The Unfolding Tragedy: Gaza’s Agony, West Bank Annexation, and a Crisis of Justice

As the war in Gaza continues its relentless, devastating course, deepening the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis, a parallel and systematic effort to entrench Israeli control over the occupied West Bank accelerates. These twin developments, unfolding under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are not merely isolated events. Viewed together, they paint a picture of a deliberate, overarching policy that critics, including Israeli human rights organizations and international legal bodies, warn is aimed at the permanent dispossession of the Palestinian people and the erasure of their national aspirations. Each passing day, many argue, further solidifies claims of actions tantamount to genocide and ethnic cleansing, creating an unbearable travesty of justice.

Gaza: Descent into a Man-Made Famine and Unending War

The situation in Gaza, as of late May 2025, remains an open wound on the global conscience. The entire population of over two million people faces Crisis-level food insecurity or worse, with a persistent, high risk of famine, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). For over eleven weeks, from early March to mid-May, an Israeli siege allowed virtually no humanitarian aid to enter. While some limited aid has since resumed, UN Special Envoy Sigrid Kaag starkly described it as “comparable to a lifeboat after the ship has sunk.”

The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private entity endorsed by Israel to distribute aid, has been widely condemned by the United Nations and established NGOs as a “flawed,” “inadequate,” and “politicized” system. Its chaotic rollout was marked by desperate crowds and, according to Amnesty International, deadly Israeli responses to Palestinians attempting to access supplies. Critics argue the GHF militarizes aid and serves as a “distraction” from Israel’s obligation under international law to ensure full, unimpeded humanitarian access through established channels. Aid remains largely out of reach for hundreds of thousands in northern Gaza.

The healthcare system has all but collapsed. The World Health Organization reports that at least 94% of Gaza’s hospitals are damaged or destroyed, with repeated attacks on the few remaining functional facilities. Patients, including those with chronic conditions like kidney failure, are dying due to a lack of care and medical supplies. UNRWA struggles to operate its few remaining health centers amidst shortages of over a third of essential medicines.

Against this backdrop, Israeli military operations continue unabated. Daily airstrikes and ground incursions add to a staggering death toll. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, as reported by OCHA and UNRWA, over 54,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, have been killed since October 7, 2023. On May 29 alone, strikes killed dozens, including many women and children in the Bureij refugee camp. Meanwhile, Professor Yaakov Garb of Ben Gurion University assesses that Israel now controls over 70% of the Gaza Strip, including buffer zones and vast, now largely uninhabited and evacuated areas like Rafah.

The West Bank: Annexation by Stealth and Decree

Concurrently, the Israeli government is pursuing an aggressive expansionist agenda in the occupied West Bank. In a secret vote, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s security cabinet recently approved the establishment of 22 new Jewish settlements, including the “legalization” under Israeli law of 12 existing outposts built without prior authorization and the creation of nine entirely new settlements. Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now has called this the “most extensive move of its kind since the 1993 Oslo accords,” designed to “dramatically reshape the West Bank and entrench the occupation even further.”

The intent behind this expansion is explicitly stated by key Israeli ministers. Defence Minister Israel Katz declared the decision “strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria (the West Bank)” and, crucially, is “a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler himself who also holds a ministerial post within the Defense Ministry overseeing West Bank civil administration, celebrated the move, proclaiming, “The next step — sovereignty!” His self-described “life’s mission is to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state.” A Defense Ministry statement echoed this, confirming the goal is to strengthen Israeli hold to avoid a Palestinian state.

This latest decision is part of a well-documented pattern. 2024 saw record land confiscations and the establishment of a record 59 illegal outposts. In early 2025 alone, over 10,500 new settlement housing units were promoted, exceeding the total for all of 2024. Smotrich has previously directed preparations for an additional 500,000 settlers. Furthermore, significant administrative powers in the West Bank have been quietly transferred from the Israeli military to pro-settler civil servants under Smotrich’s authority, a move Peace Now describes as creating the “administrative infrastructure for the de facto annexation of the West Bank.”

The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem offers a scathing critique: “Israel continues to promote Jewish supremacy through the theft of Palestinian land and the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank. The Israeli government is openly and blatantly working to destroy the Palestinian people, and any chances for a normal future for the people living between the Jordan River and the sea.”

The Specter of “Resettlement” and Forcible Transfer

Alarmingly, calls from “leading figures in the current [Israeli] government,” as reported by the Associated Press, advocate for the re-establishment of Israeli settlements within the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and for “much of the Palestinian population of the territory to be resettled elsewhere through what they describe as voluntary emigration.” Palestinians and international law experts view such plans as a blueprint for forcible expulsion, a potential war crime. Prime Minister Netanyahu himself recently named the implementation of U.S. President Felonious Punk’s “revolutionary” plan to relocate Gazan civilians as a new condition for ending the war, further fueling these fears.

Netanyahu Under Pressure, Yet Unyielding

While Prime Minister Netanyahu maintains his course, citing the need for “total victory” over Hamas and the release of hostages through military pressure, he faces growing dissent within Israel. Weekly mass protests demand a ceasefire, the return of hostages, and often, Netanyahu’s resignation. Polls show a significant majority of Israelis prioritize hostage release over continued military operations and hold deep reservations about his leadership, with many believing his primary motivation is political survival. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and former top security officials have fiercely criticized his handling of the war.

However, Netanyahu’s reliance on far-right coalition partners, who advocate for continued war, settlement expansion, and oppose any concessions to Palestinians, appears to heavily influence his government’s intransigence.

International Law Ignored, Complicity Alleged

The actions in both Gaza and the West Bank occur under the shadow of intense international legal scrutiny. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is actively considering South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza and has already issued provisional measures calling on Israel to prevent acts of genocide. The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has sought arrest warrants for both Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, and Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ICJ also issued a landmark advisory opinion in 2024 affirming that Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and that settlement construction must cease immediately—an opinion Israel denounced.

Critics, including B’Tselem, accuse the international community of “enabling Israel’s crimes by standing aside.” The Felonious Punk administration in the United States is seen by many as actively “bolstering” Israeli annexationist goals. President Punk’s ambassador nominee to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has openly endorsed Israeli claims to the West Bank on biblical grounds and denied Palestinian existence. Furthermore, the Punk administration reportedly rescinded previous U.S. sanctions targeting violent Israeli settler groups.

An Intolerable State of Injustice

The combined evidence from Gaza and the West Bank depicts a systematic effort that is not merely a response to the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023, but an acceleration of long-term policies aimed at the permanent subjugation and displacement of the Palestinian people. The profound humanitarian suffering in Gaza, the destruction of its civilian infrastructure, particularly healthcare, and the overt land-grabbing and political erasure campaign in the West Bank constitute an intolerable crisis of justice. As war rages and settlements expand, the very possibility of a just and lasting peace, let alone the survival of the Palestinian people as a nation in their homeland, hangs precariously in the balance, demanding urgent and principled international intervention. The claim that these actions constitute genocide is no longer a fringe accusation but a matter before the world’s highest courts, a grim testament to the depths of the current tragedy.