There was no year-end truce in Gaza. Between December 24 and 30, 203 Palestinians were killed there by the Israeli army and 574 injured, according to the UN. On December 27, occupying troops evacuated the Kamal Adwan hospital, the last functional health establishment in the north of the enclave, before dynamiting its essential services. “Nothing was left to chance. It was a question of definitively annihilating the capacity to provide care,” denounces the White Blouses for Gaza collective.
Between October 7, 2023 and December 30, 2024, the UN counted at least 45,541 killed and 108,338 injured in Gaza. During this period, the enclave lost 6% of its population, or around 160,000 inhabitants, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, which added up the deaths, the missing and the people forced to flee the territory. The illustration of a policy described as genocidal by three NGOs which are world references: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Médecins sans frontières (MSF). A genocide perpetrated, let us remember, with the support – and weapons – of the main Western powers.
The perpetrators of this ethnic cleansing do not intend to stop there. On December 31, eight members of the ruling coalition demanded that Defense Minister Israel Katz order “the destruction of all sources of water, food and energy in the northern Gaza Strip.” ”, and to kill any inhabitant “not going out with a white flag”. And at the end of January, the entry into force of two laws passed by the Knesset, effectively banning the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), “will be result in the banning of a large part of vital aid for the Palestinians and worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation,” denounces MSF.
-In this context, the defense of UNRWA represents a fundamental aspect of solidarity with the Palestinian people. It also passes through Switzerland. On February 17, the Foreign Policy Committee of the Council of States will once again consider three motions demanding an end to Swiss funding for the UN agency – before the plenum takes up the matter, probably in March. Will the Chamber of Cantons make a minimal gesture of support for the Palestinian people, or will it align itself with the genocidal government of Benjamin Netanyahu, as the National did?
Until then, our eyes should remain focused on the elected officials who are preparing to make this fundamental choice.
