Why Waging Global Boycott Campaign in Solidarity with Palestine Is Irreversible

 Why Waging Global Boycott Campaign in Solidarity with Palestine Is Irreversible 

By Mu’az Ahmad

“Apartheid is a crime against humanity. Israel has deprived millions of Palestinians of their liberty and property. It has perpetuated a system of gross racial discrimination and inequality. It has systematically incarcerated and tortured thousands of Palestinians, contrary to the rules of international law. It has, in particular, waged a war against a civilian population, in particular children”.~Nelson Mandela

The people of Africa have a magnificently glorious tradition of struggle, not only for their own survival and freedom, but for the rights, security and future of all people everywhere. Taking Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by the South African government is a testament to the deep concern Africans share to all people everywhere, who are the victims of oppression and genocide. 

Following the announcement of prominent rights activists from across the globe to launch “Global Boycott Campaign in Solidarity with Palestine”, I feel compelled to attach my voice on behalf of all the people of Nigeria, Africa and every black community in the world, to amplify the call for justice, peace and recognition of the struggle of the people of Palestine, who have known nothing, for over 74 years, but tensions.  

Why would I consider the global boycott campaign in solidarity with Palestine “Irreversible”? Enjoy. 

Since the beginning of the war, 7 months now, Israel had launched one of the most extensive bombing campaigns in the 21st century against a population of about 2.2 million people. More than 34,900 Palestinians, most of whom have been women and children have been killed, and had colossally injured over 78,500. There is no reason whatsoever why we should relax our position. A January estimate calculates that more than half of the buildings across Gaza have been gruesomely damaged or destroyed. In the month of January this year, American officials told Israeli officials that what was done in the north of Gaza could not be done to the south. And yet after the defenseless and unarmed Palestinians were asked to move to the south for fear of being killed, Israel went ahead, in broad daylight, as it always does, to bomb it (the south), in such a way that President Joe Biden himself admitted is “indiscriminate”. Then why should we relax our boycott campaign? 

Part of the plans of Israel are: after the war, Israeli seizure of land in Gaza will continue, and Israeli occupation of the territory inevitable. 

Fareed Zakaria wrote: “About 1 in 4 are on the brink of famine and almost all are dependent on food aid. The water supply as of late December is 7 percent of what it was before the war. Most of its hospitals no longer function.” A visiting Oxford-based surgeon, Nick Maynard is reported to have described the condition at a hospital in Gaza, one of the few that are partially functioning: “We saw mainly a lot of children coming in with the most appalling injuries, many of whom you knew were going to die. And you couldn’t give them pain relief. There was often no morphine. There was nowhere for them to die in dignity. So often, they were just literally left on the floor of the corner of the emergency department to die!” No people of conscience should relax when innocent human beings are being reduced to ashes. 

On a historically fateful day of Friday, February 18, 2024, another tragic agenda was unveiled. Richard Allen Greene and Elliott Gotkine of CNN shared with the world the plans unveiled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—gruesome plans he crafted for Gaza’s Future Post-Hamas.  Addressing the conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, he shared a pamphlet, which begins with that: “Complete demilitarization” of the enclave, closing off the territory’s southern border with Egypt, as well as the overhaul of Gaza’s civil administration and education system will be conducted by Israel. Finally, the plan reiterates Israel’s insistence that “it will not be forced by the International community to recognize a Palestine State…”

Therefore, the global boycott campaign in solidarity with Palestine we are ventilating today is not merely a means to secure the security and wellbeing of the entire Palestinian population. Our campaign today is a prerequisite for the redemption of Palestine—a country that has been under this globally-sophisticated, coordinated assault, and for the beginning of a new era of world history, leaving behind the shameful legacy of the intimidation, torture, humiliation and dehumanization the Palestinians have endured over the darkest decades. Incontestably, if we can end genocide, and injustice in any region of the world, we would have achieved something very worthwhile. God Says in the Holy Quran: “Whoever kills one man has killed the whole of humanity. And whoever saves one man has saved the whole of humanity.” If we can vigorously stand with Palestinians in their own struggle, we have begun to change the world. 

#riseforraffah. Join us in making history—a history that no one can distort or pervert. 

Mu’az Ahmad: Foreign Policy Analyst and writes from Nigeria