The Question of Palestine: A Historical Overview
The Question of Palestine represents one of the most enduring and complex issues in modern international relations. Rooted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its history is shaped by competing claims to land, identity, and sovereignty. The narrative encompasses pivotal moments, including the decline of the Ottoman Empire, British colonial policies under the Mandate for Palestine, the establishment of Israel in 1948, and the subsequent displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the Nakba.
The timeline of events highlights decades of conflict, diplomacy, and the struggles of the Palestinian people for self-determination. From the United Nations’ partition plan in 1947 to ongoing debates over statehood, refugees, and human rights, the history of the Question of Palestine remains a vital chapter in understanding the broader Middle Eastern landscape and global justice. For a detailed exploration, see the History of the Question of Palestineand the Historical Timeline Historical Timeline – Question of Palestine
Israel’s Actions in Gaza: A Genocide Ignored by the Governments
Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has pursued wars and territorial expansion at the expense of its neighbours, enforcing an apartheid regimein the occupied Palestinian territories to advance the Zionist vision of a “Greater Israel” in the Middle East.
As the occupying power, Israel has legal obligations under international law to protect and support the Palestinian people, yet its actions reveal a starkly opposite reality.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip, displacing 90% of its population and creating a catastrophic famine that has already claimed countless children’s lives. The government, characterized as an occupying apartheid force, has chosen a path of vindictiveness, misery, and a genocidal campaign against Palestinians following the Hamas attack on October 7th. Instead of adhering to international law and avoiding war crimes or potential genocide, Israel seems to be pursuing a course that makes even the brutality of Hamas a joke.
Tens of thousands have been killed, with the Palestinian Ministry of Health reporting over 42,000 deaths—a figure that, according to research in The Lancet could be up to four times higher. This devastating humanitarian crisis is a direct consequence of policies identified by multiple credible sources as genocidal.
The Genocide Convention was established to recognize and halt genocides as they occur, yet in Gaza, despite consensus among experts, including the Lemkin Institute, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and Israeli Holocaust scholars, action remains absent.
These authorities agree that Israel is committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. As The Guardian pointed out on its article.
On January 26, 2024, the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the charge of genocide against the Israeli government should not be dismissed and that the case should proceed to ongoing litigation.
Israel’s unprecedented impunity—enabled by the inaction of global institutions—undermines the international legal framework meant to hold states accountable.
As the genocide in Gaza unfolds before our eyes, the pressing question is no longer whether it is happening. But where is the action? What are our governments doing to prevent and stop the genocide in Gaza? Unfolding in front of our very eyes, day after day?
Yes, It Is Genocide: Say Leading Experts and Global Institutions
A growing consensus among leading experts and global institutions has affirmed that the events in Gaza constitute genocide, including the following:
| Year | Date | Organization/Individual | Title/Description | Source Link |
| 2023 | 13-Oct-23 | Raz Sejal, Israeli historian and Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies | A Textbook Case of Genocide | https://jewishcurrents.org/a-textbook-case-of-genocide |
| 15-Oct-23 | Public Statement | Over 800 Scholars Warn of Potential Genocide in Gaza | https://twailr.com/public-statement-scholars-warn-of-potential-genocide-in-gaza/ | |
| 02-Nov-24 | UN Experts | Call to Prevent Genocide | https://www.nancyperin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/UN-experts-call.pdf | |
| 16-Nov-23 | UN Experts OHCR | Call to Prevent Genocide | https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/gaza-un-experts-call-international-community-prevent-genocide-against | |
| 16-Nov-23 | William Schabas, Professor of International Law at Middlesex University London | Opinion to the Court of California; Defence for Children against Joe Biden | Declaration Expert William Schabas_w.pdf | |
| 16-Nov-23 | John Cox, Victoria Sanford, Barry Trachtenberg | Holocaust and genocide scholars’ declaration | https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2023/11/Historians%20Declaration_w.pdf | |
| 29-Dec-23 | Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security | Statement | https://www.lemkininstitute.com/statements-new-page/statement-on-why-we-call-the-israeli-attack-on-gaza-genocide | |
| 29-Dec-23 | South Africa | Submission to the ICJ | https://icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf | |
| 2024 | 26-Feb-24 | Amnesty International | Israel Defies ICJ Ruling | https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/02/israel-defying-icj-ruling-to-prevent-genocide-by-failing-to-allow-adequate-humanitarian-aid-to-reach-gaza/ |
| 14-Mar-24 | John Quigley | “Legal Standard for Genocide Intent: An Uphill Climb for Israel in Gaza Suit”, EJIL | Legal Standard for Genocide Intent: An Uphill Climb for Israel in Gaza Suit—EJIL: Talk! | |
| 24-Mar-24 | UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese | Anatomy of a Genocide Report: Israel’s Acts Cross the Genocide Threshold | https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g24/046/11/pdf/g2404611.pdf | |
| 03-Apr-24 | Open Letter | UK Judges’ and Lawyers’ Open Letter Concerning Gaza | https://lawyersletter.uk | |
| 01-May-24 | Report | University Network for Human Rights report—last update, August 2024 | Genocide in Gaza — University Network for Human Rights | |
| 09-May-24 | Nimer Sultany | “A Threshold Crossed: On Genocidal Intent and the Duty to Prevent Genocide in Palestine” | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14623528.2024.2351261 | |
| 20-May-24 | ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan | Application for Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu | https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-prosecutor-karim-aa-khan-kc-applications-arrest-warrants-situation-state | |
| 06-Jun-24 | Aryeh Neier | Is Israel Committing Genocide? | https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/06/06/is-israel-committing-genocide-aryeh-neier/?srsltid=AfmBOoqIcjyOiOyIiYJl9fFr9gRiyEffD7L5GdLfbuKj_YtUjbQz5khM | |
| 19-Jun-24 | UN Experts OHCR | Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory Concludes that Israeli Authorities and Hamas Are Both Responsible for War Crimes | Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory Concludes that Israeli Authorities and Hamas Are Both Responsible for War Crimes | OHCHR | |
| 19-Jul-24 | ICJ Advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation unlawful | Advisory Opinion Declares Israel’s Occupation Unlawful | https://www.icj-cij.org/node/204176 | |
| 17-Jul-24 | Oxfam report | Water War Crimes report | https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/israel-using-water-weapon-war-gaza-supply-plummets-94-creating-deadly-health | |
| 02-Aug-24 | Maryam Jamshidi | Reflecting on Genocidal Intent in the ICJ Case | https://opiniojuris.org/2024/08/02/reflecting-on-genocidal-intent-in-the-icj-case/ | |
| 13-Aug-24 | Omer Bartov | Historian Declares Israel’s Actions as Genocide | https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/13/israel-gaza-historian-omer-bartov | |
| 01-Oct-24 | UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese | Genocide as Colonial Erasure Report: A Legal Analysis of Israel’s Actions | https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n24/279/68/pdf/n2427968.pdf | |
| 25-Oct-24 | Forensic Architecture | Cartographic analysis of the genocide in support of South Africa’s case in the ICJ | A Cartography Of Genocide: Israel’s Conduct In Gaza Since October 2023 ← Forensic Architecture | |
| 28-Oct-24 | South Africa | ICJ Filing: Evidence of Genocide | https://dirco.gov.za/south-africa-delivers-evidence-of-israel-genocide-to-icj/ | |
| 29-Oct-24 | Amos Goldberg | ‘What is happening in Gaza is genocide because Gaza does not exist anymore.’ | https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2024/10/29/amos-goldberg-what-is-happening-in-gaza-is-a-genocide-because-gaza-does-not-exist-anymore_6730881_23.html | |
| 12-Nov-24 | Aid Organizations press release | Systematic violation of ICJ orders on humanitarian assistance, thereby establishing genocidal intent | https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/joint-release-israel-receives-failing-grade-us-demands-gaza | |
| 14-Nov-24 | Un Special Committee Report | UN Special Committee finds Israel’s warfare methods in Gaza consistent with genocide, including the use of starvation as a weapon of war | https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/11/un-special-committee-finds-israels-warfare-methods-gaza-consistent-genocide. | |
| 21-Nov-24 | ICC, Pre-Trial Chamber I | Arrest Warrants Issued for Netanyahu and Gallant | https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-rejects-state-israels-challenges | |
| 01-Dec-24 | B’Tselem report | Recurring instances of severe abuse of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers in central Hebron | https://www.btselem.org/publications/202412_unleashed | |
| 05-Dec-24 | Amnesty International | ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Genocide in Gaza | https://amnesty.ca/press-releases/gazagenocide/ | |
| 19-Dec-24 | Human Rights Watch | Israel’s Crime of Extermination: Acts of Genocide in Gaza | https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/12/19/extermination-and-acts-genocide/israel-deliberately-depriving-palestinians-gaza | |
| 19-Dec-24 | Médecins Sans Frontières | Gaza Death Trap Report: Medical Catastrophe | https://www.msf.org/msf-report-exposes-israel%E2%80%99s-campaign-total-destruction | |
| Ongoing | ECCHR | Legal Assessment: Gaza and the Matter of Genocide | https://www.ecchr.eu/en/press-release/gaza-and-the-matter-of-genocide/ |
Call to Action for Governments:
The time for silence and inaction has passed. Governments worldwide must uphold their legal and moral obligations under the Genocide Convention and international law.
- Ceasefire and Diplomacy: Pressure for an immediate ceasefire and the return of all hostages, and to meaningful negotiations, prioritizing peace, justice, and the protection of human rights for Palestinians.
- Humanitarian Aid: Mobilize immediate and unrestricted humanitarian assistance to Gaza, addressing the dire needs of the displaced, starving, and injured.
- Sanctions, Stop Trading, and Arms Embargo: Impose targeted sanctions and halt all arms exports to Israel, preventing further use of military force against civilians.
- Support International Justice: Cooperate with the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice to ensure those responsible for war crimes and genocide are prosecuted. Arrest warrants for countries that have failed to fulfill their obligations to prevent genocide, for individual ministers and government officials as individuals for complicity in acts of genocide!
Governments cannot stand idly by as genocide unfolds.
The time to act is now.
Stop the atrocities in Gaza before more lives are lost, before all the Israeli hostages are dead!
