Wednesday, December 10, 2014

United Nations and Palestine



United Nations and Palestine

Rule of Law


International law rose after the Second World War as a way to resolve conflicts without the use of violence. Israel has broken more United Nations (UN) resolution than any other country. In order to stall any final solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict Israel has constructed realities on the ground such as illegal settlements, internal displacement of people and economic sanctions to act as an impetus to drive people to seek sanctuary outside of Palestinian territory. Israel's goal is to annex as much Palestinian land as possible with as little Palestinians on them as possible has pushed Israel to disregard many United Nations resolutions.

Former United States Congressman Paul Findley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Findley) compiled a list of resolutions the United States vetoed at the United Nations Security Council and a list of United Nations resolutions against Israel that have been broken by Israel.  He notes that the United States was successful at preventing the United Nations from pushing sanctions against Israel and as a consequence stymied any attempts at solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and indirectly influenced all the resolutions against Israel to be watered down in hopes that the United States not use their veto to impede the resolution from going through. http://guardian.150m.com/palestine/UN-condemnation-of-israel.htm

Reading through the resolutions gives a very different image of Israel than the ones often portrayed on mainstream American media. The latest resolution to pass called on Israel to put its nuclear facilities under international oversight indicates Israel is not the helpless player in the Conflict. Israel is a nuclear nation with the fourth largest military force in the world and is hardly the defensive player it is portraying to be but an active offensive provocateur. UN Resolution 3379 describes Zionism as a form of Racism underlies the fallacy that Israel is a democratic nation that treats all its citizens equally. The resolution points to the preferential treatment Jewish citizens receive in Israel compared to the Palestinian minorities in cases like education and housing to name a few. Typically, democracies obey the rule of law and do not require the United States to apply diplomatic pressure to have the UN Resolution 3379 to be rescinded by UN Resolution 4686 in 1991. 


Another United Nations resolution that negatively reflects on the treatment of Palestinians by Israel since 1948 is United Nations Resolution 194. This resolution was sponsored by Count Folke Bernadotte (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folke_Bernadotte) before his assassination by Israeli extremists. This resolution calls on the unconditional return of all Palestinian refugees that were forceable removed from their homes by organized Jewish military organizations. Interestingly enough, Count Folke was accepted as a United Nations mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by the Israeli government because they believed he would be partial towards them because as president of the Swedish Red Cross he was instrumental in saving Jews from the Nazis during the Second World War. Israeli officials did not expect him to show the same type of empathy for the Palestinians he did the Jews.


Even though United Nations resolutions are often non binding they do carry moral weight among members and repeated condemnation of Israel’s human rights violations, and international laws undermines Israel’s credibility as a democracy and questions the loyalty of American politicians representing American values of freedom, democracy and liberty with each veto it favors Israel over the Palestinians.

~~~

Here is additional information on three resolutions that are used often in Palestinian debates.

In an effort to create a nuclear free zone in the Middle East the United Nations called on Israel to disclose their nuclear program. http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/business/energy/article/UN-assembly-calls-on-Israel-to-join-nuclear-treaty-5929740.php

In an attempt to eliminate all forms of racism the United Nations passed resolution 3379.http://www.scribd.com/doc/133166159/UN-Resolution-3379-Elimination-of-all-forms-of-racial-discrimination

Resolution 194 protects the rights of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes they were displaced from by Israeli militia, and/or given repartition for lost or destroyed property. http://www.mideastweb.org/194.htm

~~~

For more information on the question of the loyalty of American Politicians please see:

House Resolution 707, which favors Israeli narratives in the US government:

Peaceful Political Action 101-A, which documents some of the ways the US politicians favor Israeli interests over the interests of US citizens:


~~~


Boycott for Peace! 

~~~

Use the buttons below to e-mail, reblog, tweet, share, or pin:

No comments:

Post a Comment