UK

 Why we must keep speaking up about Gaza

By Tom London

We should speak up about Gaza not only for the sake of our fellow human beings grievously suffering in the world’s best documented genocide. We should also speak up for our own sakes and for the sake of the future of humanity. 

The system of international law is dying in Gaza. This system is conspicuously flawed, but the world will be a far more dangerous place without it and without anything to replace it.

Twice, over the last 100 years, the West has set up a system of international law in the aftermath of a terrible crisis.

The League of Nations was set up after World War One, but this was ineffective and collapsed with the coming of World War Two.

The current system was set up by the West after World War Two. It was intended to stop World War Three and another Holocaust and another Hiroshima. A new set of institutions and laws was created: the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Genocide Convention, the Refugee Convention and more.

Undeniably, this system of international law has failed many times in the last 80 years: Vietnam, Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, Iraq, Bosnia, Libya, Ukraine and so many other examples.

Furthermore, many people have accused the system of being selective in its operation and acting as a neo-colonialist tool of the West.

However, for all its evident faults, the system of international law is still of great value. It has survived until Gaza, which is likely to be its graveyard. 

What makes Gaza different to any of the other gross breaches is that in Gaza the world has witnessed in horror a livestreamed genocide, and simultaneously seen the West, the guardians of international law, treat that law with naked, blatant contempt. 

Consider three pillars of international law.

Firstly, at the United Nations, with barely any attempt to justify its actions, the US has repeatedly used its veto as a permanent member of the Security Council to block resolutions to end the genocide in Gaza.

Secondly, at the ‘world’s top court’, the International Court of Justice, (ICJ), Israel is on trial for genocide in a case brought by South Africa. 

In January 2024, the ICJ made a preliminary ruling that it was plausible that Israel’s acts could amount to genocide.

The ICJ ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocidal acts and in particular to prevent:  

(a) killing [of Palestinians in Gaza] 

(b) causing them serious bodily or mental harm

(c) inflicting conditions of life to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part

(d) imposing measures intended to prevent births.

Israel was also ordered to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.

However, these rulings were simply ignored by Israel. 

Israel was supported in this genocidal flouting of the ICJ by the US – under Biden and then under Trump – and by other Western countries.

In the UK, first Sunak and then Starmer showed that all their rhetoric about upholding international law, which they had deployed so recently against Putin, was meaningless. 

Thirdly, the ‘world’s top criminal court’, the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and tries individuals for the gravest crimes.

In a glaring example of the selective nature of international law, the ICC since it was founded in 2002, has only ever convicted Africans.

In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin. Then on 21st November 2024, it issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, alleging that he was, “responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

Putin and Netanyahu are still at large.

The fundamental problem for both the ICJ and the ICC is that they do not have their own police forces, let alone their own armies. They rely on pressure, moral, military or economic or otherwise, exerted by states, to enforce their rulings. 

Netanyahu has travelled to Washington DC a number of times since the warrant against him. He has been to Hungary. Each time he has flown over European airspace undisturbed.

Trump’s US is harassing the ICC. It has imposed sanctions on the chief prosecutor and some of the judges. 

US hostility towards the ICC, goes back to its founding when it passed a law known as the ‘Hague Invasion Act’. If Netanyahu is ever taken to The Hague, we can expect US special forces to ‘rescue him’. 

So, why should we care if this often failing and flawed system of international law dies in Gaza? 

We should care because for all its manifold imperfections (and worse) the current system of international law is far better than its alternative. The alternative right now is no system at all – the law of the jungle, ‘might is right’.

According to the 17th century writer Thomas Hobbes, life of man without government or law was, “continual fear, and danger of violent death; … solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”  Hobbes was thinking about why people came together in communities, but his words are relevant to the relationships between countries.

We face existential threats that previous generations did not face: nuclear weapons, climate catastrophe and more. These threats can only be met by cooperation between states and this requires a functioning system of international law.

Trump and Netanyahu despise international law. They are happy with a world where might is right. This is not only morally repugnant but highly dangerous.

Eventually, another crisis will jolt the world back to common sense. But that crisis may be the worst the world has ever seen.

One possible crisis made more likely by the collapse of international law is a nuclear war. Albert Einstein once said, “I know not with what weapons World War Three will be fought, but World War Four will be fought with sticks and stones.” 

Tom London is an activist based in north London.

Image: Protest outside Downing Street on July 25th 2025, c/o Labour Hub.

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Bleak, shocking, but inspiring testimony

Mike Phipps reviews Diary of Gaza Surgeons:  A Witness to the Genocide, by Magdi Saeed, published by the  International Medical Professions Association.

The core of this book is based on 23 audio interviews with Dr. Ahmed Al Mokhallalati, a consultant in precision plastic surgery and a holder of both Palestinian identity and Irish citizenship

His detailed testimony covers the start of the war through the blockade, assault and initial evacuation of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in late November 2023, and  his later experiences working at the European Gaza Hospital. It constitutes an invaluable account of the first months of the bombardment and invasion.

His testimony reveals a war primarily targeting civilians, demolishing homes over their inhabitants, striking refugee caravans and shelters, and using so-called ‘smart’ weapons, such as drones equipped with cameras to hunt down women and children. It details the use of highly destructive weapons which dissolve the bodies of their victims, accounting for the large number of missing persons and civilians with severe burns. These weapons also generate an overwhelming amount of shrapnel, causing grievous injuries across victims’ bodies.

The offensive aimed to dismantle the pillars of Gazan society by targeting any semblance of governmental infrastructure.  As part of this, the healthcare system became a primary target. As Dr. Al Mokhallalati  explains, “To destroy any civilization or people, the method is  simple: target schools, universities, hospitals, and healthcare centres. By eradicating the large institutions upon which people rely for their livelihood, you effectively push them towards forced migration in an indirect manner. This is a fundamental principle of settler-colonial regimes, which deliberately drive people to abandon their homeland.”

The aim is forced displacement – or annihilation. But the people of Gaza are resilient – over 70% have experienced such displacement before. Speaking of himself, Dr. Al Mokhallalati  says that people assumed that since he was coming from abroad, he “would leave Gaza at the onset of war. In contrast, I saw my presence in Gaza as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity… I saw it as a blessing to help my people and a divine opportunity to contribute to the advancement of plastic surgery in Gaza.”

The genocide extended beyond bombardment. A strangulating blockade deprived Gazans of food, medicine, and essential supplies, permitting only minimal aid to trickle through. Food convoys were attacked, and access to water, food and medicine obstructed. Even medical equipment and devices needed to operate health facilities, including those from international organizations, were denied entry at the whims of the occupiers.

Beyond the increasingly appalling conditions in which medics had to work, with a huge influx of patients suffering from burns and shrapnel wounds, there are grim accounts of doctors being used as human shields by the Israeli military.

At one point, Dr. Al Mokhallalati was told by an Israeli interrogator: “As you know, we can reach anyone. If your family survived the bombing this time, we can bomb them again and kill them.”

He went on: “You know that all of you here in the hospital should be executed. However, because the world is closely watching what happens at Al-Shifa, we might let you live.” He added, “None of you will leave the hospital. You will either leave here for prison or leave here dead.”

Determined not to show fear, the doctor responded, “We remained in the hospital knowing full well that these were our possible fates. I never expected that you would let me go; I always assumed you would either imprison or kill me and my colleagues. You are a barbaric army that does not abide by any laws.”

Demonstrating composure and resilience was crucial, he concluded from this experience. If your interrogators detect weakness, they will resort to torture and threats, which is indeed what happened to another colleague, who was told his family would be executed if he revealed the details of his torture to anyone.

When the Israeli forces searched the entire hospital, many medica staff removed their uniforms as it became clear that health workers were being specifically targeted. The military occupied the pharmacy and deliberately destroyed the oxygen supply. When patients were evacuated, they invariably confiscated vital medical equipment, even from children. After the evacuation in November 2023, the Israeli forces began systematically demolishing all of the hospital’s vital facilities.

Dr. Al Mokhallalati relocated to the European Hospital in Gaza, which had been without a plastic surgeon for two months. Hundreds of patients awaited surgery; he formed a team and set to work. Foreign medical delegations played an indispensable role in keeping the hospital operational, even as conditions became increasingly desperate. As other hospitals were targeted, the facility increasingly shouldered the entirety of Gaza’s healthcare burden.

Dr. Al Mokhallalati was forced to leave Gaza by an injury to his hand that prevented him from working. He returned in March2024 with the American field hospital run by the International Medical Corps and worked flat out  -overall, he estimates that he performed 2,500 surgical operations – until he left in early June. Two days later, the occupation forces banned anyone of Palestinian origin from entering Gaza with international  medical organizations.

Other doctors are interviewed here, describing the operations they performed on the wounded, often very young children. Dr. Mohammad Abou-Arab discusses how Gaza has been used as a testbed by the Israelis for new weapons. In his view, children have borne the brunt of the conflict. Medical professionals have consistently been targeted: “Unable to strike them within hospitals, the attacks focused on their families, in some cases entirely eliminating family lineages.”

Dr. Mohamed Shaalan estimated the number of those present in the European Hospital reached nearly 30,000 displaced persons, despite the capacity of the hospital being for 122 beds only. The severe overcrowding was exacerbated by a lack of antibiotics and food – even before the complete sealing off of Gaza.

Since this book was completed, the situation in Gaza has become much worse. The intensification of the Israeli siege led to the total closure of the Strip in March 2025, which is now, according to the UN, the “hungriest place on earth”.  As for healthcare, Selma Dabbagh noted recently, “In the hospitals that still stand, blood transfusions are almost impossible as would-be donors are too malnourished and anaemic… Where they can, hospitals are setting up new units for starving babies. Some are reporting that they have not a single carton of milk left.”

The conditions under which they had to work had a major impact on the medics involved, both psychologically and physically. Many lost a great deal of weight. Today it is reported that doctors are becoming too weak to treat patients and that some staff are surviving on ten spoonfuls of rice a day. Many are collapsing from starvation.

I hesitated to read this book, which I expected to find intensely distressing. The stories of individual patients told here are truly upsetting and the situation in Gaza overall is beyond desperate. But the dedication of the health workers there, who carry on despite the very real danger to themselves and their families, is utterly inspiring. We can only salute their commitment and redouble our own efforts to help free Palestine from the nightmare Israel continues to inflict upon it.

Mike Phipps’ book Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow: The Labour Party after Jeremy Corbyn (OR Books, 2022) can be ordered here.

The Big Ride for Palestine is on!

AUGUST 1, 2025

But other fundraising efforts are undermined by bank account closures, reports Sally Hobbs.

The Big Ride for Palestine 2025 moves up a gear this weekend, with the 36-mile Manchester ride on August 2nd, the 43-mile Birmingham leg on the same date, the London and Sheffield rides on August 9th and the Newcastle leg on August 16th.

The Big Ride for Palestine has been organising bike rides across the UK since 2015 to raise solidarity, funds and awareness for Palestine. The Big Ride works closely with the Middle East Children’s Alliance to fund sports and play projects that allow children to find space and support to live normal children’s lives.

But raising these vital funds has been undermined by yet another attack on those who seek to provide any aid or support to Gaza’s besieged and starving people. Both Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine (GMFP} and Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign have recently had their funds frozen without any explanation or advice on what is required to unfreeze them.

Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine have organised over 100 demonstrations through the city centres of Salford and Manchester in the last year and a half, publicised boycott actions and supported the closures of Israeli arms firms and their linked companies, and have raised money for people in both Gaza and the West Bank. As a result of local people’s work and donations, GMFP have been able to send some £30,000 to local voluntary organisations working on the ground there – and we want to continue to be able to do so. 

Owen Cooper, a founder member of the Big Ride for Palestine and co-treasurer of GMFP has been unable to get any of the money back.  Despite repeated contact with Virgin Money and parent bank Nationwide, GMFP have been given no information on how to resolve the issue. This means that funds raised at many events, street collections and appeals and intended for donation to the primary grassroots organisations we help, such as Medical Aid for Palestine, Middle East Children’s Association and Gaza Sunbirds (cycling athletes in Gaza who lost limbs due to Israeli snipers and now distribute what food and water is available by bikes), cannot be paid at a time of desperately needed help.

On Saturday August 2nd, I will be riding 36 miles with over 250 others in the Manchester leg of The Big Ride for Palestine 2025, while other cities take to their bikes for the same purpose, for example in London on August 9th. Protest and awareness-raising have always gone alongside fundraising for the past ten years. Freezing banking services for two organisations with no reasons provided adds an increased level of complexity and risk to any actions. 

In the past, funds from The Big Ride have enabled the building of largescale play and therapeutic resources for children in Gaza as well as health care for mothers and children through MECA and our strong local connections with Dr Mona Al- Fara, founder of MECA and former Red Crescent CEO. We hope to raise significant funds through these activities and have the right to expect that banking services are available.

Preventing access to legitimate funds used for peaceful purposes is another direct attack and must be overturned. GMFP are asking organisations and individuals to take this up through their branches and directly with Nationwide, especially those with bank accounts there. Motions deploring this attack on financial service access can also be copied to the CEO of Nationwide Building Society, Debbie Crosbie, email debbie.crosbie@nationwide.co.uk or ceo@nationwide.co.uk.

Organisations or individuals with Nationwide accounts: please CLICK HERE for an online complaint form; or Email Customer Service Centre. Here is an outline draft supplied by GMFP’s Chair: “I support Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine, who hold a bank account with you and now cannot access it. I understand that you refuse to tell GMFP why you’ve stopped us/them from using what is our own money. You’ve said ‘We’ll be in touch when things change’. What things? GMFP have been with you for 40 years and had no problem. No donor is understood to have any financial or criminal issues. GMFP helps small NGOs in Palestine who are currently suffering Israeli genocide; you are stopping GMFP continuing to send them vital aid. You are breaking international law by assisting this genocide. Permanently depriving GMFP of their own money is theft. You won’t even let them talk to anyone who could tell them what is wrong,, or give them back their money.  Please restore the bank account now.” [750 character limit; this is 661].

PLEASE NOTE:  The Big Ride have different banking funding arrangements and can assure riders and donors that money raised will be paid directly to the Palestine charities they support.

Sally Hobbs is a Palestine supporter and activist in Manchester.