After the truce.. the genocide criminals must be held accountable

As the truce begins, Benjamin Netanyahu will stand before the world bragging about what he considers his government’s “achievements”: the execution of 50,000 Palestinians, the destruction of 90% of the buildings in the Gaza Strip, the starvation of the population for 15 months, the arrest and torture of tens of thousands from the Strip and the West Bank, the tightening of the siege and checkpoints, the assassination of Palestinian leaders, the withholding of the Authority’s funds, and the unprecedented expansion of settlements.

Netanyahu believes that these mass crimes against civilians will make Israelis forget the repercussions of the military operation on October 7 and its aftermath, and even sees them as a deterrent message to anyone who thinks of repeating this experience.

In the context of these crimes, Netanyahu and his former defense minister, who are wanted by international justice, seek to exploit American support to escape punishment, whether by canceling international arrest warrants or undermining the powers of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

But these attempts, no matter how supported, must not go unchallenged. It is our responsibility as free people in the world to pursue war criminals, especially since these crimes are not subject to a statute of limitations.

The PLO and the Palestinian Authority have a direct and ongoing responsibility to hold the occupation accountable. The differences between Gaza and the West Bank cannot be a justification for failure to perform this national task. The scandal of abandoning the investigation into the occupation’s crimes must not be repeated, as happened with the Goldstone Report in the 2008-2009 aggression.

What South Africa and a number of other countries have recently achieved by issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister is a serious and inspiring step that must be built upon to bring the criminals to justice and compensate the victims.

The ongoing global demonstrations and marches since October 7 reflect broad solidarity with the Palestinian people, and must now turn to explicit demands for the prosecution of war criminals. Raising the slogan “prosecute the perpetrators of genocide” on a daily basis could be the main driver of justice, and determine whether Netanyahu will be able to get away with his crimes or whether the free world will stand up for Gaza and Palestine.

The PLO and the Palestinian Authority must work daily in cooperation with supporting countries such as South Africa to highlight the documented crimes, testimonies, and narratives that will come out of Gaza to strengthen the Palestinian cause in international courts.

The issue of "holding genocide criminals accountable" should be the main concern of everyone: in demonstrations, seminars, visits by delegations, embassies, communities, communications and universities. This issue must become an issue of international public opinion, and an issue of freedom in the world.

Justice is not a temporary demand, but rather a path that we must continue to take without stopping, so that the rights of victims are not lost under the dust of international politics.