MALAYSIA has expressed support for South Africa's decision taking legal proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding alleged violations of the 1948 Genocide Convention in relation to the Palestinian population in Gaza. 

This action comes amidst ongoing concerns about the situation in there and the wider Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The total number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 7 now stands at close to 30,000 while at least 57,000 have been injured.

This includes 9,600 children.

It means on the average, nearly 300 people have been killed each day. Among the children, one is killed and two are injured every 10 minutes during the war.

The unsung heroes are not exceptional. Almost 200 medics, 102 UN staff, 41 journalists, front line and human rights defenders have also been killed.

The experts also raised the alarm about the increase of violence against Palestinians who are homeless under the debris of their houses.

Leading up to Israel’s birth in 1948, more than 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes.

The collective punishment these defenseless civilians face are the torture and ill treatment, territorial expansion, military checkpoints, wall building, targeted killings, and bombing.

In February 2022, Amnesty International released a 280-page report on the fraudulent and libelous narrative of Israeli cruelty.

Amnesty’s report followed similar ones by Human Rights Watch (April 2021), B’Tselem (January 2021) and UN Human Rights Council 2023.

All reports describe in details how Israel is engaged in “inhumane sins“ against the Palestinians and is thereby committing a crime, oppression and domination against humanity.

The worst  wanton cruelty committed by Israel against Palestinians is a genocide in the making as reported by UN experts.

This include the destruction and total siege of basic necessities like water, food, fuel, and medical supplies.

Leading expert on genocide Raz Segal has said that it is evident that Israel is conducting "a textbook case of genocidal activity in Gaza”.

Segal believes that Israeli forces are completing three genocidal acts, including, “killing, causing serious bodily harm, and measures calculated to bring about the destruction of the group.”

Thanks to the media, so many went viral of Israeli soldiers beating up Muslim worshipers and innocents babies.

These news outlets across the globe are constructing versions of events that will keep eyeballs on their content. It raised concerns of all.

For the Muslims, Palestine is a nation, which is held in high esteems in Islamic history and has great significance for them.

It is home to the third holiest sites in Islam, thus Palestine must be protected in the religious context of jihad, or a holy struggle and martyrdom.

Somehow we cannot see this issue from the religious glasses. We need to  support Palestine, not because they are Muslims. It is  because they are humans.

Palestinians are made to become refugees in their own land. They struggle for their justice, independence, self-determination and liberation.

Ironically, Riyadh which might have a great deal of influence over this messy conflict and become the hope from most of the Arab and Muslim nations, seems busy hosting the parties and entertainments vibes besides welcoming pilgrimages to the holy land.

Arab and Islamic countries which have a lot of cards to get Israel to stop the war did condemn the massacres of their Palestinian brothers.

Yet what has been achieved? So far, we can see the morning after with no conclusive moves or gallant decisions from the Arab League.

The Zionists know that these shameless leaders are worthless and there is no need to be fear.

With the full support in term of military, politics and finance from the west, especially from Washington, the Zionist continues his brutal killing and “assassination campaign” in Gaza.

This is nothing new. The US, has been knowing to support many governments that have violated international human rights laws all this while,

But regardless, one thing is clear and proud of,  Palestinians are able to carry out the most daring prison break in history and all sorts of language of war they face, showing the entire world that they are strong in one of the greatest injustices in modern history.

It is good also to know demonstrations of solidarity with Palestinians have broken out across the world protesting what is going on in Gaza.

It implies world is able to speak with, if not one voice, at least a chorus that is not discrepant.

Some countries suspend diplomatic ties with Israel and countries like Brunei, Malaysia and Kuwait do not even recognize the state of Israel.

At this point, the legal action against Israel before ICJ is a timely and tactile move towards legal responsibility for Israel's heinousness in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) at large.

If Yemen which ranks as the 14th poorest country in the world can give their support to the Palestines, where are we then?

We don’t need to be financially wealthy, we don’t need to be rich, just we need to make sure our soul is right.

Malaysians from all walks of life need to reiterate our call for a durable solution by granting the Palestinians their own independence and sovereignty.

#longlivePalestines

Muhamad Khairul Zakaria and Abdul Mutalib Embong are from the English Learning Centre (ELC), Centre of Fundamental and Continuing Education (PPAL), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.