Commentary: It's time for the U.N. to impose tough sanctions on Israel

[DogPoundPup]

COLUMBUS, Ohio - It's time for the United Nations to shed its impotency and impose tough sanctions on Israel. That would be the least the United Nations could do after sitting silently for years through a "peace process" that Israel has used as a cover to grab Palestinian land.

In the Gaza hostilities, the United Nations did not call for a cease-fire, something it routinely does when wars break out. That failure is largely the fault of the Bush administration, which says that Israel should be able to continue, despite the humanitarian nightmare that Israel has caused in Gaza.

So it is even less likely that the United States would back sanctions against Israel. In fact, going back to the Clinton administration, the United States has said that any U.N. sanctions against Israel would interfere with the peace process, no matter how badly Israel acts.

As a permanent member of the Security Council, the United States has veto power over any sanctions. When Israel stepped up its takeover of Palestinian land in the West Bank in the mid-'90s, the United States used its veto to stop condemnatory resolutions that every other member of the Security Council wanted to adopt.

The United Nations has a lot to live down as regards Gaza. When Israel took Gaza in 1967, in a clear act of aggression, the United Nations failed to call it to account. Because of the threat of U.S. vetoes, the United Nations has sat on its hands in recent months as Israel has strangled Gaza, cutting off supplies, power and the means of livelihood to Gazans.

The United States has another reason to avoid sanctioning Israel. The F-16s and Apache helicopters that rain death on Gaza were supplied by the United States, so if Israel is at fault, we share the blame.

The bunker-buster bombs that Israel's air force is using in Gaza are a recent gift from American taxpayers. It is not surprising that the White House immediately claimed that Israel's assault on Gaza was lawful as an act of self-defense.

The White House cautioned Israel to avoid civilian casualties, but that is near impossible since Gaza is one of the most densely populated territories on the planet, as a result of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Israel in 1948.

Palestinians fleeing Israeli terror in 1948, many from the very areas Hamas is now shelling, took refuge in Gaza, doubling its population almost overnight.

Israel's air raids in Gaza that started just before New Year's began in mid-day hours, when Gazans were out in the streets. It has targeted residential buildings to go after Hamas leaders, fully aware that civilians would die in large numbers. It is using white phosphorus to cover the advance of ground troops, a weapon that burns skin on contact and is unlawful if used where civilians are present.

Navi Pillay, who heads the U.N. human rights agency, condemned "Israel's disproportionate use of force." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, while criticizing Hamas' mortar attacks, called conditions in Gaza "nothing short of terrifying" as result of what he called Israel's "excessive use of force." The Hamas rockets are a response to Israel's strangulation of Gaza. In 2005 Israel pulled its troops and civilians out of Gaza but kept control of the borders.

U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto says that "the time has come to take firm action if the U.N. does not want to be rightly accused of complicity by omission." So long as the United States wields the veto to protect Israel, the United Nations will fail in its role of maintaining the international peace in Israel/Palestine.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/337/story/59255.html

[scarletwoman]

1. Wish I could recommend -- but here's a kick at least. Great commentary.

Why anyone supports a right-wing murderous government that violates the Geneva Conventions and International Law is beyond me.

sw