As Israel’s most recent escalation of the genocide against the Palestinian people enters its sixth month, all attempts by the international community to bring the brutal killing to an end have been met with rejection and outright defiance.
On March 25, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2728, a simple three-point document which is absolutely clear in its condemnation of all actions which violate international law and calls for an immediate ceasefire.
This Resolution reiterates “its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and in this regard deploring all attacks against civilians and civilian objects, as well as all violence and hostilities against civilians, and all acts of terrorism, and recalling that the taking of hostages is prohibited under international law.”
To this end, the Resolution “[d]emands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire, and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access to address their medical and other humanitarian needs, and further demands that the parties comply with their obligations under international law in relation to all persons they detain.”
According to Vassily Nebenzia, the UN’s Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, the original draft resolution text called for a “permanent” ceasefire, but this language was changed just prior to the meeting. Nebenzia proposed an amendment to return the word “permanent” to the Resolution but this proposal was defeated by a United States veto.
The United States’ UN representative, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, abstained from voting on Resolution 2728, and did not exercise a veto, which allowed the Resolution to be adopted. In her comments on the proceedings, Thomas-Greenfield stated that the U.S. supported “some of the critical objectives in this non-binding resolution.”
This is a vital point that must be understood. All resolutions which are passed by the Security Council are legally binding and must be implemented. The comments by Thomas-Greenfield are blatantly false and can only be described as an attempt to mislead the public as to how international legal norms operate within the framework of the UN.
When the Security Council reconvened on March 26, multiple representatives expressed their concerns that the U.S. had effectively rejected the basis of the UN’s Charter, noting that all Member States are bound by it. Nebenzia suggested that the U.S. had created a situation where “Israel — despite the direct demand from the Council — has complete carte blanche and is not planning to stop until it razes Gaza to the ground.”
In her shocking report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, presented on March 25 and titled ‘Anatomy of a Genocide,’ Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese described in excruciating detail the process by which the Israeli leadership has carried out a campaign of mass killing, displacement, and starvation, with the intent to destroy Palestinians as a group.
Drawing on the deep historical record, Albanese included the following section regarding the settler-colonial mentality of the founders of Israel: “In Palestine, displacing and erasing the Indigenous Arab presence has been an inevitable part of the forming of Israel as a ‘Jewish state’. In 1940, Joseph Weitz, head of the Jewish Colonization Department stated: ‘there is no room for both peoples, together in this country. The only solution is Palestine without Arabs. And there is no other way but to transfer all of them: not one village, not one tribe should be left.’”
On March 28, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued additional provisional measures against Israel with regard to the imminent conditions of famine which are now threatening the lives of the Palestinian people. At the request of South Africa, which brought the initial case against Israel before the court, these measures have been called for due to “horrific deaths from starvation of Palestinian children, including babies, brought about by Israel’s deliberate acts and omissions (. . .) including Israel’s concerted attempts since 26 January 2024 to ensure the defunding of [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)] and Israel’s attacks on starving Palestinians seeking to access what extremely limited humanitarian assistance Israel permits into Northern Gaza, in particular.”
In its finding, “[t]he Court observes with regret that, since then, the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated further, in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities to which the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been subjected.”
The ICJ also stressed that the current structure for the delivery of humanitarian aid is insufficient to sustain life and that the land crossings into Gaza are the most direct and effective route for aid: “(…) while air and sea routes are helpful under the present circumstances, there is no substitute for land routes and entry points from Israel into Gaza to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of food, water, medical and humanitarian assistance; there is an urgent need to increase the capacity and number of open land crossing points into Gaza and to maintain them open.”
The most important finding of the ICJ was that Israel had not fully undertaken the required steps sought by South Africa in its initial application. It issued an order to Israel that it immediately provide the required level of aid and cease military operations which would endanger the lives of Palestinian civilians:
“In conformity with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, and in view of the worsening conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaza (…) Israel shall: (a) take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, (…) as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza, including by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary; and (b) ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the Genocide Convention, including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance.”
If Israel does not fulfill its obligations under international law and the Genocide Convention, as it seems completely unwilling to do, Canada must cease its recognition of Israel, expel its ambassadors, and end all trade ties. By its actions, Israel has declared to the world, along with the U.S., that it is a rogue state which has no responsibility or accountability to any internationally agreed-upon law.
Canada cannot continue to ignore its hypocrisy in supporting a state which has committed such unspeakable and egregious violations of all international legal norms and of basic human decency. If Canada is truly committed to upholding human rights for all, it must condemn Israel’s actions in the strongest terms and hold Israel accountable with all the tools at its disposal.
Ryan Hillier is a writer and settler living on the banks of the Petkootkweăk.
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