Status quo with Israel rather than accountability

JVL Introduction

Has the so called “ceasefire” caused this slowing down if not backtracking on the slow moves being made towards holding Israel to account for its actions in Gaza?  Surely not, especially when Palestinians are still being killed, c 2/3rds of the agreed levels of aid are being blocked by Israel and the yellow line creeps further and further west beyond the already too large 50% of Gaza to nearer 60% and houses and infrastructure “behind” the yellow line is being destroyed by Israel.

A few words with no action have been uttered that criticise Israel for approving 19 “new” settlements in the West Bank but without sanctions these words will be as effective in stopping settlement expansion as the mild acts (eg the 8% reduction in arms licences by Starmer’s government) have been in stopping the “plausible” genocide in Gaza.  Israel – and some other countries – have been emboldened by the impunity granted to it by most of the world’s governments.

However, the people are not so easily fooled. While fewer may be turning up to march, they are still large and people also continue to attend vigils, rallies, protests and to stand in solidarity with those imprisoned as a result of the direct action they have taken.  The people are no longer reliant on the legacy media which is worrying the likes of Hilary Clinton and Sarah Hurwitz despite corporate ownership of most alternative media. The Israel centred narrative might just have had its day.  Long past time for governments to wake up.

LL

This article was originally published by The Intercept on Wed 24 Dec 2025. Read the original here.