The international community should not stand by watching Israel continue its crimes against the Palestinians with impunity.
What is taking place in Palestine is not a ‘conflict’. We readily utilize the term but, in fact, the word ‘conflict’ is misleading. It equates between oppressed Palestinians and Israel, a military power that stands in violation of numerous United Nations Resolutions.
It is these ambiguous terminologies that allow the likes of United States UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, to champion Israel’s ‘right to defend itself’, as if the militarily occupied and colonized Palestinians are the ones threatening the security of their occupier and tormentor.
In fact, this is precisely what Haley has done to counter a draft UN Security Council Resolution presented by Kuwait to provide a minimum degree of protection for Palestinians. Haley vetoed the draft, thus continuing a grim legacy of US defense of Israel, despite the latter’s ongoing violence against Palestinians.
It is no surprise that out of the 80 vetoes exercised by the US at the UNSC, the majority were unleashed to protect Israel. The first such veto for Israel’s sake was in September 1972 and the latest, used by Haley was on June 1.
Before it was put to the vote, the Kuwaiti draft was revised three times in order to ‘water it down’. Initially, it called for the protection of the Palestinian people from Israeli violence.
The final draft merely called for “The consideration of measures to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in the Gaza Strip.”
Still, Haley found the language “grossly one-sided.”
The near consensus in support of the Kuwait draft was met with complete rejection of Haley’s own draft resolution which demanded Palestinian groups cease “all violent provocative actions” in Gaza.
The ‘provocative actions’ being referred to in Haley’s draft is the mass mobilization by tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, who have been peacefully protesting for weeks, hoping that their protests will place the Israeli siege on Gaza back on the UN agenda.
Haley’s counter draft resolution did not garner a single vote in favor, save that of Haley’s own. But such humiliation at the international stage is hardly of essence to the US, which has wagered its international reputation and foreign policy to protect Israel at any cost, even from unarmed observers whose job is merely to report on what they see on the ground.
The last such ‘force’ was that of 60—later increased to 90—members of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH).
TIPH was established in May 1996 and has filed many reports on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian city, especially in Area H-2, a small part of the city that is controlled by the Israeli army to protect some of the most violent illegal Jewish settlers.
Jan Kristensen, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Norwegian army who headed TIPH had these words to say, following the completion of his one-year mission in Hebron in 2004:
“The activity of the settlers and the army in the H-2 area of Hebron is creating an irreversible situation. In a sense, cleansing is being carried out. In other words, if the situation continues for another few years, the result will be that no Palestinians will remain there.”
One can only imagine what has befallen Hebron since then. The army and Jewish settlers have become so emboldened to the extent that they execute Palestinians in cold blood with little or no consequence.
One such episode became particularly famous, for it was caught on camera. On March 24, 2015, an Israeli soldier carried out a routine operation by shooting in the head an incapacitated Palestinian.
The execution of Abd al-Fattah al-Sharif, 21, was filmed by Imad Abushamsiya. The viral video caused Israel massive embarrassment, forcing it to hold a sham trial in which the Israeli soldier who killed al-Sharif received a light sentence; he was later released to a reception fit for heroes.
Abushamsiya, who filmed the murder, however, was harassed by both the Israeli army and police and received numerous death threats.
The Israeli practice of punishing the messenger is not new. The mother of Ahed Tamimi, Nariman, who filmed her teenage daughter confronting armed Israeli soldiers was also detained and sentenced.
Israel has practically punished Palestinians for recording their own subjugation by Israeli troops while, at the same time, empowering these very soldiers to do as they please; it is now in the process of turning this everyday reality into actual law.
A bill at the Israeli Knesset was put forward late May that prohibits “photographing and documenting (Israeli occupation) soldiers”, and criminalizing “anyone who filmed, photographed and/or recorded soldiers in the course of their duty.”
The bill, which is supported by Israeli Defense Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, demands a five-year imprisonment term for violators.
The bill practically means that any form of monitoring of Israeli soldiers is a criminal act. If this is not a call for perpetual war crimes, what is?
Just to be sure, a second bill is proposing to give immunity to soldiers suspected of criminal activities during military operations.
The bill is promoted by deputy Defense Minister, Eli Ben Dahan, and is garnering support at the Knesset.
“The truth is that Ben Dahan’s bill is entirely redundant,” wrote Orly Noy in the Israeli 972 Magazine.
Noy cited a recent report by the Israeli human rights organization ‘Yesh Din’ which shows that “soldiers who allegedly commit crimes against the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories enjoy near-full immunity.”
Now, Palestinians are more vulnerable than ever before, and Israel, with the help of its American enablers, is more brazen than ever.
This tragedy cannot continue. The international community and civil society organizations,—independent of the US government and its shameful vetoes—must undertake the legal and moral responsibility to monitor Israeli action and to provide meaningful protection for Palestinians.
Israel should not have free reign to abuse Palestinians at will, and the international community should not stand by and watch the bloody spectacle as it continues to unfold.
This article was originally published at RamzyBaroud.net on June 15, 2018.
100 years of residence of two peoples on a narrow strip of land proved that Jews and Arabs can not and should not live in one country. Every nation must live in its own country. This is the essence of the UN decision on the partition of Palestine.
ALL Jews were expelled from the Gaza Strip and from areas A and B.
It’s time to ALL 6 million Arabs of Palestine to obtain the citizenship of the Palestinian National Autonomy.
Only then will begin economical, political and physical separation between Jews and Arabs.
Without this, peace in Palestine is impossible.
You ignore the reality, Marc, that for over 1,400 years Jewish, Christian and Muslim Arabs lived conventionally, not just in Palestine but throughout the Middle East.
Zionism is the cause of almost 100 years of physical conflict in Palestine, not Judaism which describes the Jewish faith, Zionism is a European political philosophy that demands exclusive occupation of land free from all non-Jews, a Genocidal Apartheid policy that has been ruthlessly executed from the end of WW1.
The 29th November 1947, United Nations Partition Plan was not an allocation of land, the UN has no such mandate, the Partition Plan was simply a cease fire line that the over 100,000 Hagana Army had no intentions of maintaining, indeed within weeks there were some 750,000 Palestinian refugees who had been driven from their homes.
In 1948, as a condition of UN membership, Zionist Israel agreed to a Palestinian right of return a promise that Zionists never intended to keep, successive Israeli Governments statements have confirmed this Zionist dogma.
It was Ariel Sharon who removed Zionist Settlements from Gaza, it was the Zionist Government who “Expelled all Jews from Gaza” – The 1993 Oslo Accord, defined areas A and B in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, The Palestinian Liberation Organisation leader, Yasser Arafat agreed to disband the military arm of the PLO, in exchange Yitzhak Rabin agreed to a phased withdrawal from the West Bank, starting in areas A and B then C.
The PLO military wing was disbanded, honoring the Oslo Accord agreement, Zionist Israel has continued to illegally occupy the West Bank increasing the number of reinforced settlements, and Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Zionist Israeli, who presumably thought like yourself.
To-day Zionist Israel is in occupation of all of Palestine, part of Syria and Lebanon.
To-day there are some 6 million Israelis of mostly European origin.
To-day there are some 12 million Palestinians of Palestinian origin (5 million UN registered Palestinian refugees all denied the right of return to their homeland, some 2 million Palestinians with Israeli Residential citizenship, 2 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Ghetto and 3 million West Bank Palestinians living under Zionist Israeli Occupation).
If those 6 million Zionist Israelis are serious in your assertion that Zionists should be separate from all others, then perhaps Montana would be a better choice than Palestine, after all the 1919 King-Crane Commission findings clearly stated that a Zionist Homeland in Palestine was not feasible, as it would require the removal of the intrinsic Palestinian population and could only be sustained by force of arms.
Nothing has changed since 1919, some 400 million Arabs originated there, it`s the Zionists who are the newcomers!
You ignore the reality, Mike, that for over 1,400 years Jews and Christians were treated as Dhimmi by the Muslim rulers who conquered the lands in which they had lived for centuries. As second class citizens they did not have equal rights, nor where they allowed to own land (which had been violently confiscated from them), throughout the Middle East.
Zionism is the deep dream of every Jew to return to the homeland in the Land of Israel. It is something practiced by world Jewry whether from Europe, Yemen Morocco, USA, Columbia, Australia or any other country in which lives reside. There is no and never was any ‘genocidal apartheid’ policy. This is a figment of your wild imagination.
The UN Partition Plan was a legally bound document providing the Arabs a country inside two thirds of the British Mandate of Palestine on the east bank of the Jordan River and a Jewish country on the west bank of the Jordan river. Just like all the other countries founded between the two world wars and immediately afterward, so was Israel, just 6 months after Jordan.
The 600,000 Arabs who left under the command of the Arab League left on their own accord, over half returned and continue to live as equal citizens in the State of Israel, the others went to other places, many to where they had come from only a decade prior to Israel’s statehood. Those who returned did so under the behest of the newly formed Israeli government. Those who chose not to return are crying now — 70 years after the fact ( or at least their great grand children are).
Yes the Israeli government expelled all the Jews from Gaza in order to give the so called Palestinians a place they could develop into a Singapore of the Middle-East. What they did was elect a terrorist organization that is more interested in purchasing weapons and using building materials for tunnels into Israel, than to provide for Gazans.
Israel agreed to take out the military from each of the areas in turn once security is adequetly provided by the PA — this has yet to happen till this day. Today Israel is in the State of Israel. 1/3 of the British Mandate of Palestine and a 3% sliver of the Golan Heights needed for security reasons. An area which was settled by Jews until the 7th century conquest by the Arabs and then again by Muslims from Central Asia and Syria by the Ottomans who saw the Jewish settlement as a threat. Today none of the villages exist — wonder why? Maybe they went back to where they came from?
The Jewish land that owned and is in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan is illegally used by those countries, as they do not own the land. As opposed to Israel where a small percentage was held in trust by the Waqf, most of the country was giflik or state owned lands which of course reverted to the State of Israel once it was formed.
Today there are some 7 million Israelis, more than half decedents of Arab countries. Of the 300,000 Palestinians refugees I doubt there are more than 50,000 still alive. After all the youngest would have to be 70 years old. Israel has no issue with those people to ‘return’ if they can prove residency of a certain period of time prior to their leaving. There are about 1.8 million arabs living in the Gaza strip (real amounts are impossible to know as Hamas likes to make things up. The so called west bank has about 1.5 million arab residents. Gaza is not a ghetto, the people can leave if they choose, but with 50% unemployment they most likely cannot afford it. You really should address your accusations to Hamas who are the administrative body that deals with all aspects of life in Gaza. Those living in the so called west bank have a higher quality of live because Fatah does not use all aid for weapons, but does a bit of development for the good of the people living there.
The Jews are the endemic peoples of Israel. Not the arabs who came from — surprisingly Arabia. All the other Muslims living around the world who are not decedents of Arabs came from wherever they came from — not Israel
Interesting surmise that the people who are attacking the State of Israel require ‘protection’ from the world when Israel rightly defends itself from attack. The so called Palestinians are no closer to a state then they ever were. The so called Palestinian refugees are the only people on earth that enjoy such a status even if fourth or fifth generation of people who lived for at least 2 years under the British Mandate in what is now the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the State of Israel. If people such as the writer and many others like him would discontinue incitement perhaps the so called Palestinians would go about building their lives instead of trying to kill Israelis and destroy the State of Israel.
No, the Gaza strip does not need protection from Israel, it needs protection from Hamas who uses human shields to attack Israel in their quest to murder as many Israelis as possible. Most of the Arabs living in Israel, Gaza strip and the so called West Bank are decedents of migrant workers imported by the British in the 1930’s-1940’s or slaves brought by the Ottoman Empire in the start of the 20th century. Hardly a people/nation with roots in Israel. Just a group of people who is not accepted by anyone and thus searching for something of their own.
You may be interested, norek, in the fact that Hamas was the creation of Ariel Sharon, who encouraged members of the Muslim Brotherhood to form an opposition party to challenge Fatah, Sharon`s “divide and Rule” philosophy documented in his book “Politicide”.
In 11 years of Hamas administration, 27 Israelis have been killed by Gaza rocket attacks (Israeli Govt figures), compare that with the annual average of 29 Israelis murdered by Israelis (Israeli Govt figures).
It is a fact that on average 69 Israelis are killed annually by Palestinians (Israeli Govt figures), compare that with the average of 528 Palestinians killed annually by Israelis (B`Tselem.figures confirmed by the UN)
Since September 2000, 134 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians (non in the past 4 years – Israeli Govt figures), during the same time 2,1674 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis (200 in the past 4 years, not including 2018. B`Tselem figures, confirmed by the UN).
Since 1967, Zionist Israel has demolished 48,488 Palestinian homes in the illegally occupied Palestinian West Bank (Not including 2018 – B`Tselem figures confirmed by the UN). Scale that up to the USA population of 350 million and it would result in 5,656,933 American homes demolished, how I wonder would Americans respond to that?
No Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians.
Zionist Israel is in violation of over 80 United Nations Resolutions – an all time record.
The USA has vetoed a further 31 UN Security Council Resolutions critical of Zionist Israel – an all time record.
The USA (since 1972) has threatened to veto a further 44 UN Security Council Resolutions critical of Zionist Israel, so preventing debate taking place – an all time record.
The recorded facts are a damning inditement to over 70 years of the Genocidal Apartheid policies of Zionism, very easily verified by anyone who looks for themselves.
Zionism is a disgrace to Judaism – Zionist Israel brings shame upon Jews.
P.S. Just Google “Tantura Massacre”, only one example, in May 1948, of what happened to over 600 Palestinian villages that were wiped of the face of the earth.
Brave Jews fought the Nazis in Europe when the Nazis drove Jews from their homes and gave these Jewish homes to “Good Germans”. Now the Zionists have replaced the Nazis and are doing the same thing that was done to them in Europe of the thirties and forties. How can we tell the Zionists are as bad as the Nazis? A legal system stacked against Palestinians just as the German legal system was stacked against the Jews by the Nazis. To an innocent being murdered it doesn’t matter whether the armband on the murderer is a Swastika or a Star of David – they both mean the same thing if you get beyond the tribalism.
Good Germans tried and failed to remove the Nazis from power. Good Jews may yet remove the Zionists from power. The Russians, British, French and Americans defeated the Nazis when “good Germans” failed. It is up to the Arabs, with help from Russians and Chinese to save the world this time – since the Brits, French and Americans have been “compromised” by the Zionists. At this point in history it is Russia, not the Anglo-Zionists, who are the moral role models.
Nikki Haley is a disgrace to the United States of America. She does not represent the majority of the American people. My countrymen will wake up to the horrific predicament that this country is in, I just pray that it will not be too late, when they do.
It`s been the same since long before Niki Haley, Stephen, it`s been going on for over 70 years. Within 2 weeks of the State of Israel being declared, despite a UN arms embargo, the USA supplied 3 B17 bombers to Zionist Israel, USA Col Micky Marcos was sent to lead the Israeli armed forces in May 1948, in violation of UN resolutions, it`s continued pretty much the same since then.
In 1980, the UN Security Council Resolution declared the Israeli annexation of Jerusalem as “Null and Void according to international law”.
In 1981 The UN Security Council Resolution declared the Israeli annexation of Syrian Golan Heights as “Null and void according to international law”.
In 1990 the UN Security Council Resolution declared that the Iraqi annexation of Kuwait as “Null and void according to international law”.
For the third resolution – But Not The First Two – The USA insisted on the full implementation of international law. Of course Arabs have always known that the USA applies one interpretation of International Law for Zionist Israel and a completely different interpretation for Non-Zionist Israel.
Niki Haley is the best ambassador to the UN ever. She is doing her best to clean up the mess that the Arabs and leftists have made. It’s tough going, but she is making great headway and may some day accomplish what she has set her mind to do — fulfil the wishes of the majority of the American people. The problem with people like yourself is that you cannot bare to see others succeed when you are supporting the underdog. Under International law the city of Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. There was never a need to annex something that belonged to the State of Israel to begin with.
You are not speaking the truth.
In 1980, Israel passed the “Jerusalem Law”, stating that “Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel”, thereby formalizing its annexation of East Jerusalem.
In response, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 478 in 1980, declaring the law “null and void”. The illegal Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem violates several principles under international law, which outlines that an occupying power does not have sovereignty in the territory it occupies.
Correct. For more on the illegality of Israel’s annexation measures, see:
https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2017/06/23/why-the-us-moving-its-israel-embassy-to-jerusalem-would-be-illegal/
The Jerusalem Law stated that Jerusalem which had been the capital of modern Israel since May 15th 1948 is now the united capital city. The UN resolutions are only recommendations. Where was the UN when Jordan illegally occupied Jerusalem and forbade non-Muslims from visiting the holiest sites to Judaism and Christianity? The east side of Jerusalem where the oldest Jewish cemetery (3000 years of continuous use except for the 19 years of illegal occupation by Jordan) is located on the Mt. of Olives. There is no reason that a Muslim group of people need the Jewish cemetery which was there way before Islam was invented, needs that area for their capital should a Palestinian state eventually be formed. Regarding ‘occupying power’ that statement is irrelevant because Israel cannot be such a power which would mean they have entered a sovereign country and settled civilians and military presence. Since there was no sovereign country administrating Jerusalem or the west bank for that matter, under international law there is no ”illegal occupation”. If in your opinion there was a soveriegn country, which one was legally ruling Jerusalem in 1948?
Chana, you are misinformed.
The UN Security Council resolutions in question are not “only recommendations”. They are legally binding and reflect Israel’s obligations under international law.
Under international law, Israel is an Occupying Power and all of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is occupied Palestinian territory.
Israel is required under international law to withdraw from occupied territory.
I am sick of words words words my brother not being followed with will to enforce them. UNGA walk the walk don’t just talk the talk. Bypass the UN Security Council’s uselessness by invoking and utilizing Resolution 377a:
Under the resolution 377A(V),”Uniting for peace”, adopted by the General Assembly on 3 November 1950, an “emergency special session” can be convened within 24 hours:
“Resolves that if the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in any case where there appears to be a threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately with a view to making appropriate recommendations to Members for collective measures, including in the case of a breach of the peace or act of aggression the use of armed force when necessary, to maintain or restore international peace and security. If not in session at the time, the General Assembly may meet in emergency special session within twenty-four hours of the request therefor. Such emergency special session shall be called if requested by the Security Council on the vote of any seven members, or by a majority of the Members of the United Nations”.
Zionist Israel is in violation of over 80 United Nations Resolutions, Stephen, The 2003 attack on Iraq came after only 13 UN resolutions calling for Iraq to disclose non-existant WMD`s!
In addition the USA has vetoed a further 31 UN Security council Resolutions critical of Zionist Israel, and since 1972 the USA has threatened to use it`s veto on 42 occasions to prevent debate on proposed Security Council Resolutions critical of Zionist Israel.
I was not aware of resolution 377A(V), you have my thanks for informing me, it seems that resolution was USA inspired to prevent the USSR from giving support to North Korea, it`s somewhat ironic when you consider how the USA has for years supported and condoned the aggression of Zionism in Palestine.
The old Swiss based League of Nations provided every member with the veto, which made it almost impossible to obtain meaningful resolution approval. In my opinion, continuing (or resurrecting) a neutral country based League of Nations (The name is not important) and removing all veto power would have been far more preferable to The current New York based organisation with the 5 permanent member countries having the veto.
I`m British, and for the life of me I just can`t see why Britain (and France) still retain a veto – why not India and Japan? And why should every UN member country be equal, with those 5 being more equal!
It`s a simple fact of life that since 1945, the USA has been the worlds financial, economic and military superpower with influence that has been used to promote policies to make the world in the image of the USA.
That`s simply the way of the world, during the 18th and 19th centuries Britain also molded “The World” in it`s image, resentment of British policies were of no consequence during that time.
China is next “Top Dog”, with India also forecast to eclipse USA production by 2050, neither country has any reason to be beholden to “The West”, indeed the reverse is true, and both those countries have diplomatic and trading links with the Middle East that go back 1,500 years, interrupted at the start of the 19th century by Western imperialism – The future is going to be interesting, and hard on those with Trump`s outlook!