“Actions” are needed from the global community to stop the Gaza war | Nour Odeh

And we have to remember that this horror did not begin on October 7 even though the events were shocking and many violations of international law have occurred on that day and since that day, but the story between Palestinians and Israelis did not begin. on October 7 and I think it is very important to keep in mind that it is easy to get lost in that detail to draw a line in the sand politicians know better than world leaders know better and they know that we arrived at that fateful day thanks to their failure It is partly due to their failure because they have allowed this situation to continue forever and you cannot hold an entire people captive indefinitely and expect them to do nothing about it.

We're reflecting on a very somber sort of anniversary six months later. uh since October 7 um we have heard uh the Israeli view um now let's listen to the Palestinian view delighted to be joined by Nur ODI who is a Palestinian political analyst and N joins us from Romala in the West Bank we are not welcome to the show thank you for inviting me um let's start our conversation just with your reflections on where you think things are six months after October 7th well I mean this has been a soul crushing um six months for the Palestinians um Devastation uh Gaza has been pulverized more More of 470 doctors and nurses killed hundreds of teachers and university professors and beans, uh, thousands of children murdered.

These are six months that will shape the Palestinian worldview for generations to come and unfortunately there appears to be no end in sight. Interestingly, my previous guest on Yosi um Balin seemed to have a sense of optimism that a two-state solution might still be a possibility. A state solution would be a consequence of Israel finally accepting that the Palestinians have the right to a state of their own and giving up their illegal control over the West Bank and Gaza, so that would certainly be a future to look forward to towards a future that served the hopes and the dreams of the Palestinians and Israel are much better than Carnage's status quo.

I don't know what the source of Yosi Balan's optimism is, but right now I think Israel is not in a place where it can make that change. They have been too spoiled to make that change and Israeli politics rejects Palestinian liberation and self-determination and the world unfortunately is not taking the necessary steps to push Israel in that direction, so you know, I always look for hope, but at this point , I think we're still a long way from you using a really interesting word, coddle, just expand on that a little bit more where you think Israel is being coddled by other foreign leaders or just because you use a really interesting word.

Simply put, let me put it to you this way, for the past six months all UN organizations have been warning that the situation in Gaza caused by Israeli

actions

is beyond catastrophic. Israel cut off water, electricity, food and fuel to Gaza. Same situation when it happened. in Ukraine, Russia called it a war crime, it was unacceptable for the West, but in the case of Israel, many of its allies were quick to find excuses for those

actions

that, according to experts, are clearly illegal, even when the international court of justice met and found that there were plausible grounds and evidence to consider what is happening in Gaza as a genocide, issued orders for preventive measures, Israel refused to comply with them, Israel's main allies, i.e. the United States, the UK, Germany continued to provide weapons and political protection through veto power etc., so that Israel would not have to comply with those orders, the court issued another set of preventive measures that Israel still does not respect, although we now know and have heard Of the experts say that Israel is using hunger as a weapon of war, so all of this points to a double standard, a pampering of Israel where it is considered innocent even when it is proven guilty, even when it shouts from the rooftop that it is guilty , okay, um, and it is.

It is disheartening, it is demoralizing not only for the Palestinians, but also for all those who consider those laws and standards to be essential for a world that is liveable and sustainable not only for us but for future generations, and look, you mentioned the international countries. particularly Germany and the United Kingdom and, um, the United Kingdom, I mean, last week we had the terrible situation of the death of the seven aid workers and, of course, that has caused a lot of controversy. Now many will argue why the death of seven should be taken. Aid workers when so many other people have been killed in Gaza, but that was a big moment that sparked a really furious reaction from allies.

Joe Biden was very angry about this. British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said support for Israel. It's not unconditional. Do you think this week has been a turning point in terms of how other countries are viewing what's happening right now? I want to believe it, but I think we need to see actions to see that this is truly a turning point. period, it's not enough to say the right things and it's not enough to say you're angry. If you're angry about something and you think it's wrong, then you have to do something about it, which is what you know, au's top diplomat, Joseph.

Barell said a few weeks ago that not only after the murder of the seven International Aid workers, weapons are still in use, political protection is still being provided, so, apart from anger, not much is known about the changes through of politics and if we want to draw a parallel that predates this war we can say that we cannot look beyond the settlement issue for 30 years the United Kingdom the USA all the countries in the world told Israel that they are upset by the expansion of the settlements and who rightly consider them a violation of international law that are illegal that would not be recognized but Israel continued to expand those settlements and the number of settlers went from 100,000 at the beginning of the so-called peace process to more of 700,000 now uh words alone do not change reality and that is What we need to see to believe that this is a turning point.

Yes, in fact, we've had quite a few of our listeners messaging to make that exact point about the settlements in the West Bank and what they are like. uh illegal uh a lot of people are messaging and agreeing with you saying this lady is right. There are blatant double standards being applied here, but we've had some other listeners who know who are also very understanding of who you are. said and the argument from him, but also pointing out that what happened on October 7 was absolutely horrible also in terms of the attacks on those Israelis and that the Hamas leadership could help, you know, we've been talking.

There is a lot of talk about Netanyahu on this program and there has been a lot of criticism of Netanyahu and many of our listeners share that opinion, but there is also, of course, enormous revulsion for what Hamas did on October 7 and also many of my listeners are pointing out why Hamas doesn't hand over the remaining hostages, you know they've been held for a long time, what do you think is going on? Why doesn't Hamas say well, let's move towards a ceasefire, we will give up the hostages, if you come out and

stop

doing this, there is a lot to unpack, but let me point out what many of the families of the Israeli captives have accused Netanyahu, which is that he has trampled and obstructed ceasefire talks many times.

He has limited the power of his negotiating team, something Biden also told them he had to

stop

doing. I don't think there's anything missing from trying here and, as we know, objectively speaking, Hamas has been at the negotiating table on a ceasefire. and and and an agreement to release captives for months, but they don't even give us information about who is alive and who is dead, well, I mean, you know, I can't speak to what they are, what they're thinking. This is so, but we also have to keep things in perspective because there are thousands of Palestinians that Israel has kidnapped some are children many are women many are doctors they are being held no one knows where in Israel and recently we have seen reports in the Israeli media that We Talk of regular amputations of Palestinians who have been forcibly disappeared in Israel because they are kept chained with their arms and legs all the time.

Regular amputations that are no way to treat anyone, let alone doctors, women and children, and so on. That is, there is no innocence here, so to speak, and we have to remember that this horror did not begin on October 7 even though the events were shocking and many, many violations of international law have occurred that day and since that day. but the story between Palestinians and Israelis did not begin on October 7 and I think it is very, very important to keep in mind that it is easy to get lost in that detail to draw a line in the sand.

Politicians know better than world leaders. better and they know that we arrived at that fateful day because of their failure, in part because of their failure, because they have allowed this situation to continue forever and you cannot hold an entire people captive for good and expect them to do nothing about it. that's really what it really boils down to the failed Israelis and Palestinians of the world, they thought they could ignore this and they could let Israel continue to devour Palestinian land and rights without any consequences and now they know that's what they are. Yeah, and look, there's a great story, there's a great backstory here and many of my listeners will still think that what happened on October 7th was absolutely horrible and I think what you're saying is that you also think what happened on October 7.

October 7th was horrible and violated many. I also say that it cannot be used to excuse genocide. We can't, we can't focus on one crime when six months of mass killing have occurred since 14,000 children have died. have been murdered when 10,000 women have been murdered when thousands remain under the rubble and when the imp in an entire town is beyond our ability to comprehend right now I just want to move forward into the future, I mean, Yosi uh Balin was says that You are optimistic about the changes that are a foot in the Palestinian side in terms of a new leadership, the Palestinian Authority, what is your analysis on that?

Well, I think it's quite new for someone that you know, who represents the society that occupies the Palestinians, to judge them and their leaders uh is very inappropriate and and and very condescending uh the Israelis have consistently voted for more and more right-wing politicians uh who They not only deny that Palestinians have rights but they deny that Palestinians exist as a people at this time. Palestinian politics is in a depressing state and it is a fact that the Palestinians understand that what we have seen recently in terms of changes in terms of appointment of A new prime minister is not really a change in policy and does not respond to the changes that the vast majority of Palestinians want, which is the accountability to the Palestinians.

We saw the Palestinian president being pressured by major countries providing some donations to the PA and making changes that they wanted to happen, so I'm not sure how. how much traction it will have and what kind of impact it will have. I suspect it won't have much and this is not the type of government that will survive. I think this war and all its consequences. The Palestinians need to have a revived political body that is safe, but that must be in accordance with Palestinian priorities and the will of the Palestinian people through the ballot box, not with the assessment of the occupier or his supporters.

Well, look, it's been really good talking to you and getting your insight and your analysis. Thanks for your time. Thanks for inviting me. That was Nur ODI, a Palestinian political analyst who joins us from Ramallah in the West Bank.