In another act of complete disregard for the international community, Israeli forces have escalated their assault on Gaza, killing at least 79 people this week, days before the UN General Assembly convenes in New York.
A new Amnesty International report released yesterday reveals why some of the gravest crimes against humanity continues, despite global outrage. Next month marks 24 months of persistent hostilities against Palestinian state.
More than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since the hostilities began in October 2023. Alongside Sudan, Gaza is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world today. For those still brave enough to watch, the atrocities flood all our screens. Despite clear condemnation on the world’s streets, government board rooms and UN corridors, Gaza’s population is on the precipice of one of the most serious ground and aerial assaults yet.
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This week, 20 of the largest and most respected humanitarian and human rights agencies called for more decisive action from the international community. Their collective voice bolsters the unequivocal finding of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory three days ago.
The Commission’s detailed report has found that Israel has committed four out of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. These include killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately causing the destruction of the Palestinian nation and imposing measures intended to prevent births. The report explicitly cites the Prime Minister and his Cabinet for orchestrating the two-year genocidal campaign and failing to prevent and punish perpetrators. Why has the aggression against the Palestinian nation persisted? Who is benefitting from the mass violence?
Released yesterday, the new “Pulling the Plug” Amnesty International report meticulously details 15 military, surveillance, and economic companies profiting from Israel’s human rights abuses. The companies include Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, and Booking.com among other Fortune 500 companies. Their products, services and investments continue to directly contribute to the unlawful occupation and apartheid system.
Invoking the Genocide Convention, the Geneva Conventions, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Amnesty argues that companies not just states have binding legal obligations. Further, business complicity in war crimes and apartheid is prosecutable. Based on the research, the report calls on companies operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to cease activities that contribute to settlement expansion, discriminatory resource allocation, and surveillance of Palestinians.
The current international diplomatic and public mobilisation suggest that the world’s conscience may still have a pulse when it comes to Palestine. By targeting those that benefit from occupation, a moment may have arrived for the world to speak with one voice. For this to happen, citizen-consumers need to go beyond the protests and placards and target those “making a killing” (pun intended).
It is time to unequivocally call for a global ban on arms transfers, surveillance technologies, and trade linked to illegal settlements, urging divestment and regulatory enforcement. Citizens and civic organisations must sustain the pressure globally. Our silence or inaction risks complicity in crimes against humanity. The scale and scope of corporate involvement that is deeply embedded in an infrastructure of impunity must be dismantled. On September 12, Kenya joined 142 UN General Assembly members to condemn the war on Gaza and back a temporary international stabilisation mission.
Days later, 14 of 15 UN Security Council members who voted for an unconditional ceasefire were blocked once again by a US veto. This obstruction must now be understood in light of the US, Israeli and multi-national commercial interests exposed in this latest report. What is needed now is coordinated action to pull the plug on the machinery of occupation to restore justice and accountability. Israel must be stopped from flattening Gaza.
Tomorrow, under the Voices for Palestine, families will gather at Adams Arcade, Nairobi on Sunday 21 September 9am and ride to Uhuru Park to listen to solidarity speeches, enjoy exhibitions and plant trees. Join us.
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By Irungu Houghton