If there is one thing that is consistently true about our
species, it is the universality of conflict; extending it to tribes and
countries makes for wars and the loss of thousands, hundreds of
thousands, even millions of lives -- but we never learn.
The
current conflict in the news is the war in Gaza and the heart-ending
stories of Gazan civilians and the doctors tending them in a hospital
that has also become a sort of refuge. The other day when electricity
was off due to the Israeli blockade of fuel trucks, a ten year old girl
in critical care died. A doctor interviewed on Al Jazeera broke down as
he talked of Cesareans performed without anaesthetics and other
horrors. He was shortly thereafter picked up by Israeli officials for
questioning.
Meanwhile Ralph Nader has drawn attention to an open letter sent by Veterans for Peace
to the Inspector General of the US State Department and to Secretary of
State Anthony Blinken pointing out several US statutes that forbid such
aid in the present circumstances.
The Foreign Assistance Act forbids aid to a government that violates internationally recognized human rights.
The
Export Control Act which requires countries receiving military aid --
to use it for legitimate self defense when Israel's campaign in Gaza
goes arguably well beyond this.
The
US War Crimes Act which forbids grave breaches of the Geneva
Conventions, including wilful killing, wilfully causing great suffering
and unlawful deportation as is currently being perpetrated by Israeli
occupying forces.
The Leahy Law which prohibits funds for assistance when there is credible evidence implicating the recipient in gross violations of human rights.
The Genocide Conventions Implementation Act was passed to implement US obligations under the Geneva Convention. It provides criminal penalties for individuals who commit or incite others to commit genocide.
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