Image courtesy of Palestinian Portal.
There has been a lot of statements made about the situation in Gaza and the ensuing bloodshed. One statement that made gasp in disbelief was Sir Keir Starmer's "Israel has the right to defend itself". With Starmer reckoned to be an authority on international law, one would imagine that in the pursuit of fairness and justice, he would have tried to take stock of the situation, by asking such questions as how did we get to this situation, what factors were involved in making this region so blood soaked. He could then start by having a look at the map of Palestine in 1948 and then again in 1968, 1988 and 2023. He would have noticed that the Palestinian border has shrunk massively, while Israel's borders have increased massively in accordance with the Palestinian shrinkage. Then perhaps he could have asked himself the question, "where have all those Palestinians gone", "did they leave voluntary and just abandoned their towns, villages and lands, and wondered down to live in a large refugee camp in Gaza". Or were they driven out and warned not to come back. In the year 2015 alone, 2270 Palestinians were killed in Gaza. Sir Keir would perhaps asked himself what effect all this would have on the people of Palestine. No doubt it would fill them with anger, outrage, fear, which would grow as their land continues to shrink and Israel's continues to grow. He should perhaps also take a look at the illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. Sir Keir, having looked at all these facts with the eye of one experienced in international law, would come to the conclusion that the Palestinians are being cleansed from their lands and are the oppressed, Israel is the aggressor in pursuing the removal of Palestinians from the homeland. after that deliberation, his first statement would be, "the Palestinians have the right to defend themselves". However we will never hear these words fall from Sir Keir Starmer's lips, why, because he is one extremely biased individual, who holds the belief that Israel can do no wrong. Sir Keir Starmer, you are a carbuncle on the arse of international law.
