ALWAGHT- The Oxford Union has declared that the Israeli 'apartheid' regime is 'responsible for genocide' against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli regime initiated military action against Gaza on October 7, 2023, following a retaliatory operation by Palestinians. Since then, the conflict has resulted in the deaths of at least 44,363 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, and injured 105,070 others. Nearly the entire population of Gaza has been displaced from their homes.
The Oxford Union, a student debating society established in 1823 in Oxford, England, held a landmark debate on the motion: “This house believes Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide.” After a passionate exchange between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli speakers, the motion was passed with an overwhelming majority of 278 votes to 59. During the debate, pro-Israeli speaker Yoseph Haddad was asked to leave for calling the audience “terrorist supporters” after being heckled.
The speakers supporting the motion included Union President Ebrahim Osman Mowafy, Israeli-American activist and author Miko Peled, Palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd, and acclaimed writer Susan Abulhawa. Peled described the October 7 operation, known as Operation al-Aqsa Storm, as a “heroic” act of resistance against oppression. According to Cherwell, Oxford University’s student newspaper, he framed the operation as “acts of heroism by an oppressed people.”
Osman-Mowafy, stepping in for prominent academic Norman Finkelstein, recounted the harrowing death of 19-year-old Shaban al-Daloum, who was burned alive in an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza hospital, calling it part of a “holocaust” inflicted upon Gazans.
The debate occurred shortly after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Military Affairs Yoav Gallant over alleged genocide against Palestinians. Susan Akram, director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Boston University School of Law, emphasized the critical role of civil society in pressuring governments to adhere to ICC mandates. She highlighted civil society’s contributions in providing evidence to international courts, influencing decisions and orders.
The ongoing conflict has left over 10,000 individuals unaccounted for, presumed dead beneath the rubble of destroyed homes across Gaza. The Israeli regime has been accused of committing war crimes, including starvation of the population and deliberate attacks on civilians in the besieged territory.
