November 29 will be a historic day when the Palestinian resolution to become a non-member "observer state" will be brought before the UN General Assembly. It is a foregone conclusion that the large majority of the 193 members of that body will approve it. You can bet that there will be at least two nations voting against it; Israel and the U.S. When that happens, and it will, then it will open the door for the Palestinians to bring formal acts of inhumanity charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court.
Israel has been occupying parts of Palestine in breach of UN resolutions for half a century and has taken aggressive military actions against the people of Gaza and other nations in the Middle East countless times. It has refused to accept and abide by UN resolutions condemning its illegal actions over many decades; more than any other nation in UN history. From 1972 to 2011 the United States has exercised its UN Security Council powers to veto 45 resolutions condemning Israel for "acts of terror, violence and destruction." Not to worry because no matter what Israel has done over the years against its neighbors the U.S. is always there to protect it and its government.
Just recently there are reports that Israel artillery has fired into Syria, a nation in the midst of a civil war, in response to stray shells that have hit areas of the Golan Heights that Israel controls. The Israeli military is again overreacting to a situation and should step back and consider that it may light the fuse that sets off a Middle East inferno. Will President Obama once again fail to enter a very tenuous situation and warn Israel to back off before it's too late?
The Israeli military's blockade has entrapped more than 1.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, all packed into an area of about 40 kilometers long and 9.5 kilometers wide making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Israel has built several massive, lengthy walls or barriers in around Gaza, the West Bank and on the border separating Gaza from Egypt to further restrict or prevent the movement of the Palestinian people.
An article in the Huffington Post reports that "Gilad Sharon, son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, wrote an op-ed on Sunday, November 18, calling for even more aggressive Israeli strikes in Gaza. He is reported to have written in the Jerusalem Post that "We need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza." If such an unthinkable act happens the UN would, without a doubt, issue another resolution condemning that act. And then would this president and this government, once again, lay down a veto against it?
My advice to anyone who wants to get further facts and evidence of what is going on with the impending attacks on Gaza should not expect to get it from the U.S. mainstream media, from the newspapers, from network or cable television news organizations. You won't find it there. What you must do to obtain objective assessments of the situation is to get on the internet and seek out the many respected international journalists and analysts who are not controlled, who speak the truth, and present facts and concrete evidence of what is actually taking place.
The question for Mr. Obama is this: being fully aware of what is going on, the misery, suffering and deaths of innocent civilians, human beings, the cruel blockade that has restricted the entry of essential necessities of life -- the fact that what is going on is against international law -- how can he possible stand by and allow this dire situation to continue endlessly? And what about the members of the U.S. Congress who are doing absolutely nothing to put a stop to the tragic, unnecessary deaths of innocents in the hell hole called Gaza? Where in the world is their sense of morality?
Shouldn't we as a nation and a government be better than this? Shouldn't we refuse to be a part in the never-ending Israeli aggression against its neighbors? Will we ever have a president and a Congress that does what is morally right instead of what is politically expedient? Why aren't we better than this?
Michael Payne
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