by Brian Shilhavy, Health Impact News:
In my extensive coverage of the Israel – Hamas war since it started, I have reported that the ongoing genocide of an entire race of people, the Palestinians, is vehemently opposed by a vast majority of the world’s population. More than half the Israeli population does not support Netanyahu’s reign of terror, and the majority of Jews living in the United States also do not support the annihilation of the Palestinian people, where recent polls have shown that about two thirds of the population of the U.S. do not support Israel’s action, but instead support a ceasefire.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
And now, since yesterday, December 8, 2023, we can add the United Nations Security Council, where a resolution to call for a ceasefire in this horrible war with over 10,000 people now murdered, most of whom are women and children, failed by the only vote cast to oppose that ceasefire, the vote of the United States, who is a “permanent member” of the Security Council, with the authority to override everyone else’s votes.
Does any rational-thinking U.S. citizen still believe that the U.S. can take on almost the entire world, risking the security of our country, by choosing to stand with Netanyahu’s reign of terror?
‘Double standards’: World reacts to US veto on Gaza truce resolution at UN
International rights groups say US ‘risks complicity in war crimes’, has ‘callous disregard for civilian suffering’.
World leaders, international rights groups and United Nations officials have criticised the United States for vetoing a UN resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and failing to halt the war that has killed more than 17,400 Palestinians and about 1,100 people in Israel since October 7.
A UN resolution on the pause in hostilities failed to pass on Friday at the UN Security Council after the United States vetoed the proposal and Britain abstained.
The remaining 13 of the 15 current members of the UNSC voted in favour of the resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates and co-sponsored by 100 other countries.
Here are some of the reactions:
Palestine
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the US’s veto made it “complicit” in war crimes in Gaza. “The president has described the American position as aggressive and immoral, a flagrant violation of all humanitarian principles and values, and holds the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women and elderly people in the Gaza Strip,” a statement from his office said.
Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the veto was “a disgrace and another blank cheque given to the occupying state to massacre, destroy and displace”.
Palestine’s UN envoy Riyad Mansour told the UNSC that the result of the vote was “disastrous”. “If you are against the destruction and displacement of the Palestinian people you must stand against this war. And if you support it then you are enabling this destruction and displacement regardless of your intentions … Millions of Palestinian lives hang in the balance. Every single one of them is sacred, worth saving.”
Hamas strongly condemned the US veto, saying it considers Washington’s move “unethical and inhumane”. “The US obstruction of the issuance of a ceasefire resolution is a direct participation with the occupation in killing our people and committing more massacres and ethnic cleansing,” Izzat al-Risheq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE’s deputy UN ambassador Mohamed Abushahab asked the UNSC: “What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza? Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?”
Iran
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned of the threat of an “uncontrollable explosion” of the situation in the Middle East, after the US veto, the AFP news agency reported. “As long as America supports the crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) and the continuation of the war … there is a possibility of an uncontrollable explosion in the situation of the region,” Amirabdollahian told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a phone call, according to a ministry statement.
China
Permanent representative to the UN, Zhang Jun, told the council: “Condoning the continuation of fighting while claiming to care about the lives and safety of people in Gaza is self-contradictory. Condoning the continuation of fighting while advocating for the prevention of the spillover effects of the conflict is self-deceiving. Condoning the continuation of fighting while making references to the protection of women and children and human rights is hypocritical. All these once again show us what double standards are.”
Russia
Ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said: “Our colleagues from the USA have literally before our eyes issued a death sentence to thousands if not tens of thousands more civilians in Palestine and Israel.”
France
Ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, said at the UNSC: “Unfortunately once again this council has failed with a lack of unity, and by refusing to commit to negotiations the crisis in Gaza is getting worse and the council is not completing its mandate under the charter.”
Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned whether justice can be achieved after calls for a ceasefire were rejected. “The Israeli administration, which has the unwavering support of Western countries, is committing murderous atrocities and massacres in Gaza that will make all humans blush … A fair world is possible, but not with America, because America sides with Israel,” he said speaking at World Human Rights Day Event. “Reforming the United Nations Security Council is a must,” he added, saying the world is bigger than just the five permanent members.
Earlier the minister of foreign affairs, Hakan Fidan, told Turkish media: “America is now alone on this issue [of the war on Gaza], especially in the voting held at the United Nations today … American political system is now helpless on issues related to Israel.”
Oman
Foreign minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X: “The use of the veto at the Security Council is a shameful insult to humanitarian norms. I deeply regret that the United States should sacrifice the lives of innocent civilians for the cause of Zionism,”
Malaysia
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed his “strong objection” to the US vetoing the resolution. “It is strange and beyond human sanity when there are parties who support and remain silent regarding the massacre of innocent children and women as well as civilians,” he posted on X. (Full article.)
Here are some more recent articles covering this ongoing world crisis:
US Is Lone Veto Of UN Security Council ‘Humanitarian Ceasefire’ Resolution
Excerpts:
With the 2024 election fast approaching and Democrat support for Israel’s war on Hamas waning, the Biden administration – which is also trying to sell Congress on handing $14.3 billion in aid to Israel – has been ratcheting up pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties, recognize and work with the Palestinian Authority, resume peace talks, and commit to not reoccupying Gaza.
Read More @ HealthImpactNews.com
