Saturday, December 23, 2023
Resolution on Gaza: The US More Interested In Word Play Than In Peace In Gaza
By New Age Islam Staff Writer
23 December 2023
Hamas Calls The UN Resolution 'Empty Of Its Essence'
Main Points:
1. Russia said the resolution will give Israel more freedom.to Israel to clear Gaza.
2. The resolution only calls for humanitarian pauses in attacks and humanitarian corridors.
3. The resolution does not call for ceasefire.
4. It calls for immediate release of all hostages.
5. UAE is not happy with the resolution.
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The UN Security Council Resolution was passed on Friday after its language was watered down and it was made toothless. The resolution does not call for a ceasefire at the insistence of the US because Israel and the US felt a ceasefire would benefit Hamas. But what was approved will eventually benefit Israel. The UN press release says :
"The Security Council reaffirmed the obligations of the parties to the conflict under international humanitarian law, especially regarding the protection of civilians and civilian objects, safety of humanitarian personnel, and the provision of humanitarian assistance.”
The Council demanded that the parties “allow, facilitate and enable” the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip.
It also requested the UN Secretary-General to appoint a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator with responsibility for “facilitating, coordinating, monitoring, and verifying” in Gaza, as appropriate, the humanitarian nature of all relief consignments to the enclave provided through States that are not party to the conflict.
It also called for the “expeditious” establishment of a UN mechanism to accelerate aid consignments to Gaza through States that are not party to the conflict, to expedite, streamline and accelerate assistance while continuing to help ensure that aid reaches its civilian destination."
The resolution keeps only the interests of Israel in mind as it does not want a cessation of hostilities even though Israel is trying to reach a deal with Hamas for the release of its citizens in Hamas captivity. It wants a temporary ceasefire with Hamas but at the UN, its biggest ally, the US, opposes any move in favour of a ceasefire. It speaks of the double standards of the US and Israel. The UN resolution was postponed four times and the US vetoed a resolution calling for a ceasefire on December 8 clearly indicating that it does not want peace in Gaza.
The resolution only says that the parties will ensure humanitarian pauses and corridors so that the humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza but the aid agencies feel that aid cannot reach the Gazans in the midst of an offensive. Russia said that the resolution will only give Israel more freedom to clear more parts of Gaza. On the day the resolution was passed, Israel launched another offensive in south Gaza ordering the citizens to evacuate Al Bureiji pushing them further South. Israel has pursued the strategy to keep pushing Gazans down south and confine them in a narrow tract of land. By not including the word ceasefire, the UN gave Israel the freedom to clear Gaza and bombard innocent civilians.
In the mechanism of distribution of aid material, the resolution has given Israel the freedom to interfere so that it can prevent the inflow of fuel into Gaza. Israel has stopped the entry of fuel into Gaza on the pretext that it may reach Hamas. The US argued that if the aid delivery was made under direct supervision of the UN, Hamas might smuggle weaponry into Gaza. The mechanism of delivering aid into Gaza was also a bone of contention.
The UAE ambassador to the UN, Lana Nusseibah was not happy with the resolution because she thought that without a ceasefire, it was difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to Gazans effectively.
The US abstained because the resolution did not include condemnation of Hamas in clear terms though it condemned all forms of terrorism. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has been critical of Israel for its massacre of innocent civilians and its 75 years of occupation of Palestine which evoked bitter criticism from Israel demanding his resignation. Antonio Guterres had said that Hamas' 7 October attacks did not happen in a vacuum. In fact, in West Bank, Israel has continually been at war in West Bank where Israeli forces and illegal settlers regularly kill and arrest West Bankers. The atrocities perpetrated by Israel in West Bank would go unnoticed and unreported before 7 October. The hostage swap in November brought to fore the extent of persecution of West Bankers by Israeli forces. The people were incarcerated for 8 to 15 years for no crime or for pelting stones or on false charges. This war has brought to light the sufferings of Palestinians under Israel 's occupation. The people of West Bank are made to live in ghettoes. They can not draw water from wells and cannot walk on roads meant only for Israeli settlers. On checkpoints, the West Bankers are stopped and harassed. Ambulances carrying serious patients are made to wait for hours. Some times, patients die waiting at checkposts. These atrocities did not make headlines, nor Human Rights Watch and other Rights organisations reported these atrocities.
In Gaza, Israel has committed grave war crimes since 7 October. It has destroyed all the hospitals in north Gaza and only 8 hospitals are operational in south Gaza. The UN resolution did not address this issue and Israel was not made accountable for that. The resolution calls for 'urgent steps' to lay the ground work " for a sustainable cessation of hostilities " meaning dismantling of Hamas totally so that it cannot attack Israel in future.
The US opposed ceasefire in Gaza because it is Israel that continue its bombardment of Gaza hospitals, schools, refugee camps and ambulances. And ceasefire would mean Israel's bombardment of Gaza. The US and Israel only agreed on allowing aid trucks enter Gaza through designated corridors, pausing attacks for required time. But it remains to be seen if Israel pays heed to the resolution as it has killed more than fifty UN aid workers and medical professionals in the last two months without being held accountable.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-west/resolution-gaza-us-peace/d/131368
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