Countries Organize for Unified Approach To Hold Israel Accountable, Stop Genocide

Sept. 21--Israel failed, and failed miserably and defiantly, to meet the one-year deadline Sept. 18 it was allowed by the UN to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. But the world has also failed. That UN General Assembly resolution, adopted 124-14, also required all states to take effective action against Israel’s violations of international law, including accountability, sanctions, and cessation of support. Most countries have joined Israel in pretending that they are under no such obligation.

The General Assembly resolution obligates states to: “prevent their citizens, companies, and authorities from … assisting Israel’s unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territories; halt imports of goods from Israeli settlements and stop arms transfers to Israel where there is a risk they may be used in the occupied territories; [and] impose sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on individuals and entities involved in maintaining Israel’s unlawful presence, including those linked to settler violence….”

This week, South Africa and Colombia, co-chairs of the eight nations in The Hague Group, will convene a ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss collective and coordinated measures being implemented at national and international levels. They plan to present a collective plan of legal and diplomatic measures to halt the genocide in Gaza and defend the integrity of international institutions.

Executive Secretary of The Hague Group Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, told Middle East Eye, said that diplomatic and legal measures over the past year have been fragmented. So: “As member states, we must collectively use our courts, our ports, our factories and financial systems to interrupt the material arteries of the genocide. Gaza is the litmus test of our lifetime, and states’ response to Israel’s assault on Palestine will be the defining moment” for the UN General Assembly.