In more ways than one, even the most heartfelt condemnations against Israel’s actions in Gaza seem to roll off like water off a duck’s back, failing to make a dent on the stark realities of a crisis.
Such is the case with the recent emergency meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC), where Palestine’s UN envoy, Riyad Mansour, laid bare a grim truth about the ongoing tragedy in Gaza.
At this crucial gathering, Mansour sharply criticized Israel’s indifference towards international condemnation regarding the mass killing of civilians and the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
“Israel does not care about your condemnations,” Mansour asserted, highlighting the stark disconnection between the UN’s resolutions and Israel’s actions on the ground.
The repeated failure to translate these condemnations into meaningful action highlights a significant gap between diplomatic rhetoric and tangible change, leaving the people of Gaza to endure the devastating consequences of a seemingly unchecked conflict.
According to Mansour, the memory of the Holocaust has become “instrumentalised” in Israel to justify crimes against humanity.
He averred that instead of the memory of the Nazi persecution of Jews “serving as an un-breachable barrier against the commission of such atrocities,” it is used as their justification.
“Something terrible is happening in Israel, something that has made justifying genocide, famine and gang rape mainstream ideology,” he told the UNSC meeting, which was called by Algeria over Israel’s August 10 attack on the al-Tabin School in Gaza City, which killed at least 100 people as they attended dawn prayers.
“Israel does not care about your condemnations. It dismisses your resolutions. It does not even listen to your debates… Israel is a rogue state, with a rotten government due to the unbridled impunity it has enjoyed so far.”
Riyad Mansour
Also speaking at the UN Security Council’s emergency meeting on Gaza was US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield who told the council that a broader regional conflict was “not inevitable.”
“The United States’s overall goal remains to turn the temperature down in the region, deter and defend against any future attacks and avoid regional conflict. That starts with finalising a deal for an immediate ceasefire with hostage release in Gaza.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Thomas-Greenfield added that the US was prepared to make “a final bridging proposal: one that resolves the remaining implementation issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties”.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has approved another $20bn in arms sales to Israel, including dozens of fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles.
The deal comes despite Washington calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and expressing concerns over mounting Palestinian casualties from Israel’s more than 10-month-long war on the territory.
The weapons are not expected to get to Israel anytime soon as they are contracts that will take years to fulfil. The earliest systems to be delivered under the contract are not expected until 2026.
US Has The Power To End Israel’s War On Gaza
Tarek Khalil, a Palestinian human rights activist, said the US has the power to force Israel to sign a ceasefire deal in Gaza by withholding weapons.
“The fact that we’re not even discussing the annual aid that Israel already receives from the United States is really beyond belief,” he told a news agency.
“You’ve had the international community, you’ve had the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court – Israel has been condemned and embarrassed worldwide and it still continues its barrage of attacks against the defenceless civilian population of Gaza.”
Tarek Khalil
“The United States can do something right now. It can end [the war] tonight. Right now,” Khalil said.
The US should not be appeasing “Israel by providing it with more weapons – ‘Here’s more weapons, please stop using them’,” he said.
“No. How about you just deny the sale, deny any future aid to Israel and also enforce – not just call for a ceasefire – but enforce a ceasefire?
“This could end right now if the United States had the courage.”
Tarek Khalil
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