Israel must be held culpable for war crimes

As efforts are growing to put an end to the Israeli onslaught against Gaza, it is crucial that the ensuing course of action is organised and well formulated. The Israeli attack on Gaza should not go without scrutiny, as the burden of waging war should be held against the party that initiated it.

With the heavy Israeli shelling and the merciless bombardment ending, it is time that the Arab world and the international community come to the fore as far as their responsibilities in aiding Gaza are concerned. The attack on Gaza has unleashed grave destruction that has engulfed the population in a serious humanitarian crisis. The world community is responsible for facilitating a rebuilding plan that meets all the required needs of the people.

But what is important here is that all efforts - regardless of which party is carrying them out - should be orchestrated in coordination with each other. The divisions in positions over the attack on Gaza should not be carried over when the humanitarian efforts are rolled out. In misery and suffering, a helping hand would be needed the most and hence, acts that could deepen any existing divisions should be shunned.

But looking at the overall situation, Israel's resort to violence as a means of achieving its goals should also be addressed. Israel's systematic and intentional destruction of Gaza should not be allowed to go unpunished. In order to achieve this, the Arab world has to stand united in addressing it. Israel has breached all international laws and conventions when it comes to the manner with which it carried out its onslaught against Gaza. Hence, Israel should be held responsible for the crimes it has committed in Gaza. Anything less than that is utterly unacceptable.