Palestine in focus

ISRAEL’S barbaric violence in Gaza, as well as rampages by extremist Jewish settlers in the West Bank, have earned the Zionist state the opprobrium of several states during the ongoing UN General Assembly.

While the impassioned speeches will not be enough to stop the violence against the Palestinian people, they do indicate that even some of Israel’s allies in the West are having a difficult time justifying its monstrous behaviour. French President Emmanuel Macron said the “spectacle” in Gaza should “shame us all”. He also highlighted the grim situation in the West Bank. Similarly, Turkish President Recep Erdogan termed Gaza an “inhumane … concentration camp”.

At a separate meeting on the two-state solution, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar slammed the Israeli “machinery of occupation”. At the same event, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said “time is running out” for the two-state solution. Perhaps the outgoing UN head was being overly optimistic — Israel has done all possible to ensure a viable Palestinian state does not emerge.

Not too far from these meetings the Board of Peace was also holding a session, pledging $2.45bn for Gaza’s ‘recovery’. While the promise of these funds should be welcomed, the reality in the occupied Strip tempers any hopes for Gaza’s betterment. After all, since last year’s ceasefire Israel has murdered some 1,400 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, while Tel Aviv has refused to end its occupation of the Strip, even though Hamas agreed to give up its arms. Meanwhile, illegal settlements have exploded in the West Bank, with Jewish settlers growing more vicious in their attacks by the day. Therefore, throwing money at Gaza will do little if the Palestinians remain under siege, and the theft of their land continues.

If conscientious members of the international community are serious about their concern for Palestine, they must back their talk with action. Israel must be held to account for its genocidal violence in Gaza, while settlers in the West Bank should be punished for their occupation of Palestinian land, and frequent physical attacks on Arabs.

All illegal settlements need to be uprooted. Sadly, while calls for a two-state solution continue, the current Israeli regime — and whatever dispensation emerges after the coming elections in the Zionist state — will remain hell-bent on preventing a sovereign Palestinian state from emerging. Meanwhile, Israel’s most powerful foreign patron — the US — seems utterly uninterested in making Tel Aviv commit itself to the peace process. PR stunts under the Board of Peace are one thing; genuine pressure on Israel to end the occupation is another. Can the Palestinian people expect relief when such powerful actors remain committed to prolonging their suffering?

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2026