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The National (Scotland)

National

Hamish Morrison

'Collective action' against Israel to be decided at global conference

Israel Norway Brazil Ireland South Africa Africa Colombia Gaza

SOUTH Africa, Brazil, Norway and Ireland are among countries slated to send government representatives to an event aimed at coordinating “collective action” against Israel for the genocide of Palestinians.

A conference in Bogota, Colombia on July 15 and 16 will see a number of countries join global efforts to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza.

Other European countries involved include Portugal, Spain, Slovenia and Norway.

Jaramillo Jassir, Colombia’s vice minister of multilateral affairs, said: “The assembled states will not only reaffirm our commitment to resist the genocide, but devise a series of specific measures to move from words to collective action.”

It aims to build on the work of The Hague Group, launched in the Netherlands in January, which brought together eight countries to impose sanctions on Israel.

They agreed to an arms embargo on Israel and also vowed to prevent ships carrying military fuel or weaponry to the country from docking at their ports if they were believed to be involved in the assault on Gaza.

(Image: NQ)

The inclusion of China, as one of the world’s leading economic powerhouses, is significant as the country has been relatively muted in its criticism of Israel to date.

During the brief war between Iran and Israel earlier this year, the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs released a statement saying that “the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza must not continue”, while calling for a two-state solution.

The Hague Group is co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa, with the latter country the instigator of the genocide case faced by Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Also in attendance will be Francesca Albanese, the United Nation’s special rapporteur on human rights in the West Bank and Gaza, who was recently sanctioned by the US government.

She is expected to say: “For too long, international law has been treated as optional – applied selectively to those perceived as weak, ignored by those acting as the powerful.

“This double standard has eroded the very foundations of the legal order. That era must end. The law must either be universal, or it will cease to mean anything at all. No one can afford this selective approach.”

Addressing the sanctions imposed on her by the Trump administration, Albanese will say: “These attacks shall not be seen as against me personally. They are a warning to everyone, who dares defend international justice and freedom.

“But we cannot afford to be silenced – and I know I am not alone. This is not about me or any other single individuals, but about justice for the Palestinian people at the most critical juncture in their history.”

Writing in The Guardian ahead of the conference, Colombian president Gustavo Petro said: “We can either stand firm in defence of the legal principles that seek to prevent war and conflict, or watch helplessly as the international system collapses under the weight of unchecked power politics.”