The Israeli bombing of a residential neighborhood in Beirut is also a war crime.
Photo: A young Iranian boy in northern Tehran, Iran, holds a candle at a roadside memorial with flowers and flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah in front of the Lebanese embassy for a young Lebanese girl killed in Israel's deadly pager attacks, on September 18, 2024.
Morteza Nikoubazl / NurPhoto via Getty Images
After 11 months of genocide in Gaza the UN Security Council has yet to make any effective action to halt Israel’s attack on Palestinians. UN member states have made individual and joint attempts to make it increasingly difficult for Israel to conduct this genocide. UN member states have previously voted overwhelmingly in support of peace and recognition of Palestine which has been met with a Security Council veto most consistently by the United States. It is clear what is needed is a united effort to do what the Security Council can not, which is to enact peace through resolution 377 (V) which would allow for member states to take action over the Security Council.
On Monday, September 16 during NYC Peace Week, we will deliver this petition to UN Member States DEMANDING they take action now! Sign below and demand immediate peace in Gaza!
We, the undersigned, urge the United Nations to take real and effective actions to prevent Israel’s continued genocidal acts against the Palestinians of Gaza by passing the “Uniting for Peace” resolution. This resolution, also known as General Assembly Resolution 377(V), gives the United Nations General Assembly the power to take action if the Security Council fails to maintain international peace and security.
All countries that are a part of the UN are obligated, under the Geneva Convention, to use whatever influence they have to prevent and stop violations of international humanitarian law including the use of starvation as a weapon of war, collective punishment, and acts in violation of the Genocide Convention – all of which Israel has been credibly accused of.
Routinely, the United States as a member of the Security Council vetoed important resolutions at the UN that would have either supported a ceasefire in Gaza or otherwise held Israel accountable for its war crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The United States should not be able to make life or death decisions – against the popular opinion of the entire world and the United Nations. The US and Israel have acted with impunity for eleven months, and the Uniting for Peace resolution would make it more possible for the UN to halt the ongoing genocide effectively.
We are demanding member states to support a “Uniting for Peace” resolution to obtain a permanent ceasefire, and effective sanctions against Israel to end its decades of lawlessness.
Sincerely,
Photo: Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, this month.Credit: Itai Ron
By Yitzhak Brik
Haaretz (Israel's main liberal-centrist daily)
Aug 22, 2024 - Most of the pretentious declarations made by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant throughout the war in Gaza have proven to be groundless.
After the occupation of Gaza City, he said that Israel was in total control of the city and its tunnels, and within a short time, Hamas would surrender. After the occupation of Khan Yunis, he claimed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was running in the tunnels by himself and had lost control of his men, and within a few days he would be caught.
With these pronouncements, Gallant, along with his colleagues IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been throwing dust in the eyes of the Israeli public.
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Recently, it appears that Gallant has begun to sober up, when in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense committee he declared that the concept of total victory in Gaza "is nonsense."
And it seems that he has begun to realize that failing to reach a hostage deal with Hamas would lead to a regional war that would put Israel in serious danger.
This realization prompted him to call for a discussion, in the government or security cabinet, intending to warn everyone involved. The apparent goal of the discussion is to ensure that responsibility rests not only on him, but is shared by all the government ministers.
I assume that Defense Minister Gallant already understands that the war has lost its purpose. Israel is sinking deeper into the Gazan mud, losing more and more soldiers as they get killed or wounded, without any chance of achieving the war's main goal: bringing down Hamas.
The country really is galloping towards the edge of an abyss. If the war of attrition against Hamas and Hezbollah continues, Israel will collapse within no more than a year.
Terror attacks are intensifying in the West Bank and inside the country, the reservist army is voting with its feet following recurring mobilizations of combat soldiers, and the economy is crashing. Israel has also become a pariah state, prompting economic boycotts and an embargo on arms shipments.
We are also losing our social resilience, as the growing hatred between different parts of the nation threatens to ignite and bring to its destruction from within.
Sinwar and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah understand Israel's dire situation. What Israel could have achieved earlier with a hostage/cease-fire agreement has become impossible due to the new conditions that Netanyahu introduced into the proposed deal. Those involved in the negotiations in Doha claim that they have no maneuvering space to negotiate because their hands are tied.
In light of the new situation, a threat by Iran and Hezbollah to attack Israel in response to the killing of the two senior officials is materializing in the region. The use of assassinations is a step threatening to ignite the entire Middle East, decided upon by the three pyromaniacs, Netanyahu, Gallant and Chief of Staff Halevi, without thinking about the significance of their irresponsible decisions.
Sinwar has begun to understand that the war of attrition is working to his benefit, not to mention a multi-arena regional war. That's why he now prefers a continuation of the fighting to a deal, and is toughening his positions. If Netanyahu hadn't already put spokes in the negotiation team's wheels throughout the war, Israel could already have achieved a hostage deal before Sinwar toughened his stance.
Netanyahu's recent announcement to the families of hostages about the need to preserve "security assets" in Gaza – a blatant lie – has effectively torpedoed the deal, leading to a catastrophe not only for the hostages and their families but also for the entire country.
All of the paths chosen by Israel's political and military leadership are leading the country down a slippery slope. One dictator controls the fate of the country, and a flock of sheep follows him blindly. Netanyahu decided to "die with the Philistines" – in this case, the citizens of Israel – only to retain his power.
He has lost his humanity, basic morality, norms, values, and responsibility for Israel's security. Only replacing him and his cronies as soon as possible can save the country. Israel has entered an existential tailspin and could soon reach a point of no return.
After 2,000 years of exile, we returned and established a glorious country. We paid a high price in tens of thousands of dead and wounded. And now the country is disintegrating in our hands through the fault of Netanyahu, Gallant, Halevi, and their pawns. It's still possible to do something before it's too late.
Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Brik served in the Armored Corps as a brigade, division and troops commander, and was the commander of the IDF military colleges. For 10 years he was the Israel Defense Forces ombudsman.
Leading up to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week, calls for the U.S. government to stop arming Israel's devastating assault on the Gaza Strip—widely denounced around the world as genocide—continued to mount on Friday.
"We join the millions of people who've taken action the last 10 months, taxpayers who don't want to pay for genocide and are demanding an immediate arms embargo on Israel," U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) executive director Ahmad Abuznaid said in a statement Friday.
"We know that politicians won't change their unjust policies until it's in their own self-interest to do so," he continued. "We must double down on our demands ahead of the DNC, where we'll be marching in the streets for the liberation of all."
Pro-Palestine protests in Chicago are set to start Sunday, a day before the DNC officially begins. They will continue throughout the week, according to a schedule shared Friday by the Chicago Sun-Times. The March on the DNC is planned for Monday afternoon.
As Common Dreams reported earlier Friday, a coalition of progressive and legal groups and individuals expressed "grave concerns" about recent moves by the Chicago Police Department and the city to stop protests and vowed to take legal action as needed.
The Uncommitted National Movement's Not Another Bomb campaign is also planning a nationwide day of action for Sunday.
The movement formed when Democratic President Joe Biden was still at the top of the ticket throughout the presidential primary process; hundreds of thousands of voters across the country selected "uncommitted" or took similar action, depending on the options for each state's ballot, to send the administration a message that they don't support giving Israel any more military aid.
After a disastrous debate performance against the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, Biden dropped out of the race and passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has already secured the party's nomination via an online process and announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Biden, Harris, and Walz are all set to speak at the convention.
"USCPR calls on the Biden-Harris administration, the Harris-Walz campaign, members of Congress, and the DNC to stop arming Israel now, as the Democratic Party currently has the power to end the genocide by cutting off the endless weapons supply to Israel," the group said Friday.
Since last week, Not Another Bomb has been gathering online signatures for a petition urging Harris "to shift away from President Biden's disastrous policy on Gaza, and pledge to enact an immediate arms embargo on Israel's assault and occupation against Palestinians as a material step towards a permanent cease-fire."
"Consider the overwhelming sentiment among your constituents: 86% of Democrats support the proposed cease-fire deal in Gaza," the petition notes. "This is the mainstream view of our party's base, as evidenced by a recent poll that reveals that 52% of Americans and 62% of Biden/Harris voters agree with halting arms sales to Israel. In addition, 70% of Democratic voters support withdrawing U.S. military funding to Israel if Israel rejects the proposed cease-fire deal, as Israel has continuously done."
Polling released this week shows that Democratic and Independent voters in three key swing states—Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania—would be more willing to vote for Harris in November if she supported cutting off weapons to Israeli forces. However, one of her advisers recently made clear that "she does not support an arms embargo on Israel."
March on the DNC spokesperson Hatem Abudayyeh toldReuters on Friday that coalition group leaders met after Biden bowed out of the contest to discuss whether they should revise their strategy if Harris became the Democratic nominee.
"There was absolute consensus," Abudayyeh said. "She represents the policies of the administration and it's full steam ahead."
The Biden-Harris administration and current Congress have provided Israel with billions of dollars in military assistance as well as diplomatic support on the world stage, including multiple vetoes of United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolutions.
Fresh calls have come this week not only in anticipation of the convention but also since the Biden administration on Tuesday approved roughly $20 billion in additional U.S.-made weapons for Israel's military as the official death toll in Gaza neared 40,000. Local officials said Friday that at least 40,005 Palestinians have been killed and another 92,401 have been wounded.
Thousands more remain missing amid the rubble in Gaza and the vast majority of the Palestinian enclave's 2.3 million residents have been forced to relocate, many of them multiple times. Israeli forces on Friday issued yet another evacuation order for areas in central and southern Gaza—including "safe zones"—leaving Palestinians with "nowhere to go."
By Mel Gutove
LA Progressive
June 30, 2024 - Reports from the Middle East these days have two things in common: All the parties wish to avoid a war, yet all the movement is toward one, centered in Lebanon.
Israel’s army is preparing to expand the war into Lebanon, where it would face a heavily armed foe very different from Hamas—many more fighters and a huge missile and drone arsenal that could overwhelm Israel’s Iron Dome defenses.
But Israel may have the backing of the US in a war with Hezbollah, according to a CNN report. When top national security officials from both countries met in late June, CNN reports, “US officials made clear . . . that the Biden administration would offer Israel the security assistance it needs, . . . though the US would not deploy American troops to the ground in such a scenario."
Such thinking is deeply troubling. For while the Biden administration is anxious to avoid an Israel-Hezbollah war and has committed diplomatic resources to prevent one, Israel literally calls the shots.
Already, one reliable report is that the hold the Biden administration put on delivery of 2000-pound bombs to Israel, which drew loud complaints from Netanyahu, is about to be lifted. Supposedly, Israel is wanting these bombs for possible use against Hezbollah. Whatever the case, lifting this minimal restraint shows that Israel still gets whatever it wants from the US.
And then there’s Israeli politics and Netanyahu’s ambitions. He’s the ultimate political survivor, but can he get past the latest crisis—the Israeli supreme court’s decision that the government must start recruiting ultra-religious young men for military service? Netanyahu’s government depends on the support of the ultra-religious parties and the far-right members of his cabinet. Should either of these groups bolt, his leadership is in deep trouble.
As Ravit Hecht writes in Ha’aretz: “The two pillars upon which Netanyahu's political career rests—religious Zionism and the Haredim—are in a life-and-death conflict with one another, and feel mutually betrayed.” So far, Netanyahu’s best answer has been more war.
Iran, too, reportedly wants to avoid having to back Hezbollah in a full-fledged war, despite its recent warnings of an “obliterating war” if Israel launches a full-scale attack in Lebanon. Iran has plenty of reasons for not wanting a war: It will shortly elect a new president to replace the hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash; its economy has a multitude of problems; and should war occur, its nuclear facilities, said by international inspectors to be expanding, would be fair game for Israel.
A Jalili victory bodes ill for Iran’s restraint in an Israel-Hezbollah conflict. He has a reputation for being strongly anti-Western and anti-Israel. He has long opposed a resumption of negotiations that might put the 2015 nuclear accord put back in place.
A face-off between Jalili and Netanyahu would be calamitous. Let's recall that in April, Iran attacked Israel directly for the first time. Imagine if Israel were to strike Iran's nuclear enrichment plants. Iran would have every incentive to complete a nuclear bomb program.
The key to preventing an Israel-Hezbollah war is an Israel-Hamas cease-fire. Unless and until the Biden administration is willing to exert serious pressure on Netanyahu’s government to accept a permanent cease-fire and bring the war with Hamas to an end, Hezbollah will have every incentive to make life very difficult for the Israeli Defense Forces.
And no one knows that better than IDF commanders, which is why they are arguing with Netanyahu behind the scenes for bringing the combat in Gaza to a close. But he won’t, and it seems that once again he has trapped Biden into rejecting giving Israel an ultimatum.
An unnamed US defense department official says: “We have let Israel face zero consequences for crossing all of our red lines in Gaza so they are emboldened and know they will face no consequences for going into Lebanon, despite us saying, ‘Don’t go there.”
Biden, says a State Department official, is “pushing to not engage [in a war] but our saying ‘We will support Israel’ I don’t believe is helping.”
Not helping is putting it mildly. US policy toward Israel amounts to a green light for a wider war.
