Emilie Tant from the Overseas Development Institute says solidarity in the international community is the only way to end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories
We don’t need the Israeli army to tell us that it is not particularly interested in a ceasefire (Israel-Gaza violence: death toll rises as UN envoy warns over escalation, 12 May) to recognise that these fresh UN warnings against escalating violence will not be heeded. For years the UN has been clear on Israel’s crimes against international law, yet the settler colonial project of successive Israeli governments has expanded unabated. Perhaps this is why the United Nations is referred to as the United Nothing by Palestinians across the West Bank.
The balance of power in the occupied Palestinian territories is one of coloniser against the colonised, of the oppressor against the oppressed, and of perpetrator against victims. Only widespread solidarity from the international community, rooted in sustained strategies of digital and direct action, will force Israel to face the consequences of its crimes. To end the occupation, people around the world must mobilise together to draw a line in the sand. Mirroring strategies that built pressure against South Africa’s regime will do far more than diplomatic statements of condemnation that have so far failed to restrain Israel.
