A veneer for genocide

As Israel continues with its genocide in Gaza, criticism is piling up. From within Israel itself, former senior Mossad official Anon Sofrin recently pointed out that “full military takeover of Gaza would likely come at a steep price”. And during a visit to Israel, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stated, “I am not sure whether all of Israel’s strategic goals can be achieved in this way [through a military campaign] and whether this will serve Israel’s security in the long term.”

Of course, the concern for Palestinians is not part of the agenda. What these statements reveal is concern that Israel retains its standing and is able to function as a sham democracy that is acceptable to world leaders on account of shared values. No need to say purported shared values anymore; the world has proved where its allegiances lie.

These two comments are not isolated instances. There have been other instances where, after Gaza was destroyed by all means possible to a colonial military power that holds the US qualitative military edge, restraint and alternative solutions based on humanitarian paradigms were suggested. French President Emmanuel Macron recently called for an end to forced displacement and a return to political negotiations. Let us for a moment set aside the fact that decolonisation is the only solution. The political rhetoric still asserts that Israel can commit genocide and governments worldwide will support it.

The genocidal approach is untenable unless Israel completely eliminates all Palestinians from Gaza. Palestinian resistance, be it Hamas or any other faction, will exist as long as colonialism exists. This addresses Sofrin’s assessment regarding Israel’s preoccupation with security.  Western leaders, on the other hand, do not see any contradiction between calling upon Israel to inflict a less conspicuous sort of violence upon Palestinians, all the while providing Israel with military equipment contributing towards genocide.

In his speech during the Charles V European Award, former EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell declared, “We [Europe] supply half the bombs that are falling on Gaza. If we really believe that too many people are dying, then the natural response would be to supply fewer weapons and to use the lever of the association agreement to demand that international humanitarian law is respected, instead of just lamenting that that isn’t happening.”

Of course, during his tenure, Borrell supported Israel’s security narrative. The statement is too little, too late, but it sucinctly describes Western hypocrisy from a Western diplomat. In varying forms, this mirrors what European leaders are saying – too many people are dying, but we will still provide weapons to maintain Israel’s security narrative and, by default, its genocide in Gaza.

The more this kind of rhetoric gains traction, the more Israel gains cover for its genocide. Europe does believe that too many people are dying – being killed. The statistics are updated daily. But hypocrisy being an essential part of diplomacy, Western leaders will continue to navigate both paths in supporting Israel’s genocide – by providing weapons and maintaining the humanitarian veneer for the weapons to do their job and for Israel to sustain its colonial expansion.

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