Maria Akbar argues that despite the unmasking of Israel across the world since October 7 the fact remains that Tel Aviv is still on course to literally get away with murder.
Six and a half months after Israel’s genocide started we are still no closer to the salvation of the Palestinian people than we were at the beginning. In fact as time has passed by the destruction has only increased, more and more lives have been taken and the road to recovery seems bleak when this nightmare eventually ends.
Up until now, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza has been flattened, hospitals have been destroyed, aid has been restricted, and those who have survived until now are being starved to death instead.
So undoubtedly matters have only become worse for the Palestinian people.
That said, some things have changed amongst the Western societies in which we live and not everything is quite the same as it was on October 7. And I think it is important to list these advances before putting them into the wider context of Israel’s impunity.
Public opinion
The opinion of the public in the West has clearly changed and this is evidenced in opinion polls which show that people’s sympathy is now more with the Palestinians.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
In the beginning, it was mostly Muslims standing for the plight of the Palestinian people; it was Muslim personalities engaging in public dialogue about events, and rarely would you see a non-Muslims defending the Palestinians.
But now we are seeing the average laymen speaking up for them. Religion has become an irrelevant factor to a certain extent; rather it is a concern for anyone with an ounce of humanity.
This is why, more recently, we have seen non-Muslims advocate for the struggle of the Palestinians without limiting the conversation to the current events, and instead speaking up about the historical context.
Morality
We have reached a point where even those on the side of Israel no longer deny that what Israel is committing against the Palestinians cannot continue. The heinous crimes of Israel have really exposed its truly evil nature and intent. It can no longer hide behind its mask and charade of lies.
Therefore, there has been a shift in the conversations taking place and even the likes of the BBC have had a slight change in the narrative they are spewing.
Israel isolated on the world stage
The UK and U.S. – who are the biggest allies of Israel – are no longer able to stay silent on what Israel is committing. They have even had to call out Israel publicly to show restraint, to do more to protect civilian life, and to do more to allow aid to get in.
Israeli lies exposed
Israel has no longer been able to get away with its barbaric, outrageous lies. In fact, its lies have been repeatedly exposed and have worked only to its own detriment once it is made clear that there is no evidence or proof for its claims. Put simply, people are realising that they can no longer trust what Israel says.
Does this mean anything?
But, in the grand scheme of things, what does all this mean? Despite the positive changes, unfortunately in reality it doesn’t mean much at all. Israel continues its ongoing genocide on Gaza and just a few days ago Netanyahu vowed to fight any military sanctions placed on Tel Aviv. And it seems nobody can do anything or will do anything to stop him.
The fact is that the world has become desensitised to the horror that has unfolded. The images of babies who died in incubators, people being stripped naked, blindfolded with hands tied behind their backs, civilians being brutally shot at, hospitals being destroyed. All these terrible things we have witnessed are spoken of for a brief moment and then long forgotten.
Israel doesn’t face accountability for any of it. Instead, hearing of these atrocities has become normal.
As well as this, the hypocrisy and double-standards of Western governments remains unchanged. For example, there have been ridiculous conversations surrounding Iran and whether it had a “right to defend itself” after Israel blew up the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing generals and army officers.
There was a point where I mistook David Cameron’s public statements about Palestine for his moral conscious surfacing. Particularly when he warned Israel that Britain’s support was not unconditional as the Palestinians were on the brink of famine. He also called out the lack of aid getting into Gaza.
But in reality, he was only saving face, and his double-standards and hypocrisy were revealed in his recent interview with Sky News. He spoke with “deep concern” about the clearly choreographed performance of Iran, and how it could have had awful consequences if the missiles had hit civilians. A merely theoretical and far-fetched scenario as Iran was clearly not intending to harm civilians. All the while, Israel is obliterating Palestinians left, right and centre, and Cameron says nothing.
Just when you begin to think they may have some humanity in them, you are reminded what they really are about. They really do see Muslim lives as less than second class citizens.
That said, Muslims should continue to engage in all necessary actions to drive change and raise awareness. However, we must remain realistic about the situation and what we are dealing with here – 34,000 Palestinian lives have not been enough for our Western governments to put an end to this (as they can).
So, in my opinion, it really does mean nothing when we see changes like the ones mentioned above amongst our societies. Of course every man and woman should be standing up for the Palestinian people, of course they should be encouraging humanitarian aid getting into Gaza, and of course they should be calling for an end to this genocide. This is the least that should happen after all the destruction that has taken place.
But we shouldn’t become clouded in our judgement by giving our accomplishments more value than they deserve as this is the least that anyone can do.
May Allah SWT grant the Palestinians victory over their oppressors. Ameen.
