Israel, Hamas and the UN of discord
In theory the vote on the ceasefire in Gaza is binding, but the world is full of disregarded "UN resolutions". Guiglia's notebook
It is a double "first time": the UN voted for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza – and it had not yet happened – and the United States did not oppose a resolution harshly contested by Israel, because the text does not condemn Hamas , i.e. the Islamist movement which, with the massacres of 7 October in the Jewish state, triggered the ongoing war. It had never happened before that America left Israel to its fate, the historic ally in whose defense it had previously exercised its right of veto three times.
But how does Washington justify the abstention that allowed the unanimous green light, with 14 "yes", to the Security Council document welcomed by all countries, including ours? It justifies it with the fact that, in addition to the request to stop the weapons during the month of Ramadan, the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages is requested.
ISRAEL'S REACTION
Benjamin Netanyahu's government reacts angrily to the American "betrayal", canceling the visit of one of its delegations to Washington and, above all, stating that the military intervention will not cease "until the hostages return". The exact opposite of what the European Union and several governments are now demanding, namely respect for the United Nations decision. In practice, that it be implemented after 5 months of a conflict that has caused thousands of deaths and injuries among the Palestinian population, almost two million displaced people and dramatic conditions for everyone.
The hunt that Israel gave to the terrorists guilty of the October 7 massacre and their accomplices, a self-defense reaction that the free world had understood, has gradually transformed into a humanitarian disaster even for those who had nothing to do with with the cowardly massacre of Hamas. Hence the growing requests from many governments – and from Pope Francis himself – for a truce capable of leading to the release of the innocent people kidnapped by Hamas and sparing the tragedies experienced by the equally innocent population, but affected by the war.
However, the point that infuriates Israel is that the resolution tells only part of the truth, glossing over the responsibilities of Hamas. A movement that, however, rejoices in the text that the UN approved for obvious and urgent human reasons even before political reasons: to prevent the population of Gaza from continuing to pay the terrible price of the war.
THE WEAKNESS OF THE UN
In theory the decision is binding. But the world is full of disregarded "UN resolutions". Nor does the organization have the tools, even military, to enforce them. Furthermore, the UN is in turn hostage to the veto right of the five victorious countries of the Second World War. A prehistoric privilege in a changing universe, and quickly.
A privilege that ends up having a controversial impact even on decisions, even if they are "resolvable", as the opposite reaction of Hamas and Israel testifies.
(Published in L'Arena di Verona, Il Giornale di Vicenza, Bresciaoggi and Gazzetta di Mantova)
www.federicoguiglia.com
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/onu-cessate-il-fuoco-gaza/ on Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:10:24 +0000.