Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine), 22.03.2024
On Friday, the USA which supports the Zionist’s genocide of the Palestinians failed to pass its resolution for a ceasefire in the UNSC. The American resolution demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, tied to the release of all captive Israelis, according to the text seen by AFP. Such a resolution if passed would allow the Zionist monsters to remain in Gaza, continue the genocide, and not free the thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
“Eleven council members voted for the resolution on Friday morning; Russia, China, and Algeria voted against it and Guyana abstained. As permanent security council members, the Russian and Chinese votes counted as vetoes.
Before the vote, the Russian envoy to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, pointed out that the US had vetoed four earlier resolutions demanding a ceasefire since the war started on 7 October, and noted that the US resolution did not directly demand a ceasefire but rather described it as an “imperative to save the lives of the peaceful Palestinian civilians, this is not enough,” Nebenzya said. He added that any council member voting for the resolution “will cover yourselves in disgrace” [i]
“After the vote, the US envoy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Russia and China had opposed the resolution because they could not bring themselves to support the clauses in it condemning Hamas.”[ii]
“The US language contrasted with calls by countries such as Russia and China for an immediate ceasefire, even if the hostages are not released at the same time. However, it marked the most significant breach between Israel and the US at the UN since a 2016 dispute over settlements in the occupied West Bank”.[iii]
US intelligence agencies have concluded that Hamas cannot be destroyed – the declared aim of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s relentless onslaught on Gaza. So why is the US continuing to arm Israel -which uses American weapons for genocide if the US wants to end the war?
“Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, says the US draft resolution was rejected for “obvious reasons”, calling it “one-sided” and noting that it mentioned Israel only once. “We reject framing what is happening as a terrorism issue. It is a genocide against the entire population of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” he told reporters”[iv]
Guyana abstained because the resolution did not call for an immediate ceasefire, said their Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. Given the appalling toll of death injuries and destruction of Gaza, “this man-made disaster cannot be halted without an immediate ceasefire, and it’s this Council’s responsibility to unequivocally demand one, even as it acknowledges the efforts of Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. She said a ceasefire should not be linked to the taking of hostages. The Palestinians should not themselves be held hostage for the crimes of others”[v].
The hypocritical Zionist Ambassador Gilad Erdan said: “The draft would have marked the first time any UN body condemned Hamas’s attack on his country, but its failure to be adopted is “a stain that will never be forgotten. Knowing that Hamas cannot win militarily, it uses Gazans as human shields to maximize civilian casualties so the Council will pressure Israel to end its military operation and issue false statistics and numbers, he said. Every civilian death in Gaza is tragic, but the only one to blame is Hamas,” he said. Likewise, the “libelous famine” in Gaza is just “Hamas propaganda”, he claimed, emphasizing that according to his Government, 341,000 tons of humanitarian aid in hundreds of trucks have entered the enclave. The only way to achieve a ceasefire is to demolish all Hamas battalions, and “the road to a ceasefire passes through Rafah,” he said.[vi]
Like always he is lying:
“Cogat, the Israeli body that coordinates humanitarian aid to Gaza, says that so far this month an average of 126 food trucks have entered each day. It says this is more than the 70 trucks carrying food specifically that entered Gaza before the war. Some 500 trucks in total entered Gaza each day before the war. But military operations and the breakdown of social order have severely hampered aid distribution, while Gaza’s food production has also been severely affected, with farms, bakeries and factories destroyed or inaccessible”[vii]
“From the beginning of the war until February 23, Gaza has received 13,834 trucks of humanitarian aid since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, according to a Friday update by Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. According to COGAT, 254,210 tons of supplies have been transferred to the Gaza Strip, including 167,080 tons of food”.[viii]
“If we assume that each truck was loaded with 40 ton of food in 160 days 70 trucks a day we get 448,000 tons of only food before the war and if we calculate how many tons 500 trucks entered every day before the war, we get 10 times the figures of Gilad:3,200,000(500X40X160)
We should also recall that in February the UN Security Council met in an emergency session in New York on Gaza, where the United States vetoed a resolution put forward on behalf of Arab States by Algeria demanding “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire that must be respected by all parties”.[ix]
Ceasefire now!
Israel out of Gaza!
Full aid for Gaza!
Exchange all Palestinian prisoners for all the captive Israelis living and dead
For Palestine red and free from the river to the sea!
Endnotes:
[i] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/22/gaza-ceasefire-vetoed-un
[ii] Ibid
[iii] https://www.ft.com/content/14a7809e-d323-4a5a-a33e-4f1d60d9f2cc
[iv] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/3/22/israels-war-on-gaza-live-the-choice-is-clear-a-2-state-solution?update=2790317
[v]https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147856
[vi] Ibid
[vii] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68551965
[viii] https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-says-gaza-has-received-almost-14000-trucks-of-aid-since-start-of-war/
[ix] https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146697