From apartheid South Africa to Gaza: Why Israel faces growing calls for international isolation

By Sandeep Pandey* 

The interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla by Israel near Greece has once again raised troubling questions about international law, humanitarian access, and the continued blockade of Gaza. The flotilla, carrying around 1,000 activists from across the world in 100 boats, aimed to express solidarity with Palestinians and deliver relief material to Gaza. Israeli forces reportedly stopped the convoy nearly 1,000 kilometers before it could reach Gaza, deported many activists, and detained steering committee members Saif Abukeshk and Thiago Avila. Such actions have intensified global criticism of Israel’s conduct and renewed demands for accountability.

For the past several years, Gaza and the West Bank have remained trapped in an unending cycle of violence. Tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them women and children, have reportedly been killed, while vast parts of Gaza have been reduced to rubble. The destruction of civilian infrastructure, restrictions on food, water, medicine, and humanitarian assistance, and the obstruction of relief agencies such as UNRWA have deepened what many international observers describe as a humanitarian catastrophe. Allegations that starvation has been used as a weapon of war have further damaged Israel’s standing in global public opinion.

International legal institutions have also become increasingly involved. South Africa’s case against Israel before the International Court of Justice marked a significant turning point in the global debate. At the same time, international scrutiny of Israeli leaders has grown, with allegations of war crimes becoming central to diplomatic discussions. These developments have strengthened calls for the international community to move beyond symbolic condemnation and adopt concrete measures.

Several countries, including Spain, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, and others, have openly criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza. European leaders and public figures have increasingly argued that silence in the face of civilian suffering is morally indefensible. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has repeatedly urged stronger international action, while global human rights advocates, including UN officials, have highlighted alleged violations committed in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Public solidarity with Palestine has expanded far beyond governments. Artists, actors, musicians, academics, and athletes across the world have spoken out despite professional and political risks. University campuses in many countries have witnessed large demonstrations demanding Palestinian rights and an end to the war in Gaza. Such protests reflect a growing global sentiment that the Palestinian issue can no longer be treated as a peripheral concern.

The comparison with apartheid South Africa is therefore gaining renewed resonance. During the anti-apartheid struggle, sustained international boycotts, sanctions, and cultural isolation played a major role in pressuring the South African regime. Many activists now argue that similar forms of nonviolent global pressure should be directed at Israel until meaningful steps are taken toward justice, equality, and peace for Palestinians.

The treatment of activists associated with the Global Sumud Flotilla has further intensified these calls. Reports alleging mistreatment of detained activists, including blindfolding, physical abuse, and harsh prison conditions, are deeply disturbing if true. The flotilla’s organizers insist that the mission was entirely nonviolent and inspired by Gandhian principles of peaceful resistance. Criminalizing humanitarian solidarity campaigns only reinforces perceptions of excessive state repression.

At the same time, the humanitarian and political crisis cannot be separated from the broader unresolved Israel–Palestine conflict. More than 150 UN member states recognize Palestine, yet Palestine remains blocked from full United Nations membership due to geopolitical divisions and the use of veto power in the Security Council. This contradiction has increasingly weakened faith in the international system among many countries of the Global South.

The proposal to reshape Gaza’s future without meaningful Palestinian representation has also generated concern. Any reconstruction or peace initiative imposed externally, without the participation and consent of the people of Gaza themselves, risks being viewed as illegitimate. Lasting peace cannot emerge through exclusion or coercion.

The roots of the present crisis lie in history. The displacement of Palestinians during the Nakba of 1948 continues to shape collective memory and regional politics. Generations of Palestinian refugees still live in camps across neighboring countries. Historical decisions taken during the colonial era, including the Balfour Declaration and the partition arrangements that followed, continue to cast a long shadow over the region. Much like the Partition of India in 1947, these unresolved historical wounds continue to fuel conflict and mistrust decades later.

The world now faces a moral and political test. If international law and human rights are to retain credibility, they must apply universally rather than selectively. The international community should intensify diplomatic efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire, ensure humanitarian access, protect civilians on all sides, release detainees and hostages, and revive a genuinely negotiated political settlement based on justice and equality.

Calls for boycott and international isolation arise from the perception that conventional diplomacy has failed. Whether or not the world embraces such measures, the growing anger over Gaza demonstrates that the status quo is becoming increasingly untenable. Sustainable peace will require not military domination, but recognition of the equal humanity, dignity, and rights of both Palestinians and Israelis.

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*Secretary General of the Socialist Party (India)