During his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Benjamin Netanyahu presented a map of “The New Middle East” without Palestine. This sends a clear message of “Israel’s” intentions – The Elimination of Palestine!

The dictionary definition of genocide is:

“The deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group”.

“Israel’s” actions today clearly highlight their intent to commit genocide against the people of Palestine. In 1996, Gregory Stanton developed a model of the ‘8 Stages of Genocide’, which was later expanded to the 10 stages of genocide, and we can see how “Israel” has clearly demonstrated these stages and is now within the final stages of genocide.

What are these stages and how is “Israel” implementing these?

1. Classification:

• This is about creating division lines and distinguishing or classifying the victim that the perpetrator seeks to target. “Israel” achieved this in 1948 when they forcefully removed Palestinians from their homes and stole their land, creating a clear line between the occupation and the occupied.

2. Symbolisation:

• This refers to forced symbolisation to control the victimised group. The flag of “Israel” itself is a form of symbolisation bringing together Judaism and Zionism. This was adopted following the occupation in 1948 and forced on the Palestinians, whilst the public display of Palestinian flags is forbidden by occupation forces and was described as a “symbol of terrorism” by “Israel’s” Minister of National Security, Ben Gvir.

3. Discrimination:

• This is the idea that the dominant group uses law, custom, and political power to deny the rights of the victimised group. This is clearly the case with the way Palestinians are treated by the occupiers – the blockade of Gaza, the restricted rights of movement, the treatment of Palestinians, including women and children by the IDF and settlers, the continued forced expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and the denial of the right of return, are only a few examples of this discrimination against Palestinians.

4. Dehumanisation:

• This is where the perpetrator denies the humanity of the victimised group. This group of people are equated with animals, vermin, insects, or diseases to de-sensitize to society their killing and genocide. “Israel” has always dehumanised Palestinians, and the words of its Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, clearly highlights this: “We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything will be closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly,”

5. Organisation:

• This refers to creating a structure of armed units capable of committing genocide. Whilst the IDF soldiers are cowards who target the elderly, women and children, “Israel” with the support of the US and other Western governments seek to heavily arm soldiers and use asymmetric weaponry, including tanks and state of the art missiles to create an environment for extermination and genocide as we have seen in recent days and over the last 75 years.

6. Polarisation:

• This includes the spreading of hate propaganda to justify the killing of the victimised group. We have seen the amount of propaganda against the Palestinians that are totally unproven and unsubstantiated in order to justify the indiscriminate bombardment and killing of Palestinians. Western media was quick to spread fake news of “40 decapitated babies” and “mass rape” which created a justification for the idea that “Israel has the right to defend themselves” even if that meant a total disregard for the international laws that they adopt and promote.

7. Preparation:

• This refers to making plans for mass extermination and is often cloaked under euphemisms such as “counter-terrorism” or “purification”. “Israel” has summoned 360,000 reservists and is supported by the US with arms and naval ships demonstrating clear preparation to commit genocide and have justified this under the pretext of eliminating Hamas.

8. Persecution:

• This refers to laying down the foundations for genocidal acts. Forced displacement, confiscation of land, segregation of people and concentrating them in territories like the Gaza Strip are all examples of this. The siege on Gaza and the cutting off of water, food and electricity is also part of this persecution and semi-genocidal acts that has pushed millions to the brink of death.

9. Extermination:

• This is essentially the final stage of genocide before the 10th stage of denial. “Israel” dropped 6,000 bombs on Gaza in 6 days, which is more than the US did in Afghanistan in one year. More than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of which are women and children. It has also been confirmed that “Israel” has used on Gaza, white phosphorus, a wax-like, toxic substance which burns at temperatures high enough to melt metal. “Israel” is committing genocide whilst the world not only watches on but gave explicit approval to on the basis of its “right to defend itself”.

10. Denial:

• This last stage refers to denial by the perpetrator that they committed any crimes, and often blaming what happened on the victims. Whilst the genocide and extermination is ongoing, we have already seen clear examples of denial by “Israel”. The Al-Ahli Hospital bombing which killed 500 civilians was committed by “Israel”, but they have continued to deny this and brought forward falsified “evidence” that it was carried out by Palestinians that have been categorically dismissed. They justify their actions on the false pretext that they are targeting militants and terrorists, but the reality serves to prove that they are targeting all Palestinians, in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Whilst “Israel” has every aim of committing mass genocide, the Palestinians continue to show the world that they will never be defeated. The Western governments have emboldened the oppressors and the Muslim rulers have abandoned the Palestinians. After 75 years of persecution, expulsion, and murder, the Muslims of Palestine continue to show immense courage, protecting the blessed land and fulfilling their commitment to Allah.

“Among the believers are men who have proven true to what they pledged to Allah. Some of them have fulfilled their pledge with their lives, others are waiting their turn. They have never changed their commitment in the least.”

[Surah Al-Ahzab; 33:23]