The Goldstone Report and the US Special
Relations with Israel
By Eileen Fleming
ccun.org, October 18, 2009
Wake Up US Government: Go for the GOLD and Walk with the Wind!
The 47-member UN Human Rights Council has tabled a resolution on the
575-page report of the Goldstone fact-finding mission and calls for it
to be sent to the UN General Assembly for its urgent consideration.
The Goldstone Report accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes
perpetuated during 23 days which began two days after last Christmas
day, when the Israeli military launched a full-scale attack on Gaza that
killed 13 Israelis and 1,400 Palestinians.
Over 5,000
Palestinians were injured, 400,000 were left without running water,
4,000 homes were destroyed, rendering tens of thousands still homeless
because of Israel's targeted attacks on schools, hospitals, streets,
water wells, sewage system, farms, police stations and UN buildings.
The resolution passed by a vote of 25 in favor and six countries
voted against it-the United States, Italy, Holland, Hungary, Slovakia
and the Ukraine.
U.S. envoy to the UN, Douglas Griffiths admitted
America voted against the document because, "This resolution goes far
beyond even the initial scope of the Goldstone report into a discussion
of elements that should be resolved in the context of permanent status
negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis." [1]
And
it's about time!
The American Governments "special relationship"
with Israel, is at the root of Israel's attack on Gaza for it has
supported Israel’s illegal occupation and illegal settlements/colonies.
But we the people are suppose to be the government and those of US
with a conscience say we want the GOLD: we want the US to uphold the
gold standard of law which is international law and the Goldstone Report
is leading US in that way.
Because the USA has NOT been an
honest broker for justice the "peace process" has never been much more
than photo ops and paper work that sits on shelves. The international
community is the body that is now leading the way to an end of the
Israeli Palestinian conflict which was rooted in 1947 by the UN
Partition Plan and entrenched in 1967 by Israel's military occupation of
the indigenous people of the so called holy land-which is in pieces-bantustans!
The 23 days of Israel's attack on the people of Gaza was fueled
by US-supplied weapons paid for with US tax dollars. We the people who
pay taxes in the USA provide $30 billion annually to Israel which has
consistently misused U.S. weapons in violation of America's Arms Export
Control and Foreign Assistance Acts.
Imagine how many American
citizens could receive basic health care with that!
During
the 23 days of Israeli assault on Gaza, "Washington provided F-16
fighter planes, Apache helicopters, tactical missiles, and a wide array
of munitions, including white phosphorus and DIME. The weapons required
for the Israeli assault were decided upon in June 2008, and the transfer
of 1,000 bunker-buster GPS-guided Small Diameter Guided Bomb Units 39
(GBU-39) were approved by Congress in September. The GBU 39 bombs were
delivered to Israel in November (prior to any claims of Hamas cease fire
violation!) for use in the initial air raids on Gaza. [2]
In a
71-page report released March 25, 2009, by Human Rights Watch, Israel’s
repeated firing of US-made white phosphorus shells over densely
populated areas of Gaza was indiscriminate and is evidence of war
crimes.
"Rain of Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus
in Gaza," provides eye witness accounts of the devastating effects that
white phosphorus munitions had on civilians and civilian property in
Gaza.
"Human Rights Watch researchers found spent shells,
canister liners, and dozens of burnt felt wedges containing white
phosphorus on city streets, apartment roofs, residential courtyards, and
at a United Nations school in Gaza immediately after hostilities ended
in January.
"Militaries officially use white phosphorus to
obscure their operations on the ground by creating thick smoke. It has
also been used as an incendiary weapon, though such use constitutes a
war crime.
“In Gaza, the Israeli military didn’t just use white
phosphorus in open areas as a screen for its troops," said Fred
Abrahams, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch and
co-author of the report. "It fired white phosphorus repeatedly over
densely populated areas, even when its troops weren't in the area and
safer smoke shells were available. As a result, civilians needlessly
suffered and died." [Ibid]
During the 23 days of attack
on Gaza, the UN Security Council, Amnesty International, International
Red Cross, and global voices of protest rose up and demanded a
ceasefire, but both houses of Congress overwhelmingly endorsed
resolutions to support a continuation of Israel’s so called "self
defense."
The US is the largest arms supplier to Israel and
under a Bush negotiated deal with Israel; the US also agreed to provide
another $30 billion in military aid to Israel over the next decade.
It is way past time to change course from seeking SECURITY in
imperialism and militarism when over 2.5 billion people on our planet
exist on less than $2.00 a day and over 15,000 babies and young children
die daily because of malnutrition and substandard or nonexistent health
care!
The 42 years of Military Occupation of the West
Bank and Gaza and disregard of democratic and human rights values and
justice by the USA government –also by Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia,
Egypt, Sudan, Congo, Honduras, Haiti, Syria, Myanmar, Iraq, Russia,
Pakistan, and China to mention a few-is at the root of INSECURITY for
all!
I conclude with a paraphrase of John Lewis' March
on Washington Speech taken from Walking With the Wind:
For
the first time in 61 years this nation is being awakened…We are now
involved in a serious revolution. This nation is still a place of cheap
political leaders who build their careers on immoral compromises and
ally themselves with open forms of political, economic and social
exploitation…which side is the federal government on?
The
revolution is at hand, and we must free ourselves of the chains of
colonialism, imperialism and militarism.
The nonviolent
revolution is saying: We will not wait!
To those who have said,
"Be patient and wait," we must say that "patience" is a dirty and nasty
word. We cannot be patient for Gaza Palestine will never be freed
gradually. We want their freedom, and we want it now!
We all
recognize the fact that if any radical social, political and economic
changes are to take place in our society, the people, the masses, must
bring them about. In the struggle, we must seek more than civil rights;
we must work for the community of love, peace and true
sister-brotherhood.
Our minds, souls and hearts cannot and will
not rest until freedom and justice exist for all people.
The
revolution is a serious one. All of us must get in the revolution. Get
in and stay until true freedom comes, until the revolution is complete.
We won't stop and by the force of our demands, our determination and
our numbers, we shall splinter the empire into a thousand pieces and put
them back together in the image of God and democracy.
We must
say, "Wake up, America. Wake up!!! For we cannot stop, and we will not
be patient."
Notes:
1. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1121610.html
2. http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/9-us-arms-used-for-war-crimes-in-gaza/
Only in Solidarity do "we have it in our power to begin the world
again."-Tom Paine
Eileen Fleming,
Founder of
WeAreWideAwake.org
A Feature
Correspondent for Arabisto.com
Author of "Keep Hope Alive" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American
'Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory"
Producer "30 Minutes with
Vanunu" and "13 Minutes with Vanunu"
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