The problem is multilayered, complicated by the fact that UN officials and employees do not have the power to alter the very skewed structure of the world’s largest political institution.
Israel’s banning of UNRWA should represent an opportunity for those concerned about the standing of the United Nations, to remind Israel that UN members who have no respect for international law deserve to be delegitimized.
Though for Palestinians, such facts remain devoid of practical meaning, for Israel, the UN position is a major obstacle in the face of its blatant settler colonial project.
A defender of war crimes, like Gilad Erdan, must not be allowed to serve two roles: an apologist for the mistreatment of women in Palestine, and a freedom fighter for women anywhere else.
Considering Washington’s unparalleled importance to Israel, on the one hand, and the Arab-Muslim world’s significance to China on the other, the future is easy to foresee.
The truth, in its most simple and innate form, is the only objective we should continue to relentlessly pursue until Palestine and her people are finally free.
The ICJ’s opinion is very important, but without meaningful action, a legal opinion alone will not reverse the sinister reality on the ground in Palestine, especially when this reality is bankrolled, supported and sustained by Washington and Israel’s other western allies.
May 15, 2023, UN Nakba Day represents the triumph of the Palestinian narrative over that of Israeli negationists. This means that the blood spilled during Gaza’s March of Return was not in vain, as the Nakba and the Right of Return are now back at the center of the Palestinian story.
It behooves everyone, Washington included, to join the rest of the world in finally forcing Israel to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty, a first but critical step towards long-delayed accountability.
The talk of a Palestinian state is, therefore, meant to give whomever is to follow Abbas, political leverage that would allow him to stave off an armed revolt and take Palestinians into another futile hunt in search of another political mirage.
However, for a reformed UN to serve a noble mission and to live up to its lofty promises, the new power distribution should allocate places for all, regardless of military power or economic might.
Will the UN’s current power paradigm allow it to finally correct this historic ‘misstep’ by providing Palestinians with the long-delayed justice and freedom?
This is not what Palestinians are expecting from the United Nations, an organization that supposedly exists to end armed conflicts and bring about peace and security for all.
As the plot thickens in Eastern Europe, Russia’s move in South America promises to add a new component that would make a win-lose scenario in favor of the US and NATO nearly impossible.
Neither Erdan nor his bosses in Tel Aviv can reverse this Palestinian-led momentum. His UN display merely reflects the degree of desperation and intellectual bankruptcy of Israel and its representatives.
Though it is ultimately the people who liberate themselves, international solidarity is essential to the process of national liberation. This was the case in South Africa, and will surely be the case in Palestine, as well.
Africa is also the heart of the most powerful anti-colonial trends the world has ever known. A continent of this size, complexity, and proud history cannot be written off as if a mere ‘prize’ to be won or lost by Israel and its neocolonial friends.
While many are busy measuring the possible future repercussions of the pandemic in terms of economic output, life expectancy and such, it is critical that we consider other factors that are certain to result from this unbearable inequality: revolutions, mass migrations and famine. These are the other ‘variants’ that we must urgently address.
The hope is that the growing pro-Palestinian tide, predicated on respect for international law and human rights, will eventually prevail in order to sever the Canada-Israel rapport permanently, and allow Canada to earn its place as a global leader.
Israeli historian, Professor Ilan Pappe, Palestinian author and journalist, Dr. Ramzy Baroud, and South African intellectual, Dr. Anwah Nagia, talk annexation, apartheid and one state in this must-watch webinar, hosted by the Al-Ikhlass Academia Library in Cape Town.
By Ramzy Baroud A precious moment has been squandered, as Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, had the chance to right a historical wrong, by reinstating Palestinian national priorities at the United Nations Security Council on February 11, through a political discourse that is completely independent of Washington and its allies. For a long time, Abbas […]
By Ramzy Baroud Three years ago, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2334. With fourteen members voting in favor and one abstention, the Resolution was the equivalent of a political earthquake. Indeed, it was the first time in many years that the international body roundly condemned Israel for its illegal settlement policies in the Occupied Palestinian […]
By Ramzy Baroud The ‘State of Palestine’ has officially been handed the Chairmanship of the G-77, the United Nations largest block. This is particularly significant considering the relentless Israeli-American plotting to torpedo Palestinian push for greater international recognition and legitimacy. It is now conclusive that the main mission for former United States Ambassador to the […]
By Ramzy Baroud How does one explain Canada’s contradictory foreign policy regarding Palestine and Israel? On December 4, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Saeb Erekat, praised Canada’s commitment not to follow the footsteps of the US Donald Trump Administration by transferring its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But there is little […]
By Ramzy Baroud US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has made her post a “more glamorous” position than her predecessors – as President Donald Trump described Haley’s 2-year term at the UN, following her resignation announcement. We may never know the nature of Haley’s purported ‘glamour’ at the UN, but we certainly know that, […]
(Translated for ChroniquePalestine.com) En conséquence, l’UNRWA traverse sa pire crise financière. Le déficit dans son budget est estimé à environ 217 millions de dollars et augmente rapidement. En plus des catastrophes à venir qu’entraîneraient la suppression des services et de l’aide humanitaire si nécessaires aux cinq millions de réfugiés enregistrés auprès de l’UNRWA, l’impact de […]
(Traduzione di Leopoldo Salmaso) C’è una spiegazione razionale del perché India e Brasile, due stati molto popolati e con grandi e crescenti economie, non sono membri permanenti del Consiglio di Sicurezza delle Nazioni Unite (UNSC). Il Consiglio – composto da cinque membri permanenti e dieci a rotazione – fu progettato per riflettere l’ordine mondiale partorito […]
By Ramzy Baroud There is a rational explanation of why India and Brazil, two countries with vast populations and significant and growing economies, are not permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The Council – made up of 5 permanent and ten rotating members – was designed to reflect a world order that […]