United Nations approves Palestinian
request despite deliberate US/Israeli obstruction.
By
Joseph Chez
November 29, 2012
It is inconceivable that the role-model of democracy in
today’s modern world, the United
States of America , has systematically stood
in the way of Palestinians creating their own recognized state under the United
Nations Charter. Since 1948, when Israel
declared itself a nation, the U.S.
was first to give recognition to the Jewish state, followed by the Anglo mother-country,
the United Kingdom ,
whose Parliamentary Balfour Declaration became the blueprint for a Jewish
homeland,
but also made
it possible for the roots of today’s Palestinian/Israel world issue.
but also made
it possible for the roots of today’s Palestinian/Israel world issue.
At the behest of the United
Kingdom which then had control of much of Arabia, on
November 29, 1947 the United Nations passed a resolution partitioning Palestine in what was envisioned to become two states
living side by side: one; the state of Palestine ;
and two, a homeland for a Jewish state.
However, Arabs/Palestinians who lived in what was then known as Palestine
in Trans-Jordan, were given no voice to object to Palestine being partitioned and
a major portion of their land, be given to Jews – primarily emigrating from
Europe. Thus began the conflict in which Palestinians began to fight the
British and Jews, who they saw as occupiers. However, the fractured nature of Arab clans and
coupled with facing a heavy hand of a foreign army, Arab/Palestinians could not
successfully fight the well-armed British and/or the zeal of Zionist emboldened
to establish a Jewish state.
On May 15, 1948, as the
British Mandate was about to end, Jewish settlers declared their
independence from British rule and by de facto
became a recognized nation, primarily by the say so of England and its sibling, the United States of America. Palestinians still living within the new
Jewish state, fearing for their lives, fled the area. Thousands more who chose
to remain were either killed by Jewish settlers or were forcibly expelled from
their own homes and property - becoming refugees in the thousands - in
neighboring Arab lands.
However, it must be noted, that as a consequence of the
British Balfour Declaration and subsequent UK sponsored United Nation’s
partition resolution, Arab objection and conflict against a perceived intrusion
of a Jewish state, has continued to this date.
Regrettably, even though the 1947 UN Partition Resolution was to create
two states, only Israel has
since acquired “state” status while the apportioned Palestinian lands became
occupied by Israel .
To this date, Palestinians living in what is quasi recognized Palestine ,
the West Bank and Gaza ,
have lived under occupation and in virtual life in prison. And yet, much to the
displeasure of the community of nations, against the subjugation of Palestinians
by the Jewish state, numerous UN resolutions have been passed requiring Israel to abide
by International Law and to end the occupation – but to no avail. Israel has
thumbed its nose at the numerous UN resolutions and has kept a tight grip on
the freedoms of Palestinians. This situation of course could not have happened
if it were not for Israel ’s mighty
American benefactor, whose veto power at the UN Security Council has
systematically killed any chance of dispute against Israel . Accordingly, since Palestine has never acquired state status,
Palestinians have had no standing
before the jurisdiction of the United Nations. In fact, it has been the
diplomatic strategy of England ,
the United States of America
and Israel ,
to keep Palestinians from acquiring any form of recognition from the United
Nations. This is because if Palestine
has no state status, it can not bring its grievances before the world body.
Thus, Palestine
as a stateless occupied land - will remain in limbo.
Increasingly however, nations of the world have begun to
recognize the malevolent actions of the state of Israel ,
despite the relentless and successful campaign by the United States , England
and Israel
to discredit Palestinian grievances or, label any angry Palestinian reactions,
as those of terrorist. So I am reminded of a recent CNN interview of an Israeli
government functionary who was attempting to explain the terrorist acts of
Hamas in Gaza ,
as a mutual threat to the freedoms of Israelis and Americans… For which the CNN
reporter asked of the Israeli: “so what would you do, if you were under
occupation?”
A greater question is what’s in it for the U.S. in giving cover for the misgivings and
lawlessness of the state of Israel ?
Why stand in the way of Palestinians achieving statehood? The answer is simple
but still, enigmatic. There are three ways in which to approach this question; religiously,
politically or of economics:
As absurd as it is stupid, the US
describes itself as a Judeo-Christian nation and thus, bound by such dogma, Christians
have evangelized US
foreign policy. Yes, the Christian ethos
is so strong in current politics that government cannot ignore the biblical
damnation if it does not come to the aid of Israel . In fact, many American
believers now describe themselves as Christian Zionists, committed to the
security of Israel .
(The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah …All who
lift it will surely hurt themselves… Zechariah 12:1-14)
Politically, American Christians have become a feared block
of voters which pick and choose politicians. The once comical “Jesus freaks” or
“moral majority” are no longer the laughing block but instead, have permeated
into every corner of public life. It is no wonder thus, that expressing
allegiance to Christian values is the American litmus test. To this end,
Christians demand a forceful presence in Congress, but also preach politicians
for an unquestionable mighty arm force, for the greatness of the country and
for the defense of Israel . Additionally, Jewish Americans also have a dynamic
influence in American politics. So
strong is their reach, that Congress dares not cross certain boundaries when it
concerns Israel .
AIPAC you may say - gives politicians life or oblivion. In addition, Israel has played the religious
angle to its favor. We now know that
AIPAC/Israel recruited GW Bush for president and delivered – if he were to only
take out Saddam Hussein, a mortal enemy and imminent threat to Israel . More
currently, AIPAC/Israel also lobbied for would be US President, Mitt Romney, if
he were to also, attack Iran . Interestingly, Mitt’s Mormonism had him
rooted in biblical ties with Israel .
So what happened with Barack Obama winning the presidency? He vowed to the same
litany of, in defense of Israel .
Economically, the U.S. consumes one third of the
world’s hydrocarbons even though it has one sixth the world’s population.
Conveniently, the Middle East is awash in petroleum, thus giving the US a need for
controlling interest of the oil spigot in the region. Presently, Saudi Arabia is considered the number one oil
producing nation, and of course, the mighty one and only extracting oil company
in Saudi Arabia
is ARAMCO (ArabAmericanCompany).
However, through out the region there are also many other nations rich
in oil in which the US
has a footprint. Regrettably, many of the Middle Eastern nations have royal
families or worse, dictatorial regimes which keep much of the oil profits but
keep their population in check. To this end, the U.S.
is in a tight spot and reverts to propping up those repressive regimes in order
to keep the oil flowing – to the US . Needless to say, the region is
imminently important to the economic well being of the nation. But why watch Israel ’s back? Geo-politically, Israel is positioned strategically in the region
for the US
to intervene in the event of oil disruption from competitor nations or would be
aggressors. Moreover, the US has the
most influential industrial military complex, framed in such a way that it becomes a
revolving door for massive weapons systems to be sold to the Pentagon, retiring
generals becoming CEOs of military/aero space companies, generals becoming
lobbyist in Congress, Congress buying more weapons systems, the Pentagon unnecessarily
decommissioning weapons systems and then transferring those systems to Israel,
and thus, resulting in Israel pressuring Congress for more military hardware
aid. Congress therefore, feels the heat
from AIPAC/Israel and approves more weapons systems ordered by the US military
complex. One might then ask, if the US Congress and the American military
complex truly have the security interest of the country in mind, or if it is plain
dollars and nonsense – in defense of Israel ?
Regardless, the US
feels compelled to embrace the social, political, religious and military ties
that bind the US with Israel . Israel on the
other hand, fully understands this American weakness and exploits the American
tightly-wound religious/political undergarment and does not miss the
opportunity to squeeze the Americans where it hurts, at their option and at the
appropriate time.
Consequently, as the world becomes impatient with the
Palestinian/Israeli conflict, sectors within the community of nations want the
United Nations to resolve the Palestinian/Israeli issue, although governments
are keenly aware that the United States and England have a disproportionate
influence in world affairs and within the UN, for which resolution after
resolution against the occupying state of Israel, goes down to defeat. Moreover, the United
States of America has forcefully assumed the role of
arbitrator concerning the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The Europeans on the other hand, have
followed in such endeavor, but have demurred to the process as set by the United States and England . Thus the question rises; why would Israel ’s
benefactor lead the discussion in arbitration in this critical matter and isn’t
there a conflict of interest?
To avoid the conflict of interest perception, The United
States and Israel
have done the obvious, i.e. to propose a series of peace talks between the
parties in order to achieve the goal of a two state solution – in theory.
Accordingly, the US
has sponsored a number of prominent peace talks in which the two parties are
urged to resolve the issues and ultimately come up with a suitable and mutually
peaceful two-state arrangement. The
folly of such conceptual trap however, is that Israel’s vision is to keep the
land they have occupied, as they assert, that it is the promised land given by
God to the Jews. And by God, they aim to
keep it that way. Thus, the Camp David Accord of 1978, the Madrid Talks in 1991, the Oslo Accord in 1993, The Taba Agreement 1n 1995, the Wye River Memorandum in 1998, Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum of 1999, the
Camp David Summit in 2000, and the
most recent in 2003 being the Quartet of the UN, US, EU and Russia - promoting
the Road Map for Peace talks – have
all been framed to give the illusion of progress, although requiring the
Palestinians to meet certain unattainable goals before Israel would agree to
give up any occupied territory. Thus it was foreseeable that each and every
agreement has failed as it was designed to do so. Furthermore, the United States has consistently
argued that it is not for the United Nations to resolve the issue but that the
two parties must mutually agree to a resolution – which is the same recipe for
failure.
In as much as the world has caught on to the Israeli/US
deception, Palestinians have realized that peace negotiations with Israel is
but a hoax and therefore, have decided to go the route of United Nations
recognizing Palestine as a state.
However, the US and Israel continue to argue that the only way for a two
state resolution, is not through the UN but to go back to the peace table and
both parties reach agreement. But,
since the Palestinian Authority sees no viable peace alternative with Israel , on this
date of November 29, 2012, Palestinians will have made their bid for
elevated status before the United Nations General Assembly. At the same time, Israel ’s
government has threatened to annex Samaria and Judea if Mahmoud Abbas makes the bid before the UN.
Worse, the current Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman has also
threatened to do away with any and all Palestinian government officials, as it
has been the unofficial Israeli government policy to assassinate Palestinian
leaders.
No comments:
Post a Comment