Israel’s Call for Genocide: A Dire Threat That Must Be Halted Immediately

Last week, as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.N. General Assembly, numerous representatives from various countries exited the session. This mass walkout underscores the international condemnation facing Netanyahu and his administration, largely due to Israel’s extreme aggression towards its Arab neighbors. Netanyahu champions an extremist belief system that has positioned Israel as one of the most aggressive nations globally.

Central to this extremist belief is the notion that Palestinians are not entitled to their own state. The Israeli legislature, the Knesset, has recently passed a resolution explicitly denying the establishment of a Palestinian State on what it refers to as The Land of Israel, encompassing all territories west of the Jordan River.

The Knesset of Israel categorically rejects the formation of a Palestinian state west of Jordan. Establishing such a state within the core of the Land of Israel represents a existential threat to Israel and its citizens, perpetuates the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and threatens regional stability.

The characterization of the land west of the Jordan River as the “heart of the Land of Israel” is audacious. Israel constitutes only a portion of this area. The International Court of Justice has recently declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories (defined as those beyond Israel’s 1967 borders prior to the Six-Day War) as outright illegal. Furthermore, the U.N. General Assembly has recently voted overwhelmingly to support the ICJ’s decision, demanding that Israel vacate these territories within the next year.

The audacity of Israel is fueled by several factors, the most significant being the support of the U.S. military.

It is essential to remember that the British Empire’s 1917 promise of a Jewish homeland in what was then Ottoman-controlled Palestine was made when Palestinian Arabs made up about 90% of the population. By the time of the U.N. partition plan in 1947, this demographic had reduced to about 67%, yet the plan allocated only 44% of the land to Arabs. Today, Israel lays claim to the entire territory.

The boldness of Israel’s actions is largely supported by U.S. military aid. Without this assistance, Israel could not maintain its apartheid-like control over a population where Palestinian Arabs, who nearly make up half of the populace, possess no political power. Future historians will likely be astounded at how effectively the Israel Lobby has manipulated U.S. military support to the detriment of both U.S. national interests and global peace.

Beyond U.S. military support, another key factor in Israel’s severe injustice towards Palestinians is the religious extremism promoted by figures like the self-declared fascist Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s Finance Minister, and Minister of National Defense Itamar Ben-Gvir. These extremists cling to the biblical Book of Joshua, which claims divine promise of the land stretching “from the Negev desert in the south to the mountains of Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west” (Joshua 1:4).

Last week at the U.N., Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s entitlement to the land based on biblical assertions: “Last year, I spoke about the ancient choice Moses presented to the people of Israel as we were on the verge of entering the Promised Land. Moses told us our actions would determine whether we pass on a blessing or a curse to future generations.”

What Netanyahu omitted in his address (which most attendees had already left) was that Moses’ path to the Promised Land was marked by genocidal directives (Deuteronomy 31):

[The LORD] will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua will lead you just as the LORD has decreed. “The LORD will treat them as He did Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land, when He destroyed them. “The LORD will hand them over to you, and you must follow all the commands I have given you.”

Israeli extremists believe they are biblically sanctioned to obliterate the Palestinian people. Their biblical figure of reverence is Joshua, who led the Israelites in their genocidal campaigns. (Netanyahu has also referenced the Amalekites, invoking another example of divinely sanctioned genocide, signaling to his extremist base.) The scripture recounts Joshua’s conquest of Hebron (Joshua 10):

Then Joshua, with all Israel, marched from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. They captured it, putting to the sword its king, its towns, and all its people. He left no survivors, just as he had done at Eglon, destroying it and its inhabitants.

Ironically, this genocidal narrative is likely historically inaccurate. Evidence suggests that Jewish kingdoms emerged from local Canaanite groups adopting early forms of Judaism, not from genocidal conquests. Yet, modern Israeli politicians, illegal settlers, and other extremists seek to emulate, and justify violence through, a 6th-century BCE myth, a practice of political bravado common in ancient Near Eastern politics.

Today’s Israeli extremists are drastically out of sync with contemporary accepted norms of governance and international law. Israel should adhere to the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions, not the Book of Joshua. Following the recent ICJ ruling and U.N. General Assembly endorsement, Israel must withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories within a year. According to international law, Israel’s borders are limited to those established on June 4, 1967, not the biblical expanse from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean.

Israel’s extremists are significantly misaligned with modern accepted political and legal standards.

The ICJ ruling and the U.N. vote are not condemnations of the state of Israel itself but against extremism, highlighting malice on both sides of the conflict. Both communities, each constituting about half of the total population, are internally divided and in need of a lawful resolution. International law supports the coexistence of two states, peacefully side-by-side.

The optimal outcome, which we must strive for promptly, is for the two states and peoples to coexist beneficially. Until that becomes reality, peacekeepers and secure borders will be necessary to protect each side from mutual hostility, while still allowing for prosperity. The current, unacceptable and illegal status quo, where Israel harshly governs over Palestinians, must end.

There is hope that soon there will be an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, regardless of the Knesset’s preferences. This is not up to Israel but mandated by the international community and international law. The sooner Palestine is recognized as a U.N. member state, and the security of both Israel and Palestine is guaranteed by U.N. peacekeepers, the sooner peace will be achievable in the region.