بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم
Issued by Muslim Action for Palestine – 20 November 2025
As the G20 convenes in Johannesburg, Israel persists in committing genocidal crimes against the Palestinian people, even a month after the Gaza ceasefire was supposed to take effect.
Despite the formal halt in large-scale bombing, an average of eight Palestinians are still killed each day under the suffocating siege of Gaza. This is accompanied by an intentional policy of starvation, denial of essential necessities, obstruction of reconstruction efforts, draconian restrictions on movement, refusal of medical care for the wounded and sick, and the systematic obstruction of humanitarian assistance. In the absence of meaningful international oversight,
Israel is exploiting the ceasefire to reshape Gaza’s physical landscape—rendering areas under its military control uninhabitable both now and for future generations. This situation represents a continuation of the ongoing crime of genocide against the population of the Gaza Strip.
What has unfolded is unprecedented in intensity, brutality, and scope. Tens of thousands have been killed, injured, or buried under the rubble. Entire neighbourhoods have been razed. Hundreds of thousands remain displaced, enduring the most abject conditions even as winter
sets in.
A global elite, many descending on Johannesburg this week, has effectively sanctioned these once, equivocation, or outright support. Their complicity or inaction in the face of Israel’s live streamed genocide is shameful and indefensible. The very entities claiming to uphold an ‘international rules-based order’ are the same that have brazenly violated every international and humanitarian law. This hypocrisy casts profound doubt on the credibility and legitimacy of the entire system—of which the G20 is a central pillar.
The G20 summit has been presented as an opportunity to reshape global debates on energy, minerals, and development. Its slogans of ‘solidarity, equality, and sustainability’ may appear noble—but beneath the veneer lies stark hypocrisy.
In the Gaza genocide, the true litmus test of global solidarity is on display, yet man G20 members persist in maintaining diplomatic and intelligence ties with the Israeli entity. They co-operated in digital suppression of Palestinian voices, continued to supply Israel with energy and military components, and overwhelmingly failed to impose punitive measures on apartheid Israel. States like India have deepened bilateral ties with the perpetrators, while Saudi Arabia continues to pursue U.S.-mediated normalization talks. The UK issued over 100 arms export licenses to Israel in just the first eight months of the genocide and flew hundreds of surveillance missions over Gaza, providing intelligence that facilitated crimes. Germany has been one of the
most significant enablers of Israel’s operations in Gaza, and the EU assured fugitive Benjamin Netanyahu that he could “count on” European support even as Gaza endured its harshest blockade.
Several other G20 members also have documented links to actors, arms flows, companies, resource exploitation, or policies that contribute to abuses in Sudan and the DRC.
Though spared the gaudy spectacle of Donald Trump, the summit remains overshadowed by Narendra Modi, the butcher of Gujarat, who is now steering India toward an impending Muslim genocide; by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, co-architect of Gaza’s strangulation; and by the UAE’s
emissaries, standard-bearers of Arab Zionism.
Together, these leave the summit reeking of hypocrisy and decay, and point to the reality that many connected to the G20 have become active enablers—and, in effect, accessories—to genocide and crimes against humanity.
South Africa has demonstrated critical leadership in advocating for Palestinian rights at international fora. Yet even Pretoria must ensure consistency: prosecuting South Africans who serve in the Israeli army, controlling the unchecked entry of Israeli nationals into the country,
and reviewing all economic and trade links with Israel—including coal exports—remain urgent priorities.
The current status quo in Gaza is unsustainable. A ceasefire may offer temporary respite, but without a durable resolution to the historic injustices faced by Palestinians, the locus of violence will only shift. Israeli authorities continue to issue public threats about resuming full-scale military operations in Gaza. These threats, combined with ongoing violence, have raised serious questions among Palestinians:
“Is there really a ceasefire? And if there is, why are we still suffering?
Why are we still deprived of food, medicine, and safety? Why are we still hungry?”
The principle of solidarity that the G20 purports to uphold entails mutual support among nations, and the recognition that, in an interconnected world, inequality, and the injustices meted out to one people can have ripple effects globally.
From Gaza to Sudan, the DRC, East Turkestan, Kashmir and Myanmar, the world is crying out for principled global leadership to help deliver justice, stability and accountability. But for this to happen, it requires breaking from greed and elite accumulation, prioritizing people over profit, and confronting the corporate oligarchs profiting from the destruction of innocent lives.
In its current form, the G20 offers symbolism without substance. But history will not take cues from Israel, Western powers, or any other formations of states that fail to challenge injustice. Gaza will reshape the world in ways that will affect all nations, including those of the G20.
If the high-level meeting in Johannesburg fails to deliver real interventions, demonstrate genuine solidarity, or enforce tangible sustainability, it will serve as yet another confirmation of what
many already expect: a record of complicity to add to our collective memory. This will only strengthen our resolve and ability, as part of a global awakening already well in motion, to make responsible decisions, apply pressure, and hold both states and corporate giants accountable.
As global citizens and members of the Ummah striving for a just and better world, these deliberations demand urgent reflection: With those who claim to lead absent or complicit, how will we harness our collective power to chart a path of genuine justice, courageously confront oppression, and offer real alternatives to a world mired in impunity?
Media enquiries may be directed to:
Khalid Vawda 083 284 7867 | Naazim Adam 082 336 6711
Umayya Theba 082 666 6696 | Moulana Ebrahim Moosa 082 6786 377
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