Tag: palestine

Israeli defence chief challenges Benjamin Netanyahu over post-war Gaza plans

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was publicly challenged about post-war plans for the Gaza Strip on Wednesday by his own defence chief, who vowed to oppose any long-term military rule by Israel over the ravaged Palestinian enclave.

The televised statement by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant marked the most vocal dissent from within Israel’s top echelon against Netanyahu during a seven-month-old and multi-front conflict that has set off political fissures at home and abroad.

Netanyahu hinted, in a riposte which did not explicitly name Gallant, that the retired admiral was making “excuses” for not yet having destroyed Hamas in a conflict now in its eight month.

But the veteran conservative premier soon appeared to be outflanked within his own war cabinet: Centrist ex-general Benny Gantz, the only voting member of the forum other than Netanyahu and Gallant, said the defence minister had “spoke(n) the truth”.

While reiterating the Netanyahu government’s goals of defeating Hamas and recovering remaining hostages from the October 7 cross-border rampage by the Islamist faction, Gallant said these must be complemented by laying the groundwork for alternative Palestinian rule.

“We must dismantle Hamas’ governing capabilities in Gaza. The key to this goal is military action, and the establishment of a governing alternative in Gaza,” Gallant said.

“In the absence of such an alternative, only two negative options remain: Hamas’ rule in Gaza or Israeli military rule in Gaza,” he added, saying he would oppose the latter scenario and urging Netanyahu to formally forswear it.

Gallant said that, since October, he had tried to promote a plan to set up a “non-hostile Palestinian governing alternative” to Hamas – but got no response from the Israeli cabinet.

The format of his broadside, a pre-announced news conference carried live by Israeli TV and radio, recalled Gallant’s bombshell warning in March 2023 that foment over a judicial overhaul pursued by Netanyahu was threatening military cohesion.

At the time, Netanyahu announced that Gallant would be fired – but backed down amid a deluge of street demonstrations. Some defence analysts believe Gallant’s prediction was borne out by Hamas’ ability to blindside Israeli forces a few months later.

Asked on Wednesday whether he was worried he may again face being ousted, Gallant said: “I’m not blaming anyone. In a democratic country, I believe, it’s appropriate for a person, especially the defence minister who holds a position, to make it public.”

Gallant’s Gaza criticism recalled that of Israel’s chief ally, the United States, which has sought to parlay the war into a role for the internationally backed Palestinian Authority (PA), which wields limited governance in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu has refused this, describing the PA as a hostile entity – and repeated this position in a video statement he issued on social media within an hour of Gallant’s remarks.

Any move to create an alternative Gaza government requires that Hamas first be eliminated, Netanyahu said, finishing with the demand that this objective be pursued “without excuses”.

Netanyahu’s ruling coalition includes ultra-nationalist partners who want the PA dismantled and new Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Those partners have at times sparred with Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, over policy.

Netanyahu has said Israel would retain overall security control over Gaza after the war for the foreseeable future. He has stopped short of describing this scenario as an occupation – a status Washington does not want to see emerge – and has signalled opposition to Israelis settling the territory.

Over the last week, Israeli ground forces have returned to some areas of northern Gaza that they overran and quit in the first half of the war. Israel describes the new missions as planned crackdowns on efforts by Hamas holdouts to regroup, while Palestinians see evidence of the tenacity of the gunmen.

Briefing reporters on Tuesday, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari was asked whether the absence of a post-Hamas strategy for Gaza was complicating operations.

“There is no doubt that an alternative to Hamas would generate pressure on Hamas, but that’s a question for the government echelon,” he responded.

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India votes in favor of UNGA resolution supporting Palestine’s bid for full UN membership

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India on Friday voted in favor of a draft UN General Assembly resolution which stated that Palestine is qualified and should be admitted as a full member of the United Nations, and recommended the Security Council to reconsider the matter favorably.

The resolution got 143 votes in favour, including by India, nine against and 25 abstentions. The UNGA hall broke into an applause after the vote was cast. The resolution asserted that Palestine meets the criteria for UN membership according to Article 4 of the UN Charter and should therefore be admitted as a member. It also urged the Security Council to reassess the matter in light of this determination.

The 193-member General Assembly met in the morning for an emergency special session where the Arab Group resolution Admission of new Members to the United Nations’, in support of the State of Palestine’s full membership in the UN, was presented by the United Arab Emirates, as Chair of the Arab Group in May.

India was the first non-Arab State to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in 1974. India was also one of the first countries to recognise the State of Palestine in 1988 and in 1996, Delhi opened its Representative Office to the Palestine Authority in Gaza, which was later shifted to Ramallah in 2003.

Earlier this month, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj had said that while Palestine’s application for membership at the UN was not approved by the Security Council because of the veto in the UNSC, I would like to state here at the very outset that in keeping with India’s long-standing position, we hope that this would be reconsidered in due course and that Palestine’s endeavour to become a member of the United Nations will get endorsed”. An annex to the resolution said that the additional rights and privileges of participation of the State of Palestine will be effective as of the 79th session of the General Assembly that begins in September this year.

These include the right to be seated among member states in alphabetical order; the right to make statements on behalf of a group, including among representatives of major groups; the right of members of the delegation of the State of Palestine to be elected as officers in the plenary and the Main Committees of the General Assembly and the right to full and effective participation in UN conferences and international conferences and meetings convened under the auspices of the General Assembly. Palestine, in its capacity as an observer state, does not have the right to vote in the General Assembly or to put forward its candidature to UN organs.

In April, Palestine had sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requesting that its application for full UN membership be considered again. For a state to be granted full UN membership, its application must be approved both by the Security Council and the General Assembly, where a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting is required for the state to be admitted as a full member. Last month, the US had vetoed a resolution in the Security Council on the Palestinian bid to be granted full membership of the United Nations. The 15-nation Council had voted on a draft resolution that would have recommended to the 193-member UN General Assembly that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership in the United Nations.

The resolution got 12 votes in its favour, with Switzerland and the UK abstaining and the US casting its veto. To be adopted, the draft resolution required at least nine Council members voting in its favour, with no vetoes by any of its five permanent members China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States. Currently, Palestine is a non-member observer state at the UN, a status granted to it by the General Assembly in 2012. This status allows Palestine to participate in proceedings of the world body but it cannot vote on resolutions. The only other non-member observer state at the UN is the Holy See, representing the Vatican.

With inputs from PTI

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US paused weapons shipment to Israel over Rafah invasion concern

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The US paused a shipment of bombs to Israel over worries about Israel nearing a decision to launch a wide-ranging military offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which President Joe Biden opposes, according to a senior administration official.

The delivery was supposed to contain 3,500 bombs, split roughly evenly between 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) and 500-pound explosives, the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said.

The official added the administration is worried about the damage the larger bombs could inflict on dense urban settings like Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. The US has not made a final decision about how to proceed with the shipment, according to the official.

The decision, reported earlier by the Associated Press, marks one of the most prominent instances of discord between the US and Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault that killed 1,200 people and saw roughly 250 more taken hostage by the group, designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union. The US has long been Israel’s largest and most reliable military backer, but Biden has called on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to protect civilians in Gaza.

Biden told Netanyahu last month, following the killing of aid workers in an Israeli strike, that ongoing US support for the war would depend on new steps to protect civilians.

The US president in April signed a foreign aid package that contained fresh assistance for Israel, but the paused bomb shipment was not connected to those funds, according to the administration official. Arms transfers that are under review were drawn from previously appropriated money and the administration is committed to ensuring Israel gets every dollar of the new national security aid, the official said.

The Biden administration in April began reviewing future transfers of certain armaments as Israeli leaders seemed to close in on a decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Rafah, despite repeated warnings from the US. Discussions between American and Israeli officials over Rafah plans are continuing and have yet to fully address the administration’s concerns, the official said.

“Two things can be true at once,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier Tuesday, without addressing the weapons-transfer pause. “Israel has a right and a responsibility to defend itself, and we’re going to continue to provide for their security and help them with that. And at the same time, they have a right and obligation to be careful about civilian casualties and getting more humanitarian assistance in.”

Israel’s military moved to take control of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt and ordered some civilians to leave the city so that an attack can get underway. That came after Hamas said it accepted a cease-fire proposal, but Israel rejected it, saying it fell far short of meeting their demands.

While the White House has repeatedly expressed opposition to a Rafah incursion, officials have not indicated publicly that Israel’s current operations in the area have violated Biden’s warnings against a full-scale invasion of the city. White House spokesman John Kirby earlier Tuesday described the existing operation as “limited” and intended to cut off Hamas’s ability to smuggle weapons and money into Gaza.

Israel says reopening Kerem Shalom aid crossing into Gaza

Israel was reopening Kerem Shalom crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a statement from the Israeli agency in charge of it said, adding that aid trucks routed through from Egypt were already undergoing security inspections there.

Israel had closed Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday after a Palestinian shelling attack nearby killed four soldiers.Israel was reopening Kerem Shalom crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a statement from the Israeli agency in charge of it said, adding that aid trucks routed through from Egypt were already undergoing security inspections there.

Israel had closed Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday after a Palestinian shelling attack nearby killed four soldiers.

With inputs from Reuters

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Pro-Palestine faculty at Chicago University prevent police action on student protestors

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A tense weekend ended at the University of Chicago after pro-Palestine faculty intervened and averted an expected police action on protesting students.

A group of over 120 University of Chicago Faculty members held a press conference on Monday morning at the university’s main quad to express their support to students protesting at the quad against Israeli attacks on Gaza, and to criticize the University management’s alleged threat of police action against the protestors.

Responding to a press release by the faculty group, the University issued a response saying “it had not sent any communication regarding a midnight deadline for the (Gaza solidarity) encampment to end”.

The protesting faculty however claimed the university management had verbally told the students that the police would move in if the students didn’t end their encampment of the university quad by midnight on Sunday.

Indeed, the weekend of May 4-5 the campus was abuzz with rumors that the police would move in. These fears gained ground, especially after a Friday email to all students from the president of the University, Paul Alivisatos ended as follows: “On Monday, I stated that we would only intervene if what might have been an exercise of free expression blocks the learning or expression of others or substantially disrupts the functioning or safety of the University. Without an agreement to end the encampment, we have reached that point.”

The faculty group called UChicago Faculty For Justice In Palestine (FJP), along with the students have been asking the University to sever all connections with Israel and to withdraw the university’s monies from funds like Vanguard and Pimco, that have exposure to weapons manufacturers like Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed-Martin, whose weapons, the FJP claims, are being used in Gaza.

The FJP and the students are also demanding that the Chicago Quantum Exchange, a body which facilitates collaborative research into quantum computing along with Israeli institutions like the Weizmann Institute and the Technion, end such collaborations. The pro-Palestine faculty and student groups are also demanding that faculty invited from Israel to teach certain courses, should be stopped from teaching henceforth.

Pro-Palestine students have been occupying the university’s main quad area since April 29 in a largely peaceful demonstration of solidarity. The only concerning incident was on Friday afternoon when pro-Israeli students confronted the pro-Palestine supporters in the quad area, but no violence was reported.

The pro-Palestine group occupying the quad, importantly have even a group of Jewish supporters.

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Israel says a ceasefire plan backed by Hamas falls far short

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal for the Gaza Strip, but Israel’s war cabinet unanimously rejected it as “far from Israel’s necessary demands,” dashing hopes for an immediate pause in the fighting.

Israel vowed to continue “its operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas” but also said it will send a delegation to meet with mediators “to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement.” In a statement later Monday, the Israel Defense Forces announced fresh airstrikes against Hamas targets in the Rafah area.

The Israeli response followed hours after Hamas had posted a statement to Telegram saying that Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas political office, had accepted a Qatari and Egyptian cease-fire proposal. Questions were raised almost immediately about the details, with both US and Israeli officials saying they were studying the Hamas response.

Benny Gantz, a centrist who joined the war cabinet, said in a post on Telegram that the proposal offered by Hamas “does not correspond to the dialogue that has taken place so far with the mediators and has significant gaps.” He said an Israeli delegation nonetheless will meet with negotiators in Cairo.

Hamas and Israel have been negotiating via Qatar, Egypt and the US on an agreement that would see the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. It would also include a pause in fighting.

Israeli cabinet minister Itamar Ben Gvir was the first Israeli official to address the Hamas response to the cease-fire proposal, saying it was no more than a trick. “Hamas’ shenanigans have only one answer: an immediate order to occupy Rafah! Increasing military pressure, crushing Hamas, and proceeding to its ultimate defeat,” Ben Gvir said in a post on X.

Tensions Increased

Those talks had stalled over the weekend over the Iran-backed militant group’s insistence that any truce be permanent, leading to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Israel has said it must eliminate Hamas before ending the war.

Tensions also increased after Hamas killed four Israeli soldiers with a rocket barrage on Sunday on the border crossing of Kerem Shalom, one of its worst missile attacks in weeks. Israel has insisted on a phased approach to any cease-fire, saying Hamas must first commit to the release of about three dozen hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

“I want it to succeed, but the cold, sort of cool analyst in me says the fundamental divide between the two combatants — Israel and Hamas — make it more likely that we’ll see many more weeks, if not months, of violence than we’ll see some sort of off-ramp to a diplomatic settlement,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute who previously worked at the US National Security Council.

At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will go ahead with its invasion of Rafah, in Gaza’s south, where Israeli forces say Hamas still holds sway. Earlier Monday, Israel told some civilians to move out of parts of Rafah, a possible prelude to a long-expected attack on the city where more than a million Palestinians have sought shelter from the war.

The Israel Defense Forces “will act with extreme force against terrorist organizations in your areas of residence,” a spokesman said on X on Monday morning. He urged residents of eastern Rafah to go north to an “expanded humanitarian area” near Khan Younis, another city in Gaza.

Large numbers of people started leaving Rafah in cars, on foot and on horse-drawn carriages. A spokesman for the Israeli military said its Air Force struck 50 targets in Rafah Monday.

President Joe Biden has called a Rafah invasion a “red line,” and he and other top US officials have repeatedly warned that Israel must not launch such an attack without protecting civilians. During a visit to Tel Aviv last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “we’ve not seen such a plan.’

Biden and Netanyahu spoke on Monday. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Biden had again made clear the US view about “operations in Rafah that could potentially put more than a million innocent people at greater risk.”

If a cease-fire had been reached, it would have brought about a halt in fighting between Israel and Hamas for the first time since a similar accord in late November. The impasse could allow talks to begin regarding a permanent truce, while letting much-needed aid be delivered to Gaza’s war-ravaged population. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union.

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Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters remain on UCLA campus despite police ordering them to leave

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters Thursday remained behind barricades on the UCLA campus despite police orders to leave as officers were poised to move in on their fortified encampment that was ringed by an even larger crowd, including supporters who locked arms and curious onlookers.

Shortly before 2 a.m., police briefly made their way into the perimeter of the encampment only to retreat after being outnumbered by scores of protesters who yelled “shame on you!” Some in the crowd tossed water bottles and other objects as dozens of officers ran back.

Later the crowd chanted “we’re not leaving. You don’t scare us.”

The huge numbers of police began arriving late in the afternoon Wednesday and issued the dispersal order. Empty buses were parked near the University of California, Los Angeles, to take away protesters who don’t comply with the order.

The tense standoff came one night after violence instigated by counter-protesters erupted in the same place.

The law enforcement presence and continued warnings stood in contrast to the scene that unfolded the night before, when counter-demonstrators attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment, throwing traffic cones, releasing pepper spray and tearing down barriers. Fighting continued for several hours before police stepped in, though no arrests were made. At least 15 protesters suffered injuries, and the tepid response by authorities drew criticism from political leaders as well as Muslim students and advocacy groups.

By Wednesday afternoon a small city sprang up inside the reenforced encampment, now full of hundreds of people and tents on the campus quad. Some protesters said Muslim prayers as the sun set over the campus, while others chanted “we’re not leaving” or passed out goggles and surgical masks. They wore helmets and headscarves, and discussed the best ways to handle pepper spray or tear gas as someone sang over a megaphone.

A few constructed homemade shields out of plywood in case they clashed with police forming skirmish lines elsewhere on the campus. “For rubber bullets, who wants a shield?” a protester called out.

Outside the encampment, a crowd of students, alumni and neighbors gathered on campus steps, joining in pro-Palestinian chants. A group of students holding signs and wearing T-shirts in support of Israel and Jewish people demonstrated nearby.

The crowd continued to grow as the night wore on as more and more officers poured onto campus.

Ray Wiliani, who lives nearby, said he came to UCLA on Wednesday evening to support the pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

“We need to take a stand for it,” he said. “Enough is enough.”

Elsewhere, police in New Hampshire said they made 90 arrests and took down tents at Dartmouth College and officers in Oregon came onto the campus at Portland State University as school officials sought to end the occupation of the library that started Monday.

The chaotic scenes at UCLA came just hours after New York police burst into a building occupied by anti-war protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday night, breaking up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school.

An Associated Press tally counted at least 38 times since April 18 where arrests were made at campus protests across the U.S. More than 1,600 people have been arrested at 30 schools.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in a statement that “a group of instigators” perpetrated the previous night’s attack, but he did not provide details about the crowd or why the administration and school police did not act sooner.

“However one feels about the encampment, this attack on our students, faculty and community members was utterly unacceptable,” he said. “It has shaken our campus to its core.”

Block promised a review of the night’s events after California Gov. Gavin Newsom denounced the delays.

The head of the University of California system, Michael Drake, ordered an “independent review of the university’s planning, its actions and the response by law enforcement.”

“The community needs to feel the police are protecting them, not enabling others to harm them,” Rebecca Husaini, chief of staff for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said in a news conference on the Los Angeles campus Wednesday.

Speakers disputed the university’s account that 15 people were injured and one hospitalized, saying the number of people taken to the hospital was higher. One student described needing to go to the hospital after being hit in the head by an object wielded by counter-protesters.

Several students who spoke during the news conference said they had to rely on each other, not the police, for support as they were attacked, and that many in the pro-Palestinian encampment remained peaceful and did not engage with counter-protesters. UCLA canceled classes Wednesday.

Tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread across campuses nationwide in a student movement unlike any other this century. The ensuing police crackdowns echoed actions decades ago against a much larger protest movement protesting the Vietnam War.

In Madison, a scrum broke out early Wednesday after police with shields removed all but one tent and shoved protesters. Four officers were injured, including a state trooper who was hit in the head with a skateboard, authorities said. Four were charged with battering law enforcement.

This is all playing out in an election year in the U.S., raising questions about whether young voters — who are critical for Democrats — will back President Joe Biden’s reelection effort, given his staunch support of Israel.

In rare instances, university officials and protest leaders struck agreements to restrict the disruption to campus life and upcoming commencement ceremonies.

At Brown University in Rhode Island, administrators agreed to consider a vote to divest from Israel in October — apparently the first U.S. college to agree to such a demand.

The nationwide campus demonstrations began at Columbia on April 17 to protest Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which followed Hamas launching a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Health Ministry there.

Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests antisemitic, while Israel’s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organizers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.

Meanwhile, protest encampments elsewhere were cleared by the police, resulting in arrests, or closed up voluntarily at schools across the U.S., including The City College of New York, Fordham University in New York, Portland State in Oregon, Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona and Tulane University in New Orleans.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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Hamas studying latest Israeli ceasefire counterproposal: Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Hamas said it’s looking over the latest counterproposal by Israel on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages, the Agence France-Presse reported.

The Israeli proposal is in response to the group’s position delivered to mediators on April 13, the report said, citing a statement by senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya. Hamas will submit a response to the proposal once it has finished studying it, he said.

Earlier this week, the US and 17 other nations pressed Hamas to release their citizens who are missing or held hostage in Gaza, in a bid to revive cease-fire talks that have stalled out in recent weeks and unlock more humanitarian aid. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the US, the EU and others.

The US has been seeking a temporary cease-fire in Gaza that would see Hamas release female, wounded, elderly and sick hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a surge of humanitarian aid into the war-torn territory.

Ongoing talks between Israel and Hamas have been mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar.

Al-Hayya told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Hamas would lay down its arms if a Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.

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Antony Blinken denies US human rights ‘double standard’ for Israel

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The US is examining allegations of human rights and international law violations in Gaza — by both Israel and Hamas — and will not apply a double standard, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Washington on Monday.

“Do we have a double standard? The answer is no,” Blinken said in response to questions about the Biden administration’s handling of allegations of abuses by Israeli forces in Gaza, compared with those attributed to Hamas.

The top US diplomat’s comments follow criticism that the administration isn’t putting enough pressure on Israel to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israeli forces are seeking to defeat Hamas following its Oct. 7 attack. He also spoke as reports emerged that the administration is planning to sanction an Israeli ultra-Orthodox army battalion over human rights abuses in the West Bank.
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Blinken said the administration was engaged in a “very deliberate” process of assessing Israel’s actions under the so-called “Leahy law” provisions barring the US government from providing assistance to foreign security forces that engage in gross violations of human rights. He declined to provide a time-line for a formal assessment, but added that “we will have more to say” within days.

“We are looking into reports — incidents that are brought to our attention, and we have a process to do that,” Blinken said. “Particularly if there are questions about whether US arms have been involved. And that is ongoing. We continue to be focused on that.”

Blinken spoke Monday as the State Department released its 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which he called “a factual, systematic account of human rights records” around the world. The document contains a section on Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians.

“We apply the same standard to everyone,” Blinken said. “And that doesn’t change whether the country in question is an adversary, a competitor, a friend or an ally.”

The secretary said the administration would make its own determinations regarding potential violations in Gaza, and also touted Israel’s ability to examine its own actions, pointing to “many open investigations based on reports that have come forward with allegations about abuses of human rights or abuse of international humanitarian law, laws of war, et cetera.”

Democracies have a responsibility to police themselves and to uphold the same standards they demand of others, he added.

“We have to do our best to collect the facts and follow the facts, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

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Why US vetoed the Palestinian bid for recognition as full UN member state

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The US, a close ally of Israel, vetoed a widely backed UN Security Council resolution that would have paved the way for Palestine to be recognised as a full member state at the United Nations. The country vetoed a draft resolution that recommended to the 193-member UNSC that “the State of Palestine be admitted to membership” of the world body.

While 12 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council, including Russia, China and France, voted in favour of the measure, one — the United States — opposed, with abstentions from Switzerland and Britain.

Why the US vetoed

The vote comes amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza after militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing at least 1,200 people, while more than 250 people were taken hostage. Israel has claimed to be retaliating against Hamas in Gaza, where nearly 34,000 people have been killed so far.

US President Joe Biden and his government are facing intense pressure internationally to do more to address the dire humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.

Ahead of the US presidential elections slated for November this year, the Biden administration has faced criticism from within the party and a few Democrats for its continued support to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government in its ongoing war in Gaza.

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations had renewed the request for a full membership for Palestine a few weeks ago. A UNSC committee later discussed the request and stated on Tuesday that the council members were divided about whether they should recommend accepting Palestine as a full member, reports said.

In the meantime, the Biden administration had been pressing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his advisers to avoid moving forward with their request. But, Abbas rejected the move.

‘Direct negotiations’

When asked about the US move, a State Department spokesperson said, “It remains the US view that the most expeditious path toward statehood for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with the support of the US and other partners.”

Earlier, Deputy US Ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, said the same thing before the council. “This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgement that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties,” Wood noted.

How did Palestine react?

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the UN, described the bid for full-member status as its effort “to take our rightful place among the community of nations.”

Palestinians at present are a non-member observer state, a de facto recognition of statehood which was earlier granted by the UN General Assembly in 2012. Its application to become a full member of the world body had to be approved by the Security Council and later by at least two-thirds of the General Assembly.

“Our right to self-determination is a natural right — a historical right — to live in our homeland Palestine as an independent state that is free and that is sovereign,” Mansour said after the vote.

For a long time, the UNSC has endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognised borders. On the other hand, the Palestinians have asked for a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip — territories captured by Israel in 1967.

The Palestinian Authority, headed by Abbas, exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank region, while it was ousted from power by Hamas in Gaza in 2007.

‘Shameful proposal’

After the vote, Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said “the shameful proposal was rejected” by the UN, adding that “terrorism will not be rewarded.”

Israel was admitted as a full member of the United Nations in 1949.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow