Carle Jasmin, Arnaud Pontin and Roger-Luc Chayer (Picture : Amnesty International)
If there is a reference in human history showing that the Palestinian genocide should never exist, it can be found in the events of World War II, between the Allied powers and the Axis powers — Japan, Germany, and Italy — opposed to countries later brought under the influence of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), which has become today’s Russia.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Palestinian Hamas very badly misplayed its hand by attacking Israel three years ago, causing the deaths of hundreds of people and abducting women, children, and men, even desecrating the dead. Hamas, a kind of political-terrorist group, certainly did not anticipate Israel’s military response, which was extreme.
But the Palestinian people are not Hamas, just as the Japanese, German, and Italian peoples of that era were not all extremists, fascists, or Nazis. The state does not make the citizen!
The Palestinian genocide…
If any people in the world have experienced genocide, it is the Jewish people, who continuously commemorate the memory of those executed by the Nazis in Europe during World War II. The history of the Shoah — or the Holocaust, if preferred — is taught in schools to remind everyone that this people was targeted in a savage war orchestrated by fanatical leaders who carried out the extermination of European Jews.
Yet today, Israel is reproducing similar methods. The Israeli state inflicts upon the Palestinian people what Jews endured between 1933 and 1945, and even goes further: not only does it kill, but it systematically destroys everything Palestinian. Homes, hospitals, schools, shops, sewer systems, water treatment plants, power stations — nothing is spared.
Worse still, by depriving an already burdened population of its homes and dignity, Israel cuts off food and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip, causing famine, deadly epidemics, and heartbreaking images of emaciated children and adults.
What does humanity do in the face of this carnage? Nothing.
At least during World War II, the nations of the world united to face the Nazi and fascist threat, as well as the expansionist ambitions of the Japanese Empire. Today, faced with the Palestinian situation, no one dares to step into Gaza.
The Allied powers of World War II formed a vast coalition led by the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union, supported by China and Free France. Around this core, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and British India joined, as well as Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Denmark, and Luxembourg. Latin America also participated in the war effort through Brazil, Mexico, and several other states, as did Ethiopia, Chad, Syria, and Lebanon following the end of French mandates. This global coalition mobilized forces from Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas against Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan.
The Israeli Mistake
Israel’s mistake is failing to look beyond its own interests, even though the experience of World War II should once again serve as inspiration for managing the Palestinian issue.
The Allies transformed the former Axis states into partners by combining total military defeat, prolonged occupation, and guided political, economic, and social reconstruction. After surrender, fascist and militarist regimes were dismantled, responsible leaders were prosecuted or removed, and new democratic institutions were established under international supervision.
At the same time, a massive reconstruction effort, like the Marshall Plan in Europe or the economic and social reforms imposed on Japan, helped stabilize these devastated societies. Finally, in the context of the Cold War, the integration of West Germany, Italy, and Japan into the Western bloc accelerated, turning former enemies into strategic allies against Soviet expansion.
On the Soviet side, managing former enemies took a radically different form than in the West. After the victory, the Red Army occupied Eastern Europe and part of Germany, installing communist satellite regimes under Moscow’s direct control. Rather than democratic reconstruction, it was a complete ideological and political transformation: fascist structures were crushed, opponents eliminated or silenced, and communist parties imposed in power. The economy was integrated into the Soviet system, and society placed under strict surveillance with massive repression of any dissent.
Result: The Allies demonstrated that revenge brings nothing after a war. Israel, rather than seeking to destroy Gaza completely and wipe out the Palestinian people, should focus on eliminating the threat to prevent attacks like the one three years ago. The goal should then be to take control of Gaza not to annihilate it, but to make it a democratic, economically viable partner beneficial to Israel’s future development.
In short, this is about introducing some humanity into a situation that has clearly spiraled out of control. It remains to be seen who will impose reason, on both Israel and Palestine.
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