Palestine Solidarity Movement has written President Lazarus Chakwera questioning Malawi’s continued siding with Israel despite an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all genocidal acts and to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.
Delivered almost three months ago, the ICJ’s rulings are legally binding, as are the preliminary measures it imposes on parties to a case.
In a letter dated April 29 2024, the Movement project coordinator Asabuni Phiri said given Israel’s flagrant violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes, and occupation of Palestinian Territories, they urge the leadership to reconsider its ties with Israel.
He cited the recent deepening of relations, including opening an embassy in Tel Aviv, as alarming, especially amidst allegations of genocide.
“As concerned citizens of Malawi we remind our leadership that Israel is not only in gross violation of international humanitarian law due to its collective punishment of the entire Palestinian population in the besieged Gaza strip – where 2.3 million civilians have been subjected to the most intense and indiscriminate bombing campaign since WWII.
“The establishment of an embassy is a privilege that Israel does not deserve at this time. We ask why our government is seemingly rewarding a regime for murdering over 34,000 people, 75 percent of whom are children, women, and the elderly, and starving hundreds of thousands more.
“Our actions provide diplomatic cover to Israel and as long as countries like Malawi continue to welcome cooperation with the colonial state, they effectively give Israel permission to continue its occupation, genocide, and apartheid. Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people has persisted for over seven decades with little to no consequences imposed on them.
“This impunity has bred contempt for the international community and all its forums within Israel, for which reason it scoffs at UN General Assembly, Security Council and Human Rights Council resolutions today. The Malawi government has joined the leagues of those who are not only inactive against Israel but openly support its actions.
“Our current path risks aligning Malawi with genocide, and it is unthinkable that Malawi, which itself has emerged from a painful history of colonisation, would openly support a settler colonial power such as Israel. Therefore, we strongly advocate for severing economic, political, and diplomatic ties with Israel and condemning its actions,” reads part of the letter, copied to United Nations Development Program (UNDP), embassies and local human rights groups.
