In a scathing new report, the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments detailed a staggering rise in Israeli attacks on religious sites in Gaza. This includes the destruction of over 600 mosques and damage to 214 more since the post-October 7 genocide began. "Israel’s" bombardment should be called for what it is: a deliberate attempt to tear away at Gaza’s religious and cultural identity. The campaign is born out of religious hatred, making it imperative to focus accountability on "Israel’s" far-right government. 

Consider the Rome Statute. It declares deliberate attacks against religious and historic sites as major crimes and carries the consent of dozens of nations. And yet, the international community has failed to call out "Israel" for waging a cultural genocide for over a year. The Israeli regime has spared no effort in destroying a majority of mosques in the Gaza Strip and extended its brutality campaign to 79% of core administrative and educational headquarters. These glaring statistics shatter "Israel’s" deniability and further reinforce South Africa’s stance that "Israel" is pushing to exterminate the cultural make-up of Palestinians. Deep down, the Zionist regime fears that these historical landmarks will reinforce Palestinians’ right to their land and sees their annihilation as a major occupation imperative.

Therefore, it is critical to end impunity for the genocidal regime. "Israel’s" underlying goals are to empower illegal Zionist settler violence in the occupied West Bank and wants the world to overlook its identity theft and demolition in Gaza. Not anymore: it is completely guilty of stealing thousands of Palestinian artifacts and using targeted demolition to deflect criminal actions. This puts the onus on the international community to end its double standards on cultural property protection. For instance, brazen attacks on Palestinian museums, mosques, libraries, and centuries-old churches are in clear violation of the 1954 Hague Convention and would never be tolerated on Western soil. Thus, there is a need to move beyond cosmetic condemnations to ensure accountability with the full force of the law. Palestinian cultural and religious sites are powerful symbols of resistance to the genocidal regime, making it critical for international organizations, justice advocates, and Islamic institutes to press for accountability at all costs.

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The report’s findings also carry a powerful message on illegal settler violence. The al-Aqsa Mosque was raided over 260 times during the course of the genocide, and illegal Zionist settlers have openly pursued desecration. Given that extremist Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has helped expand the scale of atrocities beyond Gaza, this is occupation terrorism in full flow. It reveals a criminal disregard for the holy site and growing confidence to push the region toward a religious war. Unless Israeli provocations cease, it is preparing the ground for significant resistance that would pin all future costs on the occupation itself. “The war has left more than 50,000 martyrs and missing persons, more than 96,000 wounded and injured, and destroyed mosques, cemeteries, administrative headquarters, and endowment assets,” stated the report. “The total cost of losses and damages the Ministry of Endowments suffered has reached approximately $350 million thus far.”

Despite Resistance calls to hold the genocidal regime to account, international refusal is reprehensible. Where are Western champions of rights and liberties as "Israel" violates the laws of war and kills scores of preachers and imams? Their criminal silence helps entrench the illegal occupation and facilitates the theft of Palestinian identity. These nations play into the hands of extremist occupation officials who seek to fuel religious hate and use it to normalize widespread religio-cultural destruction in Gaza. Without opting to hold the regime to account, Western states remain complicit in "Israel’s" vicious colonial aggression campaign. It contradicts their so-called commitment to international law, which fails to come through as a cultural genocide rages ahead.

Note that Gaza’s cultural, religious, and historical identity is extremely sacred. The region has served at the crossroads of Eurasian and African trade, while cultural, ancestral, and heritage assets challenge "Israel’s" condemnable “greater” occupation vision. With more documented proof of Israeli bombardment on display, major Muslim powers have a significant stake in pushing against "Israel’s" cultural genocide at the International Court of Justice. Brutal scenes of excavating graves and mutilation add to the horrors of a deliberate extermination campaign, making it imperative to support South Africa’s charge at the World Court. “The Israeli occupation continues to violate all religious taboos and international and humanitarian laws by continuously attacking the Gaza Strip, targeting people, trees, and stones in a clear war of genocide in full view of the entire world,” added the report.

These are the same occupation forces that have burned copies of the Holy Quran and extended their criminal intent toward the intense destruction of worship sites.

For all the nations still hellbent on looking the other way, let it be known that condemnation without resolve carries zero merit.