
People across the globe express great support for Palestine
November 29 was the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People. On this day, people from around the globe show great support for Palestinian rights. It includes independence, self-determination, and free rights to make decisions about their future. The reason behind the selection of this date is that it marks the 1947 United Nations vote on Resolution 181. This resolution proposed dividing Palestine into separate states, such as Jewish and Arab.
Due to the ongoing Gaza war and the aggressive actions of Israel toward Palestine, many nations such as Ireland, Spain, and Norway have officially recognized Palestine as a state. Despite this, it is better to say that 146 countries, or 75% of the world, now stand in favor of Palestine and recognize Palestine as a separate state. This increasing support from different parts of the world strengthens the ability of Palestine to stand up for justice. They pressured the other nations to act for a fair agreement.
Back in 1988, when Yasser Arafat recognized Palestine as a separate state, at that time more than 80 nations accepted Palestine as a state. In 1933, the Oslo Accords promised to provide Palestine with a peaceful state but failed to achieve their goal. Despite this failure, international recognition of Palestine as a separate state continues to rise.
In 1993, the Oslo Accord was signed. It was meant to begin a peaceful conversation between Palestine and Israel. The goal was to create a two-state solution. However, officials failed to achieve that goal. With time, many nations recognized Palestine as a state, especially African nations. In 2012, the United Nations gave Palestine “Nonmember Observer State” status. Many European nations, such as Sweden and Spain, support Palestine. However, the G7 nations still do not support Palestine and don’t recognize it as a state. This includes the United States and the United Kingdom.
The violence in Gaza started on October 23 and continues to take the lives of many innocent Palestinians. The aggressive policies from Israel raise many serious questions. Sumays Mashrufa, one of the famous analysts, highlights that the Western nations keep silent on Palestine’s suffering and only react when it fits their narratives. No doubt that Hamas is also not doing any good. Leaders have condemned the Hamas attack, but their response to the suffering.
Palestinians is slow and biased. According to Mashrufa, this violence was genocide, and she said that Palestine should not require any Western approval to express their severe losses.
The state of affairs in Gaza is getting worse. Israel is conducting genocide in Gaza, according to a March 2024 study titled “Anatomy of a Genocide,” written by Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights. Three Israeli academics who specialize in the Holocaust and genocide support this judgment. Not only must these acts be acknowledged as genocide, but the world, which frequently disregards the evidence and continuous horrors, must be convinced of this.
“Crimes against humanity” are no longer sufficient, according to experts. Since 1949, this phrase has become less and less popular. Similar circumstances arose in Myanmar, where in 2017 more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims escaped violence.
There are currently around 1.2 million people in Bangladesh. This demonstrates a pattern of persistent violence that the world does not effectively address or prevent.
Genocide is described as “systemic, calculated, a machine of annihilation” by analyst Sumaya Mashrufa, highlighting its organized and planned character. Unfortunately, certain G7 nations’ policies tend to remain unchanged even when their presidents change, demonstrating how national interests usually take precedence over obligations to uphold human rights.
This is demonstrated by the intense concern that students from Jahangirnagar University and other Bangladeshi universities have shown for the situation in Gaza and other Israeli-occupied territories. The demand for justice and respect is now symbolized by the Palestinian flag.
Additionally, the United Nations has a big influence on resolving global concerns like discrimination and transgressions of international law thanks to its veto power. It is troubling that genocides and violations of human rights are frequently dismissed as numbers rather than as pressing problems that need to be addressed in the modern world. This illustrates how international politics can overlook the moral obligation to stop tragedies.