By Abel, Editor-in-Chief of The Masses

There have been several reports of the “israeli” occupation forces deploying white phosphorus on civilian populations in Gaza and southern Lebanon. These attacks are by any just standard war crimes. But, the criminal use of incendiary arms against civilians is just one of a whole arsenal of war crimes the Zionists are wielding against the Palestinian people. These criminal acts are tools, they are instruments to be used towards accomplishing some greater objective. None of the individual events of the last 3 days reflect the totality of the crime “israel” has been engaged in since the colonization of Palestine by Zionists began over 100 years ago. That crime is the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. Occupation defense minister Yoav Gallant made the genocidal nature of the settler project clear by stating that he viewed Palestinians as “human animals”.  

The Hasbarists scream in unison like a Greek chorus: “ISRAEL HAS COMMITTED NO CRIMES! All we have ever done is defend ourselves (by bombing hospitals and schools)! If you “people” had studied international law governing incendiary weapons (Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons), you would know that Israel never agreed to be bound by that law!” They are correct! “israel” is not bound by protocol III of the CCCW, nor does it recognize the authority of the ICC, which is the only body with the legal right to charge “israel” over the war crimes it has been actively committing against the Palestinian people for over 75 years.

In fact “israel” isn’t bound by international law in any meaningful way in its treatment of the Palestinian people. This is the ugly truth at the heart of this conflict, anything that “israel” does to the Palestinian people can and will be legitimized by the “united states” led rules-based international order that has prevailed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The illusion that any nominally independent international institution can arbitrate conflicts and produce just outcomes for the oppressed is shattered as those institutions flounder once again in the face of open genocide. It is clear that the ICC is only a court for trying war criminals that the “united states” doesn’t have any use for. The UN has only given cover to the Zionists by legitimizing their occupation as far back as the disastrous partition plan that led directly to the Nakba. 

Every structure of international “justice” has been compromised, so it rests on us to call the “israeli” actions what they are: war crimes. Everything that “israel” has done to the Palestinian people since October 7th has been criminal, and we, the Communists,  must have the integrity to call these acts criminal at every opportunity we are afforded. The world, its institutions, all have fallen silent as the Palestinian people prepare for the greatest fight of their lives, and we, the Maoists, must speak up loudly in solidarity with them when so few others will. It is our duty to hold the line with our comrades in Palestine, and to call the occupation what it is: a war crime. 

FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE!

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Photo credit: Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency