The Global Demand for a Gaza Ceasefire Grows, Leaving Biden Behind

PALESTINE - ISRAEL, 3 Jun 2024

Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan | Democracy NOW! – TRANSCEND Media Service

Democracy NOW!

30 May 2024 – Israel’s ongoing bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, now nearing its ninth month, has provoked unprecedented global outcry. On May 24th, the International Court of Justice, after an emergency hearing in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, ordered Israel to halt its attack on Rafah. In a statement published with the order, one of the court’s presiding jurists, Judge Dire Tladi of South Africa, wrote,

“There are no more words to describe the horrors in Gaza. The words ‘apocalyptic,’ ‘exceptionally grave,’ ‘disastrous’ and ‘catastrophic’ have all been used to describe the current situation, and all seem to pale in comparison to what is unfolding before our very eyes. Almost daily we are confronted with gut-wrenching accounts of victims and survivors and images of unimaginable suffering.”

Rather than heeding the court’s order, Israel bombed a refugee tent city outside Rafah, in what was designated as a “safe zone.” Independent journalist Shrouq Aila spoke to the Democracy Now! news hour from Gaza, two days later, saying,

“They launched at least two rockets on a displacement camp that is quite close to the UNRWA logistic base…people gathered around this space, considering it a safe area. After the bombing, the area is basically full of tents for displaced people, and the fire [spread] because the tents are basically made of nylon fabrics and wood…the death toll was 45, and almost 200 injured.”

A man who survived was recorded holding the charred, decapitated body of a child. CNN is reporting the munitions used were made in the United States by Boeing.

Meanwhile, not far from the ICJ in The Hague, at the International Criminal Court, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan petitioned for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for three senior Hamas leaders, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Khan wrote, “Notwithstanding any military goals they may have,” “the means Israel chose to achieve them in Gaza – namely, intentionally causing death, starvation, great suffering, and serious injury to body or health of the civilian population – are criminal.”

In a further challenge to Israel, three European nations formally recognized Palestine as a state. Ireland, Norway and Spain join over 140 other United Nations member states (as well as two UN-recognized non-states, Vatican City and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) in recognizing Palestinian statehood.

In announcing the decision, Ireland’s Taoiseach, or Prime Minister, Simon Harris said,

“On the 21st of January 1919 Ireland asked the world to recognise our right to be an independent State…a plea for international recognition of our independence, emphasizing our distinct national identity, our historical struggle, and our right to self-determination and justice. Today we use the same language to support the recognition of Palestine as a State.”

Harris added, “I have spoken to a number of other Leaders, and I am confident that further countries will join us in taking this important step in coming weeks.” Iceland and Sweden recognized Palestine years ago; Slovenia has indicated it will do so by mid-June.

On May 10th, the United Nations General Assembly voted on Palestinian membership; 143 countries voted in favor, 25 abstained, and nine voted against, led by the United States. Membership requires approval by the Security Council, where the US holds veto power. In April, in advance of the General Assembly vote, the Security Council considered a resolution to recommend Palestine receive full UN membership. The US, as it almost always does on matters critical of Israel, vetoed it.

President Joe Biden has publicly called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but his actions speak far louder, and far more lethally, than his words. It seems the Biden administration has no “red line” that would force him to halt arms shipments to Israel, nor take any other significant punitive action to align the US government with almost every other nation on earth.

At a White House press briefing on May 28th, CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe asked National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby about the deadly strikes on the tent camp near Rafah:

O’Keefe: How does this not violate the red line the president laid out?

Kirby: We don’t want to see a major operation, we haven’t seen one.

O’Keefe: How many more charred corpses does he have to see before he considers a change in policy?

Kirby: We don’t want to see a single more innocent life taken, and I kind of take a little offense at the question.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan included in his Gaza war crimes petition that he “will not hesitate to submit further applications for warrants of arrest.” President Biden and his enablers have the power to end Israel’s war on Gaza and the slaughter of civilians there. Their decision not to is criminal.

___________________________________________

Amy Goodman is the host of “Democracy Now!” a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 900 stations in North America. She is the author of Breaking the Sound Barrier, released in paperback and now a New York Times best-seller.

Denis Moynihan is the co-founder of Democracy Now! Since 2002, he has participated in the organization’s worldwide distribution, infrastructure development, and the coordination of complex live broadcasts from many continents. He lives in Denver where he is developing a new noncommercial community radio station.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Go to Original – democracynow.org


Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Join the BDS-BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, SANCTIONS campaign to protest the Israeli barbaric siege of Gaza, illegal occupation of the Palestine nation’s territory, the apartheid wall, its inhuman and degrading treatment of the Palestinian people, and the more than 7,000 Palestinian men, women, elderly and children arbitrarily locked up in Israeli prisons.

DON’T BUY PRODUCTS WHOSE BARCODE STARTS WITH 729, which indicates that it is produced in Israel. DO YOUR PART! MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

7 2 9: BOYCOTT FOR JUSTICE!


Share this article:


DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

There are no comments so far.

Join the discussion!

We welcome debate and dissent, but personal — ad hominem — attacks (on authors, other users or any individual), abuse and defamatory language will not be tolerated. Nor will we tolerate attempts to deliberately disrupt discussions. We aim to maintain an inviting space to focus on intelligent interactions and debates.

57 + = 66

Note: we try to save your comment in your browser when there are technical problems. Still, for long comments we recommend that you copy them somewhere else as a backup before you submit them.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.