United States’ Excuses for Israel’s War Crimes Are Inexcusable

 By David Starr

In the face of a horrible war between Israel and Hamas, civilians have paid the price, Israelis and especially Palestinians. Rather than support a logical and moral cessation of hostilities, the United States has been given Israel only a slap on the wrist for its attempted genocide, mainly in Gaza. 

 

And, so, it went in late October when the United Nations struggled to approve the appropriate resolution coming from the Security Council. A resolution by Brazil that would condemn all violence against civilians, was vetoed by that “Beacon of Democracy.” The Brazil resolution had 12 votes for, two abstentions by Russia and Britain, and the veto by the U.S.

 

Russia proposed two amendments to the resolution: one which called for a “humanitarian ceasefire,” and the other condemning the heavy bombardment in Gaza, which took out hospitals and schools. But the proposals didn’t get enough votes for approval.

 

The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, parroted the line that the Brazil resolution didn’t include Israel’s right to self-defense, and she added that Joe Biden was engaging in diplomacy with his visit to the region where “We need to let that diplomacy play out.” Regarding the acknowledgement to Israel’s self-defense, if that is the case, then Palestinians also have a right to the same thing. But in typical fashion, that was ignored by Thomas-Greenfield. Also not mentioned was the death toll of Palestinians, as of this writing, over 9,000, about half of which are children. This is added to the death toll of Israeli civilians at 1,400.

 

Thomas-Greenfield’s patience for Biden’s diplomacy is rather insulting given the degree which the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have conducted basically mass murder, have blocked all necessities and resources to Gaza, and bombed hospitals, schools, etc. She said “…the council needs to get this right.” It’s conclusive what the council needs to do NOW: a cease-fire and negotiations. It’s so damn obvious.

 

But the U.S. virtually stalls with its full backing of Israel. Waiting to see what else develops in the crisis is ignoring not only more deaths but also ignoring the root causes of it: the occupation and the settlements. Over the decades, the U.S. has hardly focused on nationhood for Palestinians. Attempts at peace agreements have been tried but, as we see with the current crisis, they have amounted to failure. The U.S. has played the role of neutral mediator but it has been a pretension, contradicting its full support of Israel.

 

In regards to the Brazil resolution, UN Ambassador Vassily Nebezia of Russia took the U.S. to task when he said that rather than “humanitarian pauses,” whatever that means, “It is only a cease-fire that will help…” Nebezia also called out the U.S. for “hypocrisy” and “double standards.” (But it could be said that Russia is doing something a little similar with its invasion of Ukraine, which ideally-speaking, is wrong. And it’s the U.S./NATO alliance that is the root cause of the overall conflict.)

 

Nebezia wasn’t done: citing Russia’s proposals to end indiscriminate bombing in Gaza, condemnation of the blockade of it, and the call for a cease-fire, he said, “If these are not included in the current draft, it would not help to address the human situation in Gaza and polarize positions of the international community.”

 

Brazil’s UN Ambassador Sergio Franca Danese emphasized, “We [Brazil] answered the call with a sense of urgency and responsibility, in our view the Security Council had to take action and do so very quickly. He warned that “Council paralysis in the face of a humanitarian catastrophe is not in the interest of the international community. Very sadly, the Council was yet again unable to adopt a resolution on the crisis, again silence and inaction prevailed.”

 

With Britain’s abstention on the resolution, UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward complained that it didn’t emphasize Israel’s right to self-defense. Additionally, she claimed that Hamas was using its own people as human shields. And she gave Israel a slap on the wrist by saying that it “take all feasible precautions” to avoid harming Palestinian civilians, rather than condemning Israel’s own version of terrorism.

 

Woodward, and the West in general, have an inherent bias favoring Israel, to the point of believing lies that it puts out; like the use of human shields, Hamas decapitating babies, and Israel claiming innocence in relation to the bombing of a Gaza hospital. For the latter, Israel’s airstrikes have been viciously consistent, with heavy and indiscriminate bombardment. Thus, it is likely that Israel bombed that hospital.

 

The hardline position taken by the U.S. has also revealed its consistent use of its veto power over the years against UN resolutions condemning Israel. Shakeeb Asrar and Mohammed Hussein wrote in Al Jazeerathat: 

 

“Since 1945, a total of 36 UNSC draft resolutions related to Israel-Palestine have been vetoed by one of the five permanent members – the US, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France. Out of these, 34 were vetoed the US and two by Russia and China. The majority of these resolutions were drafted to provide a framework of peace in the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict, including asking Israel to adhere to international laws, calling for self-determination for Palestine statehood, or condemning Israel for displacement of Palestinians or settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories.”

 

Examples follow of the U.S. vetoing important resolutions:

 

There is the October 2023 resolution initiated by Brazil, of which, as mentioned earlier, was blocked by UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. When it came down to it, Thomas-Greenfield copped out with a wait-and-see position, not acknowledging the thousands of Palestinian deaths, and showing a bias favoring Israel.

 

In 2018, there was the Great March of Return where, as a result, Israel cracked down. The UNSC’s drafted resolution condemning ‘the use of any excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians,” and the existence of “two democratic states, Israel and Palestine” was shot down by then-U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley. She complained that it was a “grossly one-sided view of what has taken place in Gaza…” Another example of a U.S. official copping out.

 

During the Trump regime, the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017. A draft resolution came out saying that “actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void.” UN regulations had the say in determining Jerusalem’s status. A UNSC vote to approve the resolution was 15 yes, one against. The U.S. was alone again in vetoing a resolution.

 

The United States, and the West, are generally alone in maintaining a hardline position for Israel. Despite the attempted genocide and war crimes committed by the “Holy Land,” against Palestinians, the U.S.’s and the West’s support is inexcusable.

 

The conflict has put a bloody stain on Israel, and its accomplice, the United States.