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By Sir Ronald Sanders
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I am a diplomat with over 40 years of experience. My first instinct is always dialogue: bringing adversaries to a table and building mechanisms that find compromises with which everyone can live.
But there are moments when “dialogue” is deliberately prolonged for the advantage of one side, resulting in increased dissatisfaction and greater conflict.
When bombs fall, when aid is throttled, when children starve, a moral and legal line is crossed. This is happening in Gaza – relentlessly – at the hands of the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
This conclusion has also been reached by fourteen of the fifteen members of the UN Security Council.
On 27 August, the fourteen members issued a joint statement calling the famine in Gaza “man-made,” demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire; the release of all hostages; a surge of aid; and the lifting of restrictions that strangle humanitarian relief.
The facts we cannot wish away
As of 28 August, UN reports place the Palestinian death toll at about 62,895 killed since 7 October 2023, with at least 158,927 injured.
These are the figures compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) from Gaza’s Ministry of Health and used across the UN system; Israel disputes them but has not offered a comprehensive alternative.
On 22 August 2025, the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declared a famine in Gaza City and surrounding areas, warning it is likely to spread south without a ceasefire and sustained humanitarian access.
The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund underscored this finding.
They said that over half a million people are already in famine conditions, with the famine projected to expand within weeks.
Hunger is killing, too. As of late August, Gaza’s health authorities report at least 313 hunger-related deaths, including 119 children; UN situation updates recorded 193 such deaths by 6 August, with a rapid rise since.
Whatever the exact figure on a given day, the direction is unmistakable – upwards.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has put it plainly, saying: “People are starving.
Children are dying. And those with the duty to act are failing.” He also reminded the world that, as the occupying power, Israel’s obligations are unequivocal.
Let me also be equally plain: Hamas is a terrorist organisation. The 7 October 2023 attack on Israel – murder, kidnapping, rape – was a crime.
Its continued holding of hostages in inhumane conditions is a standing violation of international law. Nothing in this argument excuses that savagery; the hostages must be released, now.
The law cuts both ways, as confirmed by the International Criminal Court on 21 November 2024, which issued arrest warrants for leaders on both sides.
But Hamas is not a state, Israel is. The Israeli government’s response is no longer merely disproportionate; it is inhumane and increasingly looks like an effort to make a viable Palestinian state impossible.
The Economy Minister, Nir Barkat, has repeatedly said: “A Palestinian state will not be established — under no circumstances.”
When words fail, lawful consequences must follow
Several countries have already moved beyond statements. Bolivia severed relations with Israel on 31 October 2023. Colombia broke ties in May 2024. Nicaragua followed in October 2024.
Within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Belize suspended diplomatic relations in November 2023.
Others, such as Chile, Honduras, Jordan, Türkiye, South Africa, and Chad, downgraded their relations by recalling ambassadors or cutting political contact.
South Africa has gone to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), securing provisional measures and repeatedly returning to press its case that Gaza’s civilians must be protected under the Genocide Convention. That is how a state uses law to demand restraint and accountability.
What should nations do—now?
I have thought long and hard about what the rest of the world could do to push the Israeli government to reconsider its military and expansionist policy.
While stressing that this is my personal view – not tied in any way to the Government I serve – I have concluded that the following is a course of action that governments worldwide should consider taking: they should either sever or suspend diplomatic relations with Israel while its wrongful behaviour continues.
In international law, such an action is called “Retorsion” – the term for lawful measures a state may take that don’t breach any international obligation. To be clear, diplomatic ties exist only by mutual consent; a state may withdraw that consent at any time.
Governments may restore normal relations when the offending government corrects its actions.
This lawful act keeps faith with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations while signalling that conduct has consequences.
Children cannot eat communiques, and babies cannot survive malnutrition while governments debate national interests. Some other country’s suffering today may be the national interest of others tomorrow.
That is why the rule of law must prevail and be respected.
Finally, recognition of Palestine as a State is not enough. Several governments now say they will recognise the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September.
These governments are from France, the United Kingdom (conditional), Australia, Canada (conditional), and Malta.
However, recognition should now be paired with concrete consequences, including suspension of diplomatic relations that could be lifted when the Israeli government’s conduct changes.
Not antisemitism – respect for the rule of law
This would not be an act of antisemitism as detractors might claim. T
he people of Israel have an inalienable right to a state, security, and prosperity within recognised borders.
However, friendship and respect for a people do not mean impunity for a government.
Condemning deliberate starvation, indiscriminate bombardment, or the evisceration of a future Palestinian state is not antisemitism; it is loyalty to the same laws that protect all peoples, including Israelis and Palestinians.
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