More than seventy-five years, Israel has pursued a systematic strategy aimed at preventing the creation of a viable Palestinian state. This destructive enterprise, long predating the events of October 7, 2023, has resulted in decades of massacres, expulsions, and a persistent military occupation. The roots of the conflict lie in the colonial history of the 20th century, marked by the Balfour Declaration of 1917. This document, issued by a Britain that had no sovereignty over Palestine at the time, paved the way for massive Jewish immigration, initiating a process of dispossession of Palestinians. The British mandate (1922-1948) institutionalized this policy, laying the groundwork for the creation of Israel in 1948. The UN partition plan in 1947 enshrined this injustice by amputating Palestinians of more than half of their historic territory, without offering them any compensation or security guarantees.
Despite the international legal framework intended to regulate relations between states, Israel has never respected UN resolutions, the United Nations Charter, or fundamental human rights conventions. This persistent impunity is mainly explained by the unconditional support of the United States and the passive complicity of many European countries. This situation has contributed to a profound crisis in international law, where the law of the strongest tends to supplant the principle of justice. The decisive turning point of 1967, with the Six-Day War, allowed Israel to occupy all of historic Palestine, including the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Since then, the Hebrew state has systematically implemented a policy of gradual annexation, manifested by the construction of illegal settlements, the erection of a separation wall, and the imposition of draconian restrictions on Palestinian populations. In 2024, the International Court of Justice confirmed the illegal nature of this prolonged occupation, qualifying it as de facto annexation.
Today, although 147 states officially recognize Palestine, it remains a virtual entity, deprived of the essential attributes of sovereignty. The Palestinian Authority, reduced to a symbolic role, does not control its borders, security, or economy. The Knesset's decision in 2024, categorically rejecting any creation of a Palestinian state, confirms Israel's true intentions. The Oslo Accords of 1993, although they raised hopes for peace, did not lead to any substantial concessions on fundamental issues: delineation of borders, the right of return for refugees, or the status of Jerusalem. It thus appears clear that the mainstream current of Zionism has never truly contemplated the emergence of a viable Palestinian state.
In the face of this situation, the international community, through the ICJ and the UN, has formulated clear demands: dismantling settlements, the return of refugees, and reparations for the harms suffered. However, in the absence of concrete sanctions, these resolutions remain dead letters. The growing mobilization of global public opinion and the complaints for war crimes filed in several countries, including South Africa, could nevertheless mark a turning point in this asymmetric conflict. The West, through its unconditional military and financial support for Israel, exposes itself to accusations of complicity in war crimes, even genocide. Its political inaction prolongs an impunity that perpetuates the suffering of the Palestinian people.
"The time will come when justice will hold Israel and all those who supported it accountable." But, as long as the complicity of Western powers persists, the conflict will continue to bog down in violence with no apparent way out, while the Palestinian question remains the open wound of a disintegrating international order.
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