Genocide has no Speed Limit: Craig Mokhiber on Gaza and International LawIsrael’s open genocide is dispensing with the last fragments of Western moral authority. International law and people’s movements must fight back.
In a searing indictment of Western complicity, Craig Mokhiber, former director at the UN Human Rights Office, lays bare the grim reality of a decades-long genocide against the Palestinian people. Speaking to Neutrality Studies, Mokhiber makes a very important point; genocide has no upper or lower speed limit, nor is it confined to one single perpetrator. He draws a direct line from colonial settler projects in the Americas and Australia to Israel’s project in Palestine, arguing that Gaza is not merely the site of a recent atrocity, but the latest chapter of an 80-year campaign of erasure, justified and protected by the very liberal Western Powers that claim to have invented human rights and the „enlightenment“. Alliance of shared negative valuesMokhiber’s perspective is grounded in 40 years of international human rights work. He points out that Israel’s existence as a Zionist project inherently requires the subjugation, displacement, and ultimately the elimination of the indigenous Palestinian population. The West’s enthusiastic support is not about shared values of democracy or human rights—Israel is an apartheid state, not a democracy—but about shared negative values: colonialism, white supremacy, and domination of the non-Western world. This structural alliance has produced an “Israel exception” in international law, defended by layers of political protection even as Israel’s actions openly violate the most fundamental norms. Yet amid the horror, there are glimmers of hope. The Gaza Genocide, as horrific as it is, has stripped away decades of propaganda. Israel now faces trials at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), with findings of apartheid, unlawful occupation, and plausible genocide. For the first time, the legal framework is cracking the wall of impunity. Crucially, Mokhiber emphasizes that courts deal in facts and law, not propaganda—facts that have been meticulously documented by independent UN mechanisms, human rights groups, and courageous individuals. We have law but lack enforcementHowever, he warns that legal victories alone are not enough. Enforcement of international law remains the weak link, crippled by the structure of the UN Security Council, where veto powers—particularly the United States—shield Israel from consequences. Thus, change must also come from below: through political movements, boycotts, civil disobedience, and sustained popular pressure, much like the anti-apartheid movements of the 20th century. International law provides a moral and factual record, but it is people’s movements that ultimately bend history. Importantly, Mokhiber challenges the fatalistic notion that international law is powerless. The highest norms of international law—jus cogens principles like the prohibition of genocide—are beyond the reach of political vetoes or temporary power plays. Even if enforcement is delayed, the legal and moral delegitimization of Israel’s actions is already underway, with broad global consensus, particularly outside the West. Palestine will not be erased legally or historically, even if Israel’s physical plans succeed temporarily. Law is on the side of realityTake Yemen, for instance. Far from being a rogue actor, this brave nation is fulfilling its obligations under international law by preventing material support to an ongoing genocide. Meanwhile, the US response of bombing Yemen instead of supporting the blockade, is a textbook case of aggression and complicity in genocide. Again, law and propaganda diverge starkly: reality stands in sharp contrast to the narratives spun in Western media. Ultimately, Mokhiber sees the struggle over Palestine as a struggle for the soul of the international system itself. The post-World War II legal order is young and fragile, but it exists—and it matters. International human rights law, while imperfect and battered, offers a framework that most of humanity recognizes and aspires to. The battle is not merely military or diplomatic; it is about narrative, legitimacy, and truth. In this battle, the forces of justice already hold the moral high ground. The challenge is to translate that legitimacy into political reality. We must try harder.
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2025 Pascal Lottaz |
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