The Israeli airstrike that killed 45 people at a tent camp in a designated safe zone at Rafah in southern Gaza is yet another example of how little Tel Aviv cares for the global rules-based order and bodies such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC). The action will only sharpen divisions between Israel and European States that have either called for an end to the targeting of civilians in the Gaza Strip or have acted to
The Israeli airstrike that killed 45 people at a tent camp in a designated safe zone at Rafah in southern Gaza is yet another example of how little Tel Aviv cares for the global rules-based order and bodies such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC). The action will only sharpen divisions between Israel and European States that have either called for an end to the targeting of civilians in the Gaza Strip or have acted to formally recognise a Palestinian State. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may well describe the deadly assault on displaced Palestinians as a “tragic mishap” but such excuses mean very little, given the impunity with which the Israeli military has targeted hospitals, UN staff, and international aid workers in its relentless campaign in Gaza. Israeli offers to investigate such incidents through its own authorities mean those responsible will receive little more than a slap on the wrist.
The attack came just two days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) directed Israel to end its offensive in Rafah. That the strike was carried out in a region where 85% of the population of Gaza has taken shelter illustrates how little the Israeli leadership cares for Palestinian lives. Tel Aviv’s dismissal of global criticism of its actions as “anti-Semitism” will no longer wash, and neither will Netanyahu’s assertions about continuing his war, especially when Israeli citizens are calling for a truce. Israel’s actions that undermine bodies such as the ICC and ICJ could lead to greater radicalisation across West Asia at a time when it is already grappling with severe security challenges. The time has come for Netanyahu to end this unjust and unjustifiable war.
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