Omar El Akkad: Gaza genocide and the failure of US liberalism
How will history judge the West's complicity in the Gaza genocide?
With Israel's assault nearing its second year, the divide between those condemning the violence and those remaining silent continues to widen.
This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with author and journalist Omar Al Akkad on his book One day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, exploring the failures of Western liberalism and the moral cost of looking away from war.
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Al Jazeera
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- Al Jazeera
Woman who inspired Gaza flotilla says ‘message of humanity' reached world
Gaza City – For the past week, Madleen Kulab, the 30-year-old fisherwoman and inspiration for the name of the Madleen aid ship, had followed the vessel's journey with a mixture of hope and anxiety as it sailed towards Gaza's shores in an attempt to break Israel's blockade. Throughout its voyage, Kulab remained in close contact with organisers of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which launched the vessel. But her guarded optimism gave way to heartbreak when she woke Monday to the news that Israeli forces had intercepted the ship in international waters and detained all 12 people on board, including the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. 'I was deeply disheartened,' Kulab told Al Jazeera. 'I strongly anticipated this scenario, but I was truly hoping for a miracle that somehow the ship would break the blockade and reach Gaza.' The night before the ship was intercepted, Kulab had spoken to one of the 12 people on board, Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament from France. Hassan, who is of Palestinian origin, told Kulab over a video call that her biggest dream was to visit Gaza. 'Her words really moved me, the way she's devoted her life to the Palestinian cause,' Kulab said. 'And yet, that simple dream [to visit Gaza] has been made impossible by Israel.' For Kulab, the interception of the flotilla's vessel has compounded the weight of isolation of living under siege and bombardment by Israel. Since its latest war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 54,880 Palestinians and wounded 126,227, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. Since 2007, Palestinians in Gaza have lived under an air, land and sea blockade imposed by Israel. 'We live in a place completely sealed off from the world. [Since 2010] every previous attempt by flotillas to break the blockade has been met with military intervention,' Kulab said, referring to how past missions have been intercepted or attacked by Israeli forces. For Kulab, the ship's mission and interception – which have drawn international media attention – reflect the wider suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, one that she says feels never-ending. 'This ship's story mirrors my own and the story of every tired, worn-out person in Gaza,' she said. 'We are just a media wave – it rises sharply, then fades just as fast, and we are left to face our pain in silence.' With the detention of the Madleen's crew members, Kulab said she just hopes for their safety and eventual return home. Thunberg was deported from Israel on Tuesday. 'Their noble message was delivered: The message of humanity reached the world,' she said. 'But I no longer have the words to appeal to anyone to act.' Gaza's population is facing starvation, and after Israel partially lifted its strict siege in May, aid hubs have become the site of killings as Israeli soldiers and US security contractors have opened fire on crowds of Palestinians trying to access food. Day by day, life grows more unbearable, Gaza's first fisherwoman said. 'I am drowning in suffering amid war and starvation,' Kulab said. 'Me, my family and everyone here.'
Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Al Jazeera
Israel guilty of ‘extermination' in attacks on schools, mosques: UN
Israel has committed the crime against humanity of 'extermination' by attacking Palestinian civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites in Gaza, an independent United Nations commission report says. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, made the accusation in a report released on Tuesday. The report also said Israeli forces have committed war crimes, 'including directing attacks against civilians and wilful killing, in their attacks on educational facilities that caused civilian casualties'. 'We are seeing more and more indications that Israel is carrying out a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza,' commission chair Navi Pillay, a former UN high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement. The report said Israel has damaged or destroyed more than 90 percent of the school and university buildings in Gaza and destroyed more than half of all religious and cultural sites in the territory. 'While the destruction of cultural property, including educational facilities, was not in itself a genocidal act, evidence of such conduct may nevertheless infer genocidal intent to destroy a protected group,' the report said. 'Israel's targeting of the educational, cultural and religious life of the Palestinian people will harm the present generations and generations to come, hindering their right to self-determination,' Pillay continued. While the report focused on the impact on Gaza, the commission also reported significant consequences for the Palestinian education system in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem as a result of ramped-up Israeli military activity, harassment of students and settler attacks. 'Children in Gaza have lost their childhood. With no education available, they are forced to worry about survival amid attacks, uncertainty, starvation and subhuman living conditions,' said Pillay. 'What is particularly disturbing is the widespread nature of the targeting of educational facilities, which has extended well beyond Gaza, impacting all Palestinian children.' The report will be formally presented to the UN Human Rights Council on June 17. Israel withdrew from the council in February after accusing it of bias. The commission's previous report on Gaza, published in March, accused Israel of committing 'genocidal acts' by destroying reproductive healthcare facilities. That prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accuse the council of being 'an anti-Semitic, corrupt, terror-supporting, and irrelevant body'.
Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Al Jazeera
Israel launches deportation of Gaza-bound Madleen activists
Israel has deported Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, a day after seizing the Gaza-bound humanitarian aid ship on which she was sailing alongside 11 others. Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thunberg flew out of Tel Aviv early on Tuesday, bound for Sweden via France, and released her photos on the flight. According to the legal rights group Adalah, which is representing Thunberg and the other activists who sailed in the Madleen vessel towards Gaza, she was among four crew members who accepted deportation. The remaining activists, who are contesting deportation, will remain in Israeli custody before appearing before judicial authorities. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said five of those subject to forced deportation proceedings are French nationals who have received consular support. Large rallies have taken place in France and other locations to protest against Israel's interception of the Madleen and detention of the crew. Israeli naval forces seized the Madleen and detained its crew early on Monday, about 100 nautical miles (185km) off the coast of Gaza, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the group that organised the journey. The vessel, accompanied by Israel's navy, arrived in the Israeli port of Ashdod on Monday evening, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was carrying humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula, to Gaza, in a bid to raise awareness about the dire humanitarian crisis in the enclave. The United Nations has warned that Gaza's entire population faces 'catastrophic hunger' following nearly two years of war and over two months in which Israel has been blocking or heavily restricting the entry of food and other essential supplies. Following an 11-week total blockade from March to May, Israel allowed minimal aid deliveries to resume. However, the distribution of those supplies has been marred by repeated shootings, with 130 aid seekers killed since May 27, according to Gaza's Government Media Office. The Foreign Ministry portrayed the Madleen voyage as a public relations stunt, mocking the vessel as a 'selfie yacht'. However, Adalah and other rights experts have slammed the seizure of the vessel and its crew as a violation of international law. 'By forcibly intercepting and blocking the Madleen, which was carrying humanitarian aid and a crew of solidarity activists, Israel has once again flouted its legal obligations towards civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip,' said Amnesty International. 'Breaking the siege is a legal duty for states and a moral imperative for all of us,' said Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory. 'Every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity and humanity to Gaza.'
