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The consequences of the Israeli genocide in Gaza will be dire. An event of this barbarity, sustained by an international conspiracy of moral inertia and silence, will not be relegated to history as just another conflict or a mere tragedy.

The Gaza genocide will be a catalyst for major events to come. Israel and its benefactors are acutely aware of this reality. This is why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in a race against time, desperately trying to ensure his country remains relevant, if not standing, in the coming era. He is pursuing this through territorial expansion in Syria, relentless aggression against Lebanon and, of course, the desire to annex all the Palestinian territories it occupies.

But history cannot be controlled with such precision. However clever he may think he is, Netanyahu has already lost the ability to influence the outcome. He has been unable to set a clear agenda in Gaza, let alone achieve any strategic goals in a 365 sq. km expanse of destroyed concrete and ashes. The Gazans have proven that their collective “sumud” (steadfastness) can defeat one of the world’s best-equipped armies.

History has taught us that changes of great magnitude are inevitable. The true heartbreak is that such change is not happening fast enough to save a starving population in Gaza and that the growing pro-Palestinian sentiment is not expanding at the rate needed to achieve a decisive political outcome.

Our confidence in this inevitable change is rooted in history. The First World War was not just a “Great War” but a cataclysmic event that shattered the geopolitical order of its time. Four empires were fundamentally reshuffled; some, like the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman, were erased from existence. 

However clever he may think he is, Netanyahu has already lost the ability to influence the outcome.

Dr. Ramzy Baroud

The new world order resulting from the First World War was short-lived. The international system we have today is a direct outcome of the Second World War. This includes the UN and all the Western-centric economic, legal and political institutions that were forged at Bretton Woods in 1944, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and, ultimately, NATO, thus sowing the seeds of yet more global conflict.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was heralded as the event that would resolve the lingering conflicts of the post-Second World War geopolitical struggle. It supposedly ushered in a new and permanent global realignment — or, to some, the “end of history.”

History, however, had other plans. Not even the horrific Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the subsequent US-led wars could reinvent the global order in a way that was consistent with US-Western interests and priorities.

Gaza is infinitely small when judged by its geography, economic worth or political import. Yet, it has proven to be the most significant global event in terms of defining this generation’s political consciousness.

The fact that the self-proclaimed guardians of the post-Second World War order are the very entities that are violently and brazenly violating every international and humanitarian law is enough to fundamentally alter our relationship with the “rules-based order” championed by the West.

This may not seem significant now, but it will have profound, long-term consequences. It has largely compromised and, in fact, delegitimized the moral authority imposed, often through violence, by the West over the rest of the world for decades, especially in the Global South. 

Gaza has proven to be the most significant global event in terms of defining this generation’s political consciousness.

Dr. Ramzy Baroud

This self-imposed delegitimization will also impact the very idea of democracy, which has been under siege in many countries, including in the West. This is only natural, considering that most of the planet feels strongly that Israel must end its genocide and that its leaders must be held accountable. Yet, little to no action has been taken.

The shift in Western public opinion in favor of Palestinians is astounding when considered against the backdrop of the media’s dehumanization of the Palestinian people and various governments’ blind allegiance to Israel. More shocking is that this shift is largely the result of the work of ordinary people on social media, activists mobilizing in the streets and independent journalists, mostly in Gaza, working under extreme duress and with minimal resources.

The left is problematic in its own way. While not a monolith and while many on the left have championed the global protests against the genocide, others remain splintered and unable to form a unified front, even temporarily. Some leftists are still chasing their own tail, crippled by the worry that being anti-Zionist will earn them the label of being antisemitic. For this group, self-policing and self-censorship are preventing them from taking decisive action.

History does not take its cues from Israel or the Western powers. Gaza will result in the kind of global shifts that will affect us all, far beyond the Middle East. For now, however, it is most urgent that we use our collective will and actions to influence a single historical event: ending the genocide and famine in Gaza.

The rest will be left to history and to those who wish to be relevant when the world changes again.

• Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the editor of The Palestine Chronicle. His latest book, “Before the Flood,” will be published by Seven Stories Press. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.

X: @RamzyBaroud