking violations that are occurring in Gaza and the West Bank.

We must demand that governments and international organizations hold perpetrators accountable for their deeds. For example, halting arms transfers and supporting mechanisms to fight impunity for those who violate international law are included.

The international community must take decisive steps to restore international law. A rules-based global order’s very foundation is undermined by states that ignore these laws. All member states of the UN are obligated to follow the Geneva Conventions’ instructions, even though those who violate children’s rights and international law bear ultimate responsibility.

Weekly massacres are not typical. It is abnormal for a population to be on the verge of a man-made famine. Refugee camps are not subject to regular airstrikes. It is not typical to have two-tier rights based on ethnicity. It is against the law to confine, confine, and murder children.

The era of passive observation is over. The world must demand accountability, support humanitarian efforts, and reject the unacceptable. Every delay causes more deaths, and it weakens the system’s ability to protect people from all over the world.  Climate can only be used to break the current cycle of violence and ensure that all children in Palestine and Israel are respected and protected regardless of their race or religion.

Source: Aljazeera