Nonviolent collective action is emerging as a potential strategy to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, challenging the long-held belief that such atrocities can only be halted through military force. While Western governments have historically used military intervention to stop ethnic cleansing in places like Bosnia in 1995 and Kosovo in 1999, they have not done so in the current Palestinian crisis, which has lasted three years.
According to Ian Hansen in CounterPunch, the lack of state-sponsored intervention has created a scenario where nonviolent resistance is becoming a necessity. Despite the persecution of nonviolent resisters by powerful Western governments, the pro-Palestine movement has achieved “odds-beating small victories” that suggest nonviolent action could potentially end a genocide.
The Failure of Military Intervention
The current situation contrasts sharply with previous Western responses to genocide. While NATO acted relatively swiftly in the Balkans during the 1990s, current liberal democratic governments in the West are generally not taking action to stop the documented genocide of Palestinians. Instead, some of the most powerful Western governments are focused on imposing “draconian punishments” on those attempting to stop the violence nonviolently.
Challenges to Nonviolent Resistance
Palestinians attempting nonviolent resistance face significant obstacles, including a tendency among Western officials to frame violence by or on behalf of Palestinians as “terrorism,” regardless of the context of genocide. Hansen notes that there has been a normative trend of criticizing Palestinians for the absence of a figure like Gandhi, though he suggests that those making these complaints often categorize nonviolent resistance to colonial occupation as terrorism as well.
Evidence of Nonviolent Efficacy
Despite the “received wisdom” that pacifists are “useful idiots” during genocides, evidence exists that nonviolent actors can contribute to anti-genocide struggles. This includes documented successful operations by civilian individuals and small communities, some explicitly committed to pacifism, to rescue hunted families and individuals.