CARNAGE IN GAZA AND GLOBAL 195

Written By Dr Chandra Muzaffar

Even by Israel's brutal, barbaric standards, the cruel, callous carnage carried out by its military in Gaza has come as a shock to the world. The carnage which occurred on Tuesday 18th March 2025 killed 436 individuals, the majority of them children and women. What has exacerbated the tragedy is the fact that the carnage happened as its victims were preparing for, or partaking of, their dawn meal just before beginning their daily fast during Ramadan, one of Islam's most revered practices. It is important to note that a big portion of the Gazan population is being subjected to starvation by the Israeli government as a way of forcing them out of the Strip.

For Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, this would be integral to his state's agenda to ethnically cleanse Palestine of Palestinians. But Palestinian resistance is staunch.

Part of that resistance which has happened at almost the same time as the 18th March massacre is the launch of Global 195 a worldwide legal coalition dedicated to "holding accountable Israel and dual national individuals alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza." The coalition is spearheaded by the International Center of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP). Viewed in the context of other recent moves by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court to challenge Israeli impunity, it is obvious that Israel's wanton transgression of International Law and its contempt for shared civilisational norms of conduct are coming to an end.

Given these changes in the global environment, civil society groups from both the Global South and the Global North should come together and demand that Israel be held accountable for its aggressive and arrogant behaviour in Gaza which led to the total breakdown of the ceasefire. The UN General Assembly should coerce Israel to do the following:-

  1. Compensate the killing of all the 400+ individuals in Gaza on the 18th of March.

  2. As part of the compensation, Israel and perhaps its allies such as the US, Britain and Germany should finance the construction of three fully-equipped hospitals in Gaza which will be managed by the Palestinians themselves

  3. Israel should cease all military operations in Gaza and faithfully implement the second and subsequent phases of the Ceasefire Agreement with Hamas forged on the 19th of January 2025.        

  4. Israel should facilitate the unhindered and immediate flow of essentials into Gaza including water, fuel and medicines.

  5. Israel and its allies should not hamper in any way the reconstruction and re-development of Gaza which should be spearheaded by Palestine itself aided by other countries which are also sincerely committed to the principle of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state that will be inhabited by Muslims, Christians and Jews as Palestine was for centuries before the Balfour Declaration and the rise of Zionism.

Dr Chandra Muzaffar is the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST)
Malaysia
21 March 2025


Dr Chandra Muzaffar

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), an international NGO based in Malaysia, which seeks to critique global injustice and to develop an alternative vision of a just and compassionate civilisation guided by universal spiritual and moral values. He has published extensively on civilizational dialogue, international politics, religion, human rights and Malaysian society. The author and editor of 32 books in English and Malay, many of his writings have been translated into other languages. Among Chandra’s latest publications are, A World in Crisis: Is There a Cure? and Reflections on Malaysian Unity and Other Challenges. In l977, he founded a multi-ethnic social reform group called Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN) which he led for 14 years. Today, apart from his role in JUST, Chandra sits on the board of a number of international NGOs concerned with social justice and civilizational dialogue.

Chandra was Professor and Director of the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue, University of Malaya (1997-1999) and Professor of Global Studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia (2007-2012). Chandra travels abroad frequently, giving lectures and speaking at seminars and conferences. He is also a regular speaker at meetings at home in Malaysia. Chandra is the recipient of a number of international awards related to his scholarship and social activism. Chandra is married to Mariam Mohd Hashim and they have two daughters.

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The Mission of the Gaza Tribunal: To Stop Genocide