At a Summit of European leaders held in Paris last Thursday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s proposal for a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ evolved into the formation of a European-led ‘reassurance force’ committed to sending military delegations to support the Ukrainian army in its war with Russia.
Since Trump and Vice President Vance performed their live humiliation of Ukraine’s Zelensky, criticising him for not engaging in peace negotiations and accusing him of ‘gambling with World War 3, another 31 countries have scurried to the side of Ukraine to reassure their commitment to providing military Aid.
As Trump appears to use Zelensky’s opposition to peace as a justification to pull back on Military Aid, with the other hand he opens the doors for Israel to resume their use of 2000-pound-bombs in Gaza.
And sending an explicit message to “the people of Gaza…if you hold hostages…you are dead”. Unfortunately, in such a small area, where half the population are children, a 2000-pound-bomb provides no concessions for civilian protection.
As Trump and Netanyahu pair up, following Netanyahu’s recent visit to the US, making it very clear that neither party gives any recognition to the recent ICC recent arrest warrant issued for Netanyahu for war crimes. Yet, Putin is confined to Russia, with Western State’s declaring their support for the arrest warrant issued by the ICC.
However, there is no International Coalition of the Willing in sight to hold Netanyahu accountable for War Crimes in Gaza. In fact, not one single Western Nation in prepared to criticise Netanyahu or Trump for not committing to peace negotiations or for their breached obligations under the recent ceasefire in Gaza.
Within a matter of weeks after criticising Zelensky for not pursuing peace, the dual Coalition of Trump and Netanyahu pounded Gaza with a new round of missiles, killing alone, approximately 200 children within 24 hours.
As this week marks the end of Ramadan, and parents gift their children new clothes in an attempt to celebrate Eid, the media becomes flooded with children wearing their bloodstained new clothes after the onslaught of Trump’s new military gifts to Israel. No Coalition of the Willing is meeting to oppose its aggression on a population of predominantly children. No European nation suggests the “reassurance of force” to counter the evident War Crimes being committed in Gaza.
Last week the United Nations Human Rights Office reported that possibly more than 669 have been killed as a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine war, decrying “large-scale human rights violations and incredible suffering to millions of children.” The hypocrisy is immeasurable given the blatant annihilation of schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure that has levelled Gaza to rubble.
There is no sign of an intervention to decry the human rights violations and immeasurable suffering that has now created an environment of long-lasting suffering to the children of Gaza. Instead, the world watches in silence as Trump and Netanyahu now line up their plans for the forced displacement of the remaining living population now hovering in Gaza pleading for safety and relief.
This demonstrates a complete breakdown of the construct of universal human rights, which we once believed should have applied to everyone. The ‘never again’ slogan that was formulated following the atrocities of World War 2, now seem to be a flickering emptiness that might never have been intended to apply to everyone. It becomes blatantly clear that children in Gaza can spend 18 months attempting to survive in tents and shelters without food or water and the basic needs for human survival.
The world leaders who line themselves up to support Ukraine must be accountable for their absence in the face of a genocide that has unfolded in clear sight as a complete result of political inaction of Western US allies. As the borders now slam shut on the Israeli controlled borders surrounding Gaza, the population not only suffer from the disproportionate use of military force, but from the absence of medical care and treatment to deal with the carnage that they are subjected to.
Children in Gaza must endure limb amputations without anaesthesia or adequate dressings to prevent further infections. They suffer burns left open and vulnerable to contamination, yet no leader appears to find it necessary to intervene.
The hypocrisy of the Western world is evident when evaluating their response to the support of Ukraine compared with Gaza. The West praises their values of democracy and human rights, yet they stumble over their own words in criticising Putin whilst in the same breath supporting the apparent right for Netanyahu to kill children. The world watches on in horror with the apparent need to question the value of human rights institutions and the existence of any international rule of law.
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