Unspeakable Atrocities

Gaza, Genocide, and the Death of International Law

“If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America.”

Nelson Mandela: January 29, 2003

“Unspeakable Atrocity”

The UN promised that power would never again be unrestrained by law, that justice would be universal, and that peace would be protected through collective will and action.
Today, that promise lies broken, betrayed by vetoes, bombed into dust, and buried beneath the bodies of those it failed to protect.

International law was once seen as the ultimate safeguard against chaos, meant to restrain the powerful, protect civilians, and uphold morality amid geopolitical turmoil. This idea has not only been eroded but reduced to ash. The US and Israel, as significant impunity symbols, have exposed what many suspected: that international law is more of a spectacle than real law. It functions as a theatre of resolutions, declarations, and delayed reports, incapable of restraining those wielding tanks, vetoes, and nuclear arms.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Gaza Strip.

“We Know!”

Gaza: A Graveyard Built with American Steel

Since October 2023, by July 2025, close to 60,000 unarmed Palestinians have been slaughtered in Gaza, the vast majority of them women and children. This is not warfare; it is systematic extermination. Entire bloodlines have been erased from the civil registry. Hospitals have been deliberately bombed, journalists assassinated, and refugee camps incinerated. Children’s bodies are exhumed from mass graves, their limbs shredded, eyes gouged, skulls shattered. Others lie emaciated, their bodies ravaged by hunger, starved by design, the result of a siege imposed as official policy by the Israeli state.

This is not collateral damage. It is a campaign of annihilation, executed in full view of the world. And still, the bombs fall; still, the white phosphorus burns; still, the siege tightens. Israel, armed and shielded by the United States, has turned Gaza into a graveyard of innocence, and dares to call it self-defence.

Gaza has no army. No air force. No tanks. It has Hamas, a guerrilla force in fragmented cells, no more capable of confronting a nuclear-backed state than the Haganah, a Zionist terrorist organisation formed in 1920, which for decades engaged in sabotage, arms smuggling, assassinations, and attacks on both British forces and Palestinian civilians. Though later integrated into the Israeli Defence Forces, its legacy includes the 1948 Deir Yassin massacre, which helped drive the mass displacement of Palestinians. What was once celebrated by Israel as a liberation force is now mirrored by the very resistance it condemns. The difference is that the Haganah became the army of a state, while Hamas faces that state’s full military fury, without an air force, navy, or international protection. The comparison is not incidental: Israel’s founding myth is built on an armed underground resisting an empire. Today, it rains imperial fire on the very resistance it once embodied.

Under international law, particularly as outlined in UN General Assembly Resolution 3103 and Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, individuals under colonial rule or foreign occupation have the right to resist, including through armed struggle. In Palestine, Hamas, though controversial, is seen by supporters as part of Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation, siege, and apartheid. While the UN Charter doesn't explicitly endorse armed resistance, 1970s international laws affirm struggles against colonial and racist regimes. Therefore, Hamas can be viewed, particularly in the Global South and among critics of Western double standards, as a civilian resistance movement under the broader right of occupied peoples to self-determination.

“Israeli Terrorists”

Israel’s illegal, genocidal assault extends far beyond aerial bombardment. Starvation has been weaponised from the outset. Israeli officials declared a “complete siege”, no food, no water, no electricity, and that declaration became policy. Humanitarian convoys have been blocked, bombed, or looted. Famine grips northern Gaza. Children now die not just from airstrikes, but from malnutrition in the ruins of hospitals. This is not, nor ever has been, a war against Hamas; it has always been a war against an unarmed occupied population.

Israel has not merely replicated South Africa’s apartheid system; it has perfected it, refining racial segregation, military occupation, and technological surveillance into a seamless architecture of control. This is apartheid weaponised: not simply a system of oppression, but an instrument of genocide. And none of it would be possible without the tacit financial, military, and ideological support of America.

The United Nations has warned that over one million people are on the brink of starvation. Their warnings have been ignored, or worse, met with condemnation of the aid workers themselves. The crime is not only the siege. It is the global indifference that sustains it.

Justice Denied: The ICC, the ICJ, and the Collapse of Enforcement

“Acts of Genocide”

Legal experts from across the globe, including representatives from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), have explicitly stated what politicians often avoid: that this situation plausibly constitutes genocide. The ICJ’s judgment in January 2024 concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza may constitute violations of the Genocide Convention and mandated provisional measures to prevent additional atrocities. Regrettably, those measures were disregarded.

When the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced in mid-2024 its intention to seek arrest warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, the United States did not commend this initiative; instead, it criticised it. Both Republican and Democratic officials converged in threatening the Court with sanctions, travel bans, and even the imprisonment of its prosecutors. Consequently, American legal frameworks were restructured, not to promote international justice, but to protect its ally from accountability.

This is not exceptional. It is the rule.

Trump, Netanyahu, and the Death of the Rules-Based Order

“The Modern Face of Fascism”

During Donald Trump’s presidency, there was a blatant disregard for international law. He withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council, imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court for investigating U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan, and undermined the Iran nuclear agreement, thereby destabilising the region while maintaining insistence on America’s unassailable right to penalise others.

Trump explicitly articulated what had previously been implicit: the United States does not acknowledge any law above its own. The so-called “rules-based order” was merely binding for other adversaries, the vulnerable, and those lacking tanks or dollar hegemony.

Trump’s alliance with Netanyahu globalised this display of contempt. Collectively, they redefined the geopolitical landscape by decree proclaiming Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, endorsing settlements deemed illegal under international law, and proposing a “peace plan” that provided Palestinians with nothing but perpetual subjugation. Israeli apartheid ceased to be merely a diplomatic nuisance. During the Trump administration, it was formally adopted as U.S. policy. The occupation was reinterpreted as sovereignty, while war crimes were reframed as counterterrorism measures.

UN Paralysis and the Manufacture of Impunity

At the same time, UN resolutions have lost their significance. Every year, the General Assembly and the Security Council demand an end to the occupation, a freeze on settlement growth, and the protection of civilians. Yet, each year, these resolutions are vetoed, disregarded, or openly challenged. The United States has used over 45 vetoes in the Security Council to shield Israel more than for any other country. These actions are not diplomatic failures; they are deliberate measures aimed at maintaining impunity.

The Arms Economy of Genocide

“Broken Lives, Booming Profits”

The arms trade has transformed into a system that undermines peace and benefits from ongoing conflict. American weapons like bunker-busters, white phosphorus shells, drones, and precision-guided bombs have destroyed entire neighbourhoods in Gaza. The Pentagon often bypasses Congressional oversight to expedite arms shipments, despite independent investigations and UN agencies confirming these weapons are used in violation of international law.

This is not just negligence, but a business model where U.S. defence and tech companies, such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Amazon, profit billions from war. They market surveillance tech, facial recognition, AI targeting, and “smart” munitions as “battle-proven,” Testing on Palestinians before global sales. This is planned profit, with U.S. aid to Israel acting as a circular subsidy, turning public funds into corporate revenue.

The complicity of the Biden administration was as reprehensible as that of the Trump administration. Although the tone may have been more restrained and the rhetoric more refined, the outcome remained unchanged: unqualified militarism concealed as diplomatic effort. American foreign policy is effectively an extension of the arms industry, where acts of genocide are not merely tolerated but are commodified and packaged for profit.

The outcome extends beyond the mere demise of international law; it signifies a fundamental reversal of its intended purpose. Law no longer serves to safeguard the innocent; instead, it defends the interests of the powerful. War crimes are exploited as opportunities for marketing. Within this grotesque machinery driven by profit and impunity, Gaza is not solely a battlefield but has also become a strategic business venture. Israel is not only one of the largest recipients of American military aid but also a key consumer and live-testing ground for the U.S. arms industry, where weapons are deployed, refined, and showcased in real-time warfare.

The Domestic Engine of Impunity – AIPAC and the American Shield

“Genocide for Sale”

While bombs fall on Gaza and starvation tightens its grip, the architecture that sustains Israeli impunity is not confined to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. It operates in Washington. At the centre of this protection racket is AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and the broader Israeli lobby, one of the most potent political forces in the United States. It ensures that no matter how grave the war crimes, a bipartisan consensus remains unshaken, funding remains uninterrupted, and criticism remains career-ending.

This is not simply a lobby in the conventional sense. It is a mechanism of enforced loyalty. Lawmakers who challenge Israeli policies face immediate retaliation, through donor pressure, primary challenges, media smears, or accusations of antisemitism. Congress routinely passes resolutions declaring unconditional support for Israel, even as it bombs hospitals, starves civilians, and defies international rulings. These resolutions are not symbolic; they are proof of political capture.

The result is that human rights, international law, or democratic principles no longer shape American foreign policy. It is dictated by an alliance in which one party acts with impunity abroad, while the other ensures impunity at home. The U.S. has used its veto power more than 45 times to shield Israel from censure. And when the ICC sought arrest warrants for Israeli officials, American lawmakers responded with threats, not toward the perpetrators of war crimes, but toward the Court itself.

What sustains this power is not just money, but fear. Fear of losing elections. Fear of donor withdrawal. Fear of being labelled a bigot for calling apartheid by its name. As a result, even modest calls for a ceasefire or restraint are silenced, while legislation criminalising solidarity with Palestinians gains ground. From anti-BDS laws to campus crackdowns, the lobby’s reach extends beyond foreign policy into domestic law, education, and public discourse.

This is how apartheid is preserved, not just with tanks, but with talking points, not only through silence, but through manufactured consent. The Israeli lobby does not merely influence American policy; it defines the boundaries of American policy. It is the firewall between justice and genocide.

Israel as Laboratory: From Occupation to Export

“Business as Usual”

Institutions such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the United Nations (UN) were established in the aftermath of the Holocaust to prevent future atrocities and to bind powerful nations to the adherence to global norms. Presently, these entities are rendered ineffective in the face of nuclear-armed states, serving primarily as instruments of propaganda or delaying tactics. When the ICJ issues rulings, they are often left unenforced. When the ICC conducts investigations, it faces threats and intimidation. Moreover, when UN officials voice concerns, they are subjected to dismissal, suppression, or blacklisting. The overall message conveyed to the international community is unequivocal: justice remains selective, and certain states are exempt from accountability.

This hypocrisy extends well beyond diplomatic relations. Globally, military agencies utilise advanced surveillance, crowd control, and suppression technologies not for direct warfare, but for the regulation of their populations. From biometric checkpoints to predictive policing algorithms, these instruments of occupation have increasingly become instruments of governance.

And Israel has long been the testing ground for this militarised future, with Palestinians as the unwitting subjects. Weapons, tactics, and technologies are tested in the crucible of Gaza and the West Bank. Drones, facial recognition, AI-based targeting, tear gas formulations, riot dispersal systems, all deployed on a captive population under siege. These are not just theoretical trials; they are live-fire experiments. Once tested, these tools are sold globally under the banners of “battle-proven” or “field-tested,” eagerly bought by regimes seeking to control unrest, criminalise dissent, or surveil entire populations.

In this manner, Palestine emerges as both a conflict zone and a testing ground for marketing strategies, where repressive measures are developed for international dissemination. From Brazil to India, and from the United States to the Philippines, tools of authoritarian control bear the influence of Israeli laboratories and American financial backing, a worldwide economy of dominance, honed through the adversity faced by the occupied populations.

Global Perception, Western Collapse

Across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, governments and populations are increasingly aware of the hypocrisy. They see American officials condemn Russian war crimes while simultaneously financing Israeli ones. They hear appeals for international law from the very architects of illegal invasions, drone wars, and torture sites, from those who now watch in silence as children starve in Gaza. The credibility of the West has not merely eroded; it has collapsed. No diplomatic theatre can disguise the rot.

This Is Not a Legal Crisis, It Is a Moral One

“Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant: "We are fighting against animals!”

The same vocabulary of dehumanisation that Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime used to justify the genocide of European Jews has been used by Israeli officials to describe Palestinians as “human animals,” “roaches,” and “dogs”. A language like this, aimed at Jewish people today, would be viewed as genocidal hate speech. However, when Palestinians are the targets of racism, those who defend Israel dismiss criticism of that racism as antisemitism.

This is no coincidence. It reflects the language European empires used for centuries to justify colonisation and the extermination of Indigenous peoples worldwide. Africans were labelled as “beasts of burden” and “brutes” to legitimise slavery and forced labour. Aboriginal Australians were considered non-human under British law until 1967. Native Americans were called “savages” to rationalise extermination and land theft. In each case, language was used to dehumanise, paving the way for genocide. Today, Israel employs similar language to justify dispossession, bombardment, and starvation in Gaza. While the terms and uniforms may differ, the underlying logic stays the same: to colonise and dominate, you must first dehumanise.

Such grotesque double standards lie at the heart of Western discourse, where dehumanising Arabs is acceptable, but condemning that dehumanisation is not. In this perverse moral order, Arabs are no longer seen as lives to protect, but as obstacles to remove, and legitimise collateral damage in the name of empire, profit, or “defence.”

International law is not fading into irrelevance; it is being methodically torn apart by the very powers that claim to defend it. The violence in Gaza is not just Netanyahu’s crime; it is shared by every official who signs off on weapons shipments, every pundit who launders Israeli propaganda as journalism, and every institution that cloaks atrocity in the language of “balance.” Most damning are the Western governments that roar with righteous fury when enemies like Russia commit war crimes, but fall eerily silent, or worse, offer full-throated defence when the perpetrator is an ally and arms customer. These are the same nations that sanctioned Russia overnight for invading Ukraine, yet bankroll Israel’s siege, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid with impunity. This is not a case of policy confusion; it is moral bankruptcy. It is not hypocrisy; it is complicity in crimes against humanity. And it exposes a truth long denied: that for the so-called defenders of the “rules-based order,” the rules are disposable and the victims, if Arab, are expendable.

If the law is to hold any significant meaning, it must impose constraints on the powerful. It must explicitly condemn genocide, even when the perpetrator is an ally. Additionally, it must ensure accountability for aggressors not only when they are dressed in enemy uniforms but also when they partake in diplomatic gatherings or address the global community on issues of peace.

Those who undermine international law, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the elites who enable them, must be held accountable. Yet their reckoning is perpetually blocked, not due to a lack of evidence, but because the United States has weaponised its veto power to shield its allies from justice. Throughout history, the US has silenced the global consensus by paralysing the UN Security Council, obstructing the ICC, and maintaining an era where American might dictates legality.

During his presidency, Donald Trump has systematically withdrawn the United States from key UN institutions and treaties, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, UNESCO, and the World Health Organisation. He also abandoned international agreements like the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) and pulled funding from critical UN relief agencies supporting Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

These exits were not incidental; they formed part of a broader strategy to delegitimise any institution that sought to hold the United States accountable. Trump does not merely defy international norms; he aims to dismantle the very architecture built to enforce them. It is a move that weakens the basis of global justice, leaving civilians, displaced populations, and vulnerable nations without options.

In lockstep, financed and shielded by American power, Israel has continued its genocidal occupation of Gaza. Further emboldened by the collapse of international enforcement and sustained by unwavering U.S. complicity, it wages unchecked aggression across the region, bombing neighbours, violating sovereign borders, and defying international law with total impunity. The postwar promise of “never again” has been reduced to a hollow slogan, replaced by a global order where legal obligation is traded for brute force, and human suffering is repackaged as a strategic necessity. Genocide has become a business strategy; war crimes, a diplomatic currency.

As the American empire crumbles under the weight of its hypocrisy, laid bare and accelerated by Trump’s vulgar nationalism and open contempt for global norms, the world is beginning to turn away. And bound tightly to that decline will be Israel, whose fate will mirror the doomed settler colonies of previous centuries; it will cease to exist. Israel, like every settler-colonial regime before it, has been built on stolen land, maintained through apartheid, and now stands fully exposed as a genocidal, supremacist state committed to expansion and ethnic domination. It cannot survive in a world that is increasingly unwilling to tolerate impunity masquerading as democracy. Its downfall will not come from its enemies, but from the weight of its own crimes, and from the inevitable collapse of the empire that shields it.

For international law to mean anything, the era of veto power must end. Justice must be mandatory, not selective, not postponed, and not subject to the interests of the United States. No nation should possess the sole power to block justice. The United States’ veto has not preserved peace; it has protected perpetrators, prolonged conflicts, and undermined every institution meant to uphold international law.

Howard Zinn, speaking of the system he spent his life resisting, laid bare the truth: “We have a system that has abused the word democracy. We have elections, but behind the scenes, government policy is made by corporate interests.” The façade remains, but the republic has long since been auctioned off.

As America wallowed, its wealth siphoned into the greedy hands of the 1%, its power squandered on endless war and military spectacle, China lifted its people out of centuries of poverty. While the U.S. bombed, China built, investing in infrastructure, education, and social development. It offers the world a different vision, one which is not rooted in domination, but in dignity.

But more of that in my next post.

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