TheAltWorld Without punitive measures, the EU rewards Israeli colonialism, genocide and violence
Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) have turned aid distribution into macabre spectacles. The statistics should hold more weight than the GHF’s justifications – out of 875 Palestinians killed since the distribution sites started operating, 674 happened “in the vicinity of GHF sites”.
Yesterday 21 Palestinian people were killed in a stampede at a GHF distribution centre in Khan Younis. The GHF blamed the stampede on Hamas, saying that the stampede was provoked “by elements within the crowd – armed and affiliated with Hamas.”
Palestinians witnesses, however, said that thousands of people had gathered at the site and the gates were closed. “The Americans fired tear gas into the crowd to disperse them which caused a stampede and many people died while being crushed by the crowd.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry stated that this was the first time Palestinians were killed as a result of suffocation and the stampede at the distribution site.
Which narrative is the international community truly adhering to, despite credibility?
The GHF’s ‘elements within the crowd’ is vague yet threatening enough to maintain support for Israel’s security narrative and prolonging the genocide in Gaza. It should be considered insignificant in terms of credibility, but the GHF is not only helping perpetrate genocide, but encouraging its continuation.
Despite criticising the GHF, the international community has not come up with alternatives for UNRWA. The EU, for example, is largely leaving the matter of aid distribution in Israel’s hands. “We count on Israel to implement every measure agreed,” EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas stated after announcing a deal with Israel to open more border crossings and aid routes. “The aim is not to punish Israel. The aim is to really improve the situation in Gaza,” Kallas explained.
Taking into consideration the current humanitarian disaster in Gaza, why would the EU not want to punish Israel for genocide? Why would the EU not try to come up with alternatives that would ensure safe delivery of humanitarian aid? Without punitive measures and accountability for genocide, and without alternatives to the GHF, the distribution sites will continue contributing to the genocide.
Back to the GHF’s narrative, as insignificant as it may seem when considering the kill toll at the sites, it is still keeping Israel’s security narrative intact, and the EU is not questioning this link, let alone opposing it. The humanitarian predicament is merely policy for the EU, and the bloc perceives genocide in Gaza as routine practice now. How can the EU conceptualise stopping a genocide without punitive measures? How can the EU ensure humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza without tackling the real restrictions on aid, which are currently Israel and its genocide, and the GHF?
Israel no longer needs to repeat its security narrative as it did at the start of the genocide. The message has been completely absorbed by its international allies. But the GHF’s constant reminders, such as blaming ‘elements’ for any killings occurring at distribution sites or their vicinities helps to maintain continuity and perpetuate an alleged reason for its presence and the violence unleashed upon the Palestinian people, as if bombs were not enough. The EU, meanwhile, conveniently works around what needs to be faced, because, as Kallas stated, the aim is not to punish Israel. Without punishing colonialism, there can only be rewards for colonialism.
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