Media coverage
Anadolu Agency · 2024-10-06
The Anadolu Agency piece says the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip has triggered a global reassessment of attitudes toward Israel’s occupation of Palestine, with more countries recognizing the State of Palestine and increasing calls to hold Israel accountable in the occupied Palestinian territories. Ramzy Baroud argues that global solidarity with Palestinians has grown dramatically since Oct. 7, aided by years of grassroots work and the power of social media, while Omar Shaban stresses the importance of international legal developments but voices frustration at the lack of concrete action and calls for Palestinian unity and an end to the war.
The Anadolu Agency piece says the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip has triggered a global reassessment of attitudes toward Israel’s occupation of Palestine, with more countries recognizing the State of Palestine and increasing calls to hold Israel accountable in the occupied Palestinian territories.…
The genocidal war in the Gaza Strip has led to a global re-evaluation of the international community’s stance toward the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Many countries, once aligned with Tel Aviv, are now shifting toward a more critical approach, while calls are growing to hold Israel accountable for its actions in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Since Oct. 7, several countries have officially recognized the State of Palestine, renewing their commitment to a two-state solution. These countries have also taken a unified stance against Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
According to Palestinian-American analyst Ramzy Baroud, who spoke to Anadolu via a video interview, global solidarity with the Palestinian cause has intensified dramatically amid the ongoing conflict.
“International support for Palestine and the Palestinians has grown exponentially since Oct. 7,” Baroud emphasizes.
Baroud stresses that the solidarity movement for Palestinians did not begin on Oct. 7, but rather was the culmination of foundations laid over years by grassroots organizations around the world.
“There has been a great deal of educational work, a great deal of ‘legwork’ that was done beforehand. The resistance of the Palestinian people and their steadfastness on the one hand, and the scale of Israel’s criminality on the other, allowed the movement to grow in terms of numbers to reach new audiences, new platforms,” Baroud explains.
Despite efforts by the Western mainstream media, which according to him sought to block the Palestinian narrative and normalize Israel’s actions in Gaza, the solidarity movement has continued to expand, largely because of the power of social media.
“Ordinary people, everywhere in the world, became citizen journalists,” he says, emphasizing that numerous influencers, each reaching different generations and demographics, have helped spread the message.
In the early days of the war, he notes, the Israeli narrative benefited from false claims that Palestinians had committed horrific atrocities during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. But, according to Baroud, these initial claims were eventually dismantled.
“There are so many good investigators out there, there are so many intelligent people who do not buy Israeli propaganda,” Baroud says, adding that in contrast the mainstream media “eagerly dove into Israeli propaganda.”
With more than 146 countries now recognizing the State of Palestine, Baroud sees this as a key moment in the global response to the conflict.
“New soldiers of truth are coming to the forefront, telling the story without having to pass through the filters of Western media and so on, thus creating the space for countries such as Norway, Ireland, Spain and others to step forward and say ‘we are ready to make an additional move’ in solidarity with the Palestinians,” Baroud says.
He compares this shift to the fall of apartheid in South Africa, where international consensus gradually turned against the oppressive regime.
“The same thing is happening in Palestine, not as quickly for us, but these are the rules of the game. Everything Israel has tried to do, which is the complete marginalization of the Palestinian issue, has failed. And the Palestinian cause is now a central issue, a central issue in international politics, in global solidarity,” Baroud says.
Baroud further mentions the importance of the UN General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the Israeli occupation within one year.
“For the first time in history, we actually have a date. Within one year of the adoption of this resolution, Israel must end its occupation,” he emphasizes.
Baroud acknowledged that a UN resolution alone would not immediately change the reality on the ground, but said that Israel’s occupation can no longer be ignored by the international community.
“What Israel tried to do was to completely ignore that there is such a thing as a foreign occupation. So when the international community comes back and says, ‘listen, this is null and void.’ Israel, all the settlers will have to leave, all the settlements will have to be removed. Everything Israel has done, not only in the West Bank, but also in East Jerusalem and in Gaza, is illegal under international law,” he explains.
Baroud also said that the overwhelming international support behind this resolution represents a major loss for Israel, both politically and strategically.
Meanwhile, political analyst Omar Shaban echoed this sentiment, appreciating and recognizing the importance of these international legal developments, but expressing frustration over the lack of concrete action.
“These institutions were created to prevent genocide, but they have not stopped it,” Shaban says, adding that although the decisions are important, “we are completely disappointed by the lack of action.”
Further, speaking about possible arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, Baroud says that if the International Criminal Court were to take such a step, it would change the game.
“If the International Criminal Court decides to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and others, this will change the game,” Baroud says.
Such a move, he argued, would be the first measure of this kind that is “practical and binding” and would reinforce the idea that Israel is becoming a pariah state because of its repeated violations of international law.
Shaban, the founder of the non-profit organization ‘Pal-Think for Strategic Studies’, expressed hope that growing international support for Palestine would translate into tangible results. He also called on the Palestinian factions to unite in the face of Israeli aggression.
“The division must be overcome by Palestinian Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, while Fatah and all political factions must understand the urgency and the need to unite,” Shaban believes, emphasizing the need for a “Palestinian roadmap to strengthen our position.”
For the international community, his message was clear, as he stressed, “we must stop the war.”
“We need the people who left Gaza because of the war to return. We need the international community to intervene and pressure Israel to stop its aggression and withdraw,” he says.
As he stressed, “Israel is an occupying power.”
“We live under occupation, and occupation is against all international law. In principle, the world knows what is needed. What the world needs is to make the decision to have the will to do what they know they must do,” Shaban stresses.
Text © Anadolu Agency — archived here with attribution to the source. — Machine translation for archival reference. — Original source