If Israeli impertinence succeeds in Gaza, it could lead to a fresh wave of neocolonialism and ultimately, global apartheid, according to Taha Ayhan, the head of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF).

"Israel is destroying not only Palestinians and cities but shared values of humanity in Gaza and its crimes need to be analyzed properly," Ayhan told Daily Sabah in an exclusive interview.

Israel faces global criticism over the mounting death toll and devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which it has pounded relentlessly in retaliation to Hamas’ cross-border attack on southern Israel since Oct. 7, massacring at least 36,000 Palestinians so far, mostly women and children.

More than 900,000 Palestinians have been displaced by Israeli bombing in the past few weeks alone and now lack shelter, food, water and other essentials, according to the U.N. humanitarian agency in Gaza.

"Concrete findings from Gaza eliminate any doubt on whether Israel is committing genocide," Ayhan said. "They’re doing it with the unlimited support and the protection of their close allies, and even those close allies have had a slight shift in tone since Israel has overlooked their warnings against targeting civilians, but its offensive is now threatening the entire world."

In a January interim ruling for the genocide case South Africa filed last December, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found it "plausible" that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, but Tel Aviv has steadily ignored the World Court.

The court on Friday ordered Israel to halt its planned all-out assault on southern Gaza’s Rafah region, where 1.4 million Palestinians have been taking refuge. Israel has carried out fresh strikes near refugee camps in the area this week, killing at least 45 and injuring hundreds.

U.S. President Joe Biden has warned against any major offensive in Rafah, but his administration insists that Israel has not yet crossed its red lines.

Defending humanity

The ICYF president believes political elites in the West negate the fact that the war in Gaza has become an issue for all of humanity and their decision-makers even allow Israel to be brazen in its attacks.

"The latest example of this is Israel’s complete disregard for the ‘binding’ decisions of the ICJ and moving ahead with its massacres in Rafah," Ayhan added.

Pointing out "a new wave of colonialism starting with economic crises in the late noughties," he went on to argue that "in contrast to that brief period in history where the people had the power, Israel has all the power in Gaza and its war on the enclave means it can do whatever it wants and its citizens are not equal."

Israel is practicing apartheid in Palestine, but this will not be limited to Gaza because Israel is warring against not just Palestine but our collective consciousness, Ayhan stressed.

"They’re insulting the entire world while tearing up a U.N. charter at the General Assembly," he said, referring to Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan, who shredded a copy of the U.N. charter in protest of a resolution on Palestine’s full membership.

"If their impertinence succeeds, nothing will be left in the way of a new apartheid regime becoming a global practice because Israel will have already accomplished this as the powerful one, facing no consequences," Ayhan said. "If they win Gaza, what’s holding other nations with power from doing the same?"

This impertinence has awakened nations worldwide, Ayhan continued. "People sense the danger and stand with Gaza to defend humanity."

"The only way to resolve this issue is Palestine winning and becoming a state," he added. "Hence this special care for Gaza, compared to ongoing atrocities in Sudan or Congo."

Descent to chaos

Similarly, the genocide case at the ICJ results from this public backlash, but political pressures hamstring the case, Ayhan noted.

Türkiye recently became one of the nations to move to intervene formally in the case against Israel. Ayhan believes more governments will follow suit, heeding the calls of their people, "which in and of itself is a win for the Palestinian cause."

"There are signs the court could reach a final ruling soon, but if people don’t see a satisfying decision, this failure will drain people’s belief in the international justice system and cement an existing crisis," Ayhan said.

"If international law doesn’t work, it could even lead to chaos where the downtrodden will take matters into their own hands to have justice."

As for a solution, he said the world "needs urgent and collective action of reliable intellectuals, opinion leaders and philosophers to produce a legal, historical, scientific and political framework on the Palestinian genocide in Gaza."