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Accountability must come now or forever be a failed promise

January 24, 2025 at 2:59 pm

Palestinians, returned to Jabalia Refugee Camp, and Beit Lahia areas in the northern Gaza Strip following the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, face massive destruction in Gaza City, Gaza on January 19, 2025. [Haneen Salem – Anadolu Agency]

Ceasefire. The last few days have been tainted with sleepless nights and dread, wondering if this much-rumoured ceasefire will come to fruition. The announcement was immediately followed by complex, bittersweet emotions: a sigh of relief, yes, but also a flood of postponed grief and sadness that has been sitting on the top of my heart and the hearts of millions around the world.

For the past three months, I’ve been based at a refugee camp for Palestinians who fled Israel’s genocide in Gaza. I’ve met countless survivors, whose survival was only possible due to severe medical deterioration, caused by Israel’s indiscriminate and brutal bombardment of Gaza. Some of those evacuated did not live long enough to hear about this ceasefire.

Over the past few months, the smell of blood filled the air, amputated body parts were everywhere, demanding that they be returned to their owners, surgeons were being begged to spare people’s limbs.

I recall sitting with a woman, as she gracefully narrated to me the details of a lethal Israeli strike on her next-door neighbour’s house. She tells me about how she woke up under the rubble, her legs stuck under a heavy, thick wall that crushed her bones, and as she spoke, it was crushing my soul. In the two days following her rescue, a medical decision was made to amputate both her legs, a hopeless case, they said. They told her, “You are diabetic, and your body is too weak.” Through her tears, she recounted how she thanked God for her test and pleaded for her legs to be spared. “I wanted to continue living like everyone else, I’m only human, and I love life,” she tells me.

She reminds me of my mother, her soul is bright, and her will to live life to its fullest is unmatched. I struggle to keep a straight face, tears fill my eyes and sorrow climbs up to my throat, digs a hole and suddenly I struggle to get the words out.

I’ve now met numerous survivors of Israel’s genocide in Gaza; every one of them has lost something; most have lost everything. They speak of incessant, targeted attacks, innocent civilians being slaughtered every second of every day, and some targeted again and again as they were escaping a previous strike. If anything has been made crystal clear to me, it was that nowhere in Gaza was ever safe, something we all already knew, but only now do I fully grasp the meaning of these words.

Gaza ceasefire at last: How Israel’s ‘first defeat’ will shape the country’s future

This ceasefire is a moment of cautious hope for a possibility of a better future, if accountability is delivered and Palestinians are finally granted their right to self-determination; but even as we speak, some of those complicit in Israel’s genocide and war crimes fail to grasp the gravity of their actions. The prime minister’s statement fails to deviate from the main top lines he and his predecessor have been following for the past 15 months, and media outlets still demand Palestinians condemn actions in which they had no involvement and downplay violations enacted on them thousands of times in that period.

Now, many are pondering what this ceasefire means for the legal cases brought before international courts, especially in light of expected US sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC). Some have even contended that Palestinians should abandon such legal claims now that a ceasefire has been agreed.

These questions reveal a failure to understand the importance of an international rules-based order, where all and any perpetrators of war crimes are held to account for their crimes, without fear or favour. They also highlight a controversial and selective view of which victims are worthy of access to human rights and justice.

A few months ago, the pre-trial chamber of the ICC issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. The arrest warrants sent a very clear message: Israel’s conduct could no longer be ignored, even by the Western powers that have done so for years. The gravity and severity of Israeli crimes in Gaza are inexcusable and accountability is needed now more than ever.

Though the warrants are a positive step, they took far too long and for now remain restricted to alleged crimes committed within the past 15 months in Gaza. This means that for millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem, years of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court remain ignored.

This is now a pivotal moment, while Palestinians in Gaza have a chance to start counting their losses, digging what has remained of their loved ones from under the rubble, and possibly identifying the missing, the work now is tenfold for lawyers and legal organisations. This is a moment where humanity poses the moral question of what comes next and how to ensure this never happens again.

The international community is now at a crossroads. Israel’s impunity has never been challenged in this way. These international courts have faced unprecedented threats, bullying and thuggery, seeking to hinder any possible access Palestinians will have to potential justice. Now, potential sanctions of the ICC by the US will only bolster this intimidation. That is why these next, crucial months must see concerted efforts globally by all countries that respect international law.

The next few months will be ones of uncertainty, willing the ceasefire to hold. Like Nuremberg, Yugoslavia and Rwanda before, only accountability can begin to heal the scarred collective memory of Palestinians.

Until then, I wonder how the people of Gaza will rebuild what remains of their lives, I wonder who will give those amputees their legs and arms again, and I wonder who will tell the parents that lost their kids that they are worthy of happiness, love and life.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.