These are the steps the world must take to end the slaughter in Gaza, according to Richard Falk, Chandra Muzaffar and Joseph Camilleri of Saving Humanity and Planet Earth (SHAPE).

Jabalia camp destruction by Israel in Gaza, October 2024. (Al Jazeera/Wikimedia Commons)

Stopping the Barbarism in Gaza 


By SHAPE Co-Conveners

Over the last 18 months, the world has witnessed undiluted militarised cruelty targeting the entire population and the supportive natural habitat of Gaza – with not so much as an ounce of mercy or compassion, let alone justice, or sensitivity to issues of ecological viability.

No one has been spared in this onslaught: not civilians, not children, women or the elderly, not humanitarian workers or U.N. personnel overseeing the distribution of aid, not homes, schools, places of worship, or hospitals.

No logic can begin to explain or justify this genocidal policy of indiscriminate maiming and killing, or the calculated and systematic starvation of the already traumatised Palestinian population. These and other unspeakable atrocities leave us with just two words to describe the conduct of the cabal presently ruling the State of Israel: pure evil

Faced with such vicious behaviour, humanity has but one option: to call out the evil and take appropriate action to put an end to such outrageous conduct.

In the name of humanity we therefore call on all peoples and governments to:

1. Terminate all transactions with the State of Israel that relate to military capabilities until a just and lasting peace settlement has been  reached, which gives effect to the inalienable right of Palestinian self-determination. This embargo should include:

a. A ban on the export of all weapons and dual-use equipment as well as ammunition, whether supplied directly or through a third party;
b. A ban on the import of all Israeli weapons and military technology;
c. A cessation of all other forms of military co-operation, including joint operations/exercises/ logistics and communications initiatives, intelligence cooperation and sharing, and expert exchanges and visits; and
d. A ban on all financing arrangements designed to facilitate the above activities.

2. Break diplomatic relations with the State of Israel until a complete and durable ceasefire has been established across all the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

3. Seek the exclusion of Israeli participation in international cultural and sporting events and call for national boycotts of foreign and domestic cultural and sporting happenings until a complete and durable ceasefire has been established across all the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

4. Apply maximum pressure on those governments that have been Israel’s primary backers, notably the United States, Britain and Germany, to cease forthwith any support of Israel’s inhuman conduct in Gaza and Palestine as a whole.

5. Support and financially contribute to the Arab plan for Gaza’s reconstruction formally adopted by the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in March 2025, and to this end call for an immediate U.N.-sponsored international summit, open to all supportive governments, relevant regional organisations and sympathetically disposed civil society, philanthropic and business organisations.

The reconstruction process in Gaza and the proposed international summit should be mindful of Palestinian rights, especially the right of self-determination as applicable to all developments pertaining to Israeli Occupied Palestine.

6. Encourage nonviolent solidarity initiatives by civil society, both individual and collective action of the sort that proved helpful in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. A mobilised people can change history, and bring political evil to an abrupt end, especially where, as is the case in Gaza, a severe humanitarian emergency exists.

Such measures on the part of states need to be complemented and reinforced by resolute, collective action at the U.N. General Assembly. A special session of the General Assembly should be urgently called to denounce the heinous crimes being committed in Gaza and the West Bank and the constant threats to cleanse Palestine of its people by measures of forced displacement.

The General Assembly should consider and adopt a series of resolutions which demand:

a. An immediate ceasefire in all parts of Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and adjacent areas;
b. The establishment of a U.N. peacekeeping contingent of sufficient strength to monitor and supervise the ceasefire and deter in timely fashion actions that would lead to a renewal of violence;
c. The unimpeded flow of water, food, fuel and medicines to Gaza;
d. Strong measures designed to protect humanitarian aid workers, health and medical personnel, and agencies and institutions engaged in the running of hospitals, clinics, kitchens and other essential services; and
e. Decisive measures to enable journalists and media personnel to carry out their duties in safe and secure environments.

We also request the world’s religious organisations to issue a call addressing from a spiritual and ethical perspective the evil of genocide as it continues to unfold in Gaza. They are uniquely placed to set forth the ethical criteria that should govern an agreement on the cessation of all military hostilities in the Occupied Territories and the creation of just and durable peace in Palestine.

Since October 2023, millions have exposed, and protested against, Israel’s conduct in Gaza. They have succeeded in raising the level of global public awareness even though their cries for humanity and justice have thus far gone unheeded. The complicity of the rich and the powerful have stood in the way.

People of goodwill everywhere must now redouble their efforts in solidarity with the Palestinian people. They must peacefully and resolutely unite their voices and work closely together for as long as it takes.

A powerful global dialogue for a just peace in Palestine that brings together people of diverse social, cultural and religious background is a primary ethical imperative of our time.

So is accountability, which means punitive action against leaders of the State of Israel and the complicit enabler governments, including imposing obligations to pay reparations to the victimised population of Gaza and contributions to the funding of reconstruction.

Issued on behalf of SHAPE and its Co-ordinating Committee by Professor Emeritus Richard Falk, Dr Chandra Muzaffar and Professor Emeritus Joseph Camilleri

SHAPE Co-Conveners

Published on Pearls and Irritations May 30. 

Saving Humanity and Planet Earth (SHAPE) is a project to expose the perils of confrontation in the nuclear age and explore pathways to a safer, just and sustainable future.

Richard Falk is Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University, Chair of Global Law, Faculty of Law, at Queen Mary University London, and co-Director of its Centre of Environmental Justice and Crime, Research Associate the Orfalea Center of Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Fellow of the Tellus Institute. He directed the project on Global Climate Change, Human Security, and Democracy at UCSB and formerly was the director of the North American group in the World Order Models Project. Between 2008 and 2014, Falk served as U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Occupied Palestine. 

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), an international NGO based in Malaysia, which seeks to critique global injustice and to develop an alternative vision of a just and compassionate civilisation guided by universal spiritual and moral values. He has published extensively on civilizational dialogue, international politics, religion, human rights and Malaysian society. The author and editor of 32 books in English and Malay, many of his writings have been translated into other languages. Among Chandra’s latest publications are, A World in Crisis: Is There a Cure? and Reflections on Malaysian Unity and Other Challenges. In l977, he founded a multi-ethnic social reform group called Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN) which he led for 14 years. Today, apart from his role in JUST, Chandra sits on the board of a number of international NGOs concerned with social justice and civilizational dialogue.

Joseph Camilleri OAM is Emeritus Professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and convener of Conversation at the Crossroads. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt where he received his early education. At the age of twelve he left Egypt with his parents who migrated to Melbourne. He began teaching in the Department of Politics at Monash University, Melbourne in 1967. He pursued his PhD studies as Buxton fellow at the London School of Economics (1969-1972). He was appointed lecturer at La Trobe University, Melbourne in 1973, where over forty years he taught some thirty-five undergraduate and postgraduate level, established the Bachelor of International Relations degree and the Master of International Policy Studies. He has supervised some 40 PhDs and mentored more than 30 scholars who now hold senior academic positions. He was the founding director of the La Trobe Centre for Dialogue, which specialised on research and training in the management of cultural, religious and political tensions within and between countries,