More than two months have passed since President Trump unveiled his Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict — arguably the most consequential Middle East peace initiative in decades.
Foreign policy insiders predicted failure. Yet since October 10, the plan has held through volatility and uncertainty, confounding critics of the president, Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel deserves a fulsome defense from everyone committed to law, order, and truth.
The plan has done more than reduce the fighting. It has underscored Israel’s actual aims from the start: Eliminate Hamas, free the hostages, and ensure that Gaza never again serves as a launchpad for mass murder — not destroy the Palestinian people.
Still, the “genocide” libel endures. It may be the most destructive falsehood leveled against Jews in modern history.
Less than three months after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks, South Africa — a country collapsing under corruption and poverty — accused Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice. That case continues, with a final ruling unlikely before 2028.
Meanwhile the libel spreads. Radical activists, anti-Western NGOs captured by ideological agendas, pseudo-intellectual academics, and hollow institutions such as the International Association of Genocide Scholars push it relentlessly.
IAGS illustrates the problem. It requires nothing more than a $30 fee to join. The group has been flooded with frivolous “members,” including Adolf Hitler, Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine, along with a host of non-experts. Yet major media outlets still treat its anti-Israel resolutions as credible, impartial assessments of genocide — the gravest crime in human history.
This campaign demands a serious response. Legal experts and clear-minded observers should dismantle the genocide libel once and for all. The arguments are so straightforward that only bad faith can obscure them.
After the October 7 massacre — which, proportionally, represented the loss of roughly 50,000 American lives — Israel acted in self-defense against an enemy openly committed to exterminating every Jew in the country. Calling Israel genocidal in this context is not simply wrong. It inverts reality and rewards Hamas.
Israel also facilitated massive humanitarian aid to Palestinians throughout the war — more than 2 million tons since the fighting began. That record alone destroys the claim of genocidal intent. No nation at war has ever delivered aid on that scale to a population governed by its enemy.
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Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Israeli forces have fought with precision to reduce civilian casualties while targeting Hamas operatives. The challenge has been immense. Hamas hides behind civilians, embeds fighters in hospitals and schools, and uses civilian infrastructure as shields. Even so, Israel repeatedly issued advance warnings of airstrikes and troop movements to limit harm. Genocidal regimes do the opposite: They hunt civilians and slaughter them deliberately. Gaza has seen none of that conduct from Israel.
The International Court of Justice should weigh these facts carefully when it rules in the South Africa-Israel case. Israel’s position is strong, which explains why radical actors want to rewrite the rules of genocide to fit their narrative.
The Genocide Convention remains a respected, almost sacred document. It should guide the final judgment. Attempts to stretch or dilute it through political lawfare threaten justice itself.
For now, Israel deserves a fulsome defense from everyone committed to law, order, and truth. The future of international law, counterterrorism strategy, and the conduct of modern warfare may hinge on how the world judges Israel’s actions. The stakes could not be higher.
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