Its time for governments around the world to condemn the injustice of Israeli apartheid and its brutal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, to put sanctions on Israel as they did for apartheid South Africa. Israels friends amongst Western governments, including Australia, must stop being complicit in Israels moral self-destruction.

The US veto of the UN resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, coming so soon after UN Human Rights Day on 10 December, should be a turning point in Australia-US relations. Australia, through Doc Evatt, had an important role in the establishment of the UN and in the drafting of the UN Declaration of Human Rights of 75 years ago.

Are we going to follow the US and be complicit in the war crimes of the Israeli Government in Gaza and the West Bank? Around 18,000 primarily civilians, are now dead. This by any measure is a humanitarian catastrophe. The World Food Program has added to the many calls for a ceasefire, Theres not enough food. People are starving the situation is untenable. We need to get our supplies in, WFP Deputy Director Carl Skau wrote on 9 December.

When will the Albanese Government find its humanity and support a permanent ceasefire and the resumption of humanitarian aid to people starving in Gaza?

War not about defending Israel or about Hamas

This war is not about defending Israel or about eradicating Hamas. This is about the Israeli Governments longstanding aim to take over all of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Adam Johnson in The Nation lays it out clearly, Israel is engaging in massive population transfers and attempting to depopulate Gaza, and everything it does must be understood through this lens. The Israeli government has explicitly said this from the beginning, starting with an evacuation order for North Gaza on October 13.

Yet, throughout November, American media continued to frame every Israeli Defense Forces action in North Gaza as if every target they attempted to clear out was part of some elaborate hunt for Hamas.

If you understand Israels goal as forcing the population to leave Gaza, then these actions [the raid on Al-Shifa hospital] make perfect sense. The media gave American readers and viewers the impression that the Israeli military had to seize the hospitaland eight NICU babies along with dozens of other patients had to diebecause this underground complex was the beating heart of Hamas Israel needed to use military force to remove everyone from the hospital because hospitals are, by their very nature, one of the last places people will evacuate.

The Israeli human rights organisation BTselem, also clearly condemns the Israeli Governments actions Israels regime of apartheid and occupation is inextricably bound up in human rights violationsLife in the Gaza Strip right now is an unimaginable nightmare, as the result of a deliberate Israeli policy This reality isnt the wars biproduct, its the deliberate outcome of Israels policy a manufactured humanitarian catastrophe.

The Israeli apartheid regime has been condemned by BTselem, by Human Rights Watch and by Amnesty International and many other organisations.

The war crimes, committed by both the Israeli government and Hamas, must be investigated and those responsible held to account.

But what should countries do if the UN, after the US veto, cant act? The usual call is for a two-state solution but Israeli Governments have made that impossible with the ongoing illegal settlement program. There are now more than half a million Israeli settlers spread over many settlements in the West Bank and the pace of settlement and conflict will only increase under the current government.

If a two-state solution isnt possible, what are the options?

The late US-Palestinian academic, Edward Said, in 1999 advised, Oslo set the stage for separation, but real peace can come only with a binational Israeli-Palestinian state Once we grant that Palestinians and Israelis are there to stay, then the decent conclusion has to be the need for peaceful coexistence and genuine reconciliation Unfortunately, injustice and belligerence don’t diminish by themselves: they have to be attacked by all concerned.

Israeli apartheid must be condemned

Its time for governments around the world to condemn the injustice of Israeli apartheid and its brutal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, to put sanctions on Israel as they did for apartheid South Africa. Israels friends amongst Western governments, including Australia, must stop being complicit in Israels moral self-destruction. South Africa has shown the way and has broken longstanding diplomatic relations with Israel and closed its embassy.

Australia must stop its considerable military assistance to Israel, through providing parts for Israels F-35 Joint Strike fighter, through intelligence from the Pine Gap base and through Elbit Systems, an Israeli firm based in Canberra producing weapons and military equipment including white phosphorous, cluster bombs, drones, rocket launch systems and surveillance systems.

If the Australian Government does not want to be complicit in war crimes it must join the call for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza to enable humanitarian organisations to begin saving hundreds of thousands of lives. It should expel the Israeli ambassador until a continuing ceasefire is in place.

The alternative doesnt bear thinking about.

For more on this topic, P&I recommends:

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/anne-frank-israel-gaza-peace