• UN Security Council statement that would have blamed Israel for the deaths of more than 100 people waiting for food, blocked by the US
• Out of 15 Council Members, the US was the only member to have not supported it
After a closed emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians who were waiting for food aid, the US remained the only nation to deny the UN Security Council the right to make a statement to blame Israel for the deaths. The draft statement was brought to the UN Security Council by Algeria, and although it was rejected, it must be noted that the UK had chosen to be in favour of the draft rather than abstaining from a decision as they did with all of the ceasefire votes. This may highlight the UK’s slow changing position on the matter and send a signal to Israel that, with the U turn of vocal support from its second closest ally, the inaction of Western governments may be about to change.
Israel lives on the narrative of self-defence it has perverted throughout its existence. Pretending to be a victim in every conflict, even when it chose to reject any peace negotiations or deal with Hamas for years before the offensive on October 7. However, the recent incident shows that the narrative is starting to fail
Israel’s barbaric attack on aid trucks
In the attack that killed at least 117 people on Thursday, in which unarmed Palestinian civilians were collecting aid from a truck near Gaza City, eyewitness accounts prove that Israel opened fire on civilians nearing an aid truck to gain essential food. The Israeli military has released footage of the incident; however, they deny the death toll number and suggest a lot of those killed were from being trampled over or run over. Israel has not provided evidence of its claim.
Israel has released limited footage of the hundreds of Palestinians approaching aid trucks, but provides no footage of a stampede
Israel also claimed that unarmed Palestinians had approached IDF soldiers, and as an act of worry, the IDF had shot and killed dozens of Palestinians. It’s possible that Israel is trying to play both sides of the gun out of fear that the US may choose to blame and condemn Israel, hence, they have chosen to admit that they were responsible for some of the deaths. However, the denial of the official number of deaths as well as the outright eyewitness reports that the IDF killed the all of the 117 unarmed civilians is proof that Israel is trying to limit its reputational damage on its international image.
Will this affect ceasefire negotiations with Hamas?
Ismail Haniyeh in Cairo after negotiations with Egyptian officials on developments of a ceasefire
US President Joe Biden has admitted that the Israeli attack will make negotiations for a ceasefire ‘more difficult’ State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US has asked Israel to provide answers. The White House, although reluctant to admit the Israeli massacre was done by Israelis, had described it as a ‘serious incident’. This is a stark change in the tone of the US administration. Although it’s silence on blame still makes it a staunch supporter of Israeli terrorism, the fact that the US did not accept Israel’s claim nor defend Israel in its actions straight away is something to note. During the early weeks of the genocide in Gaza, Israel blamed Hamas for destroying one of their own ‘Hamas-run’ hospitals with irregularities in the evidence they had provided. Joe Biden was quick to accept the Israeli claim, claiming the evidence provided by Israel shows it was Hamas without proving the matter. Later, during the Israeli claim that Hamas had a HQ beneath Al Shifa, something that was debunked by a Guardian investigation long after the attention had turned away, the White House once again supported Israel’s claim that beneath Al Shifa was a Hamas HQ and even claimed they had their own intelligence on the matter.
The fact that the US administration has been reluctant to jump on the same waggon as Israel after yesterday’s massacre of unarmed civilians is a sign that the tone of acceptance of Israeli aggression is slowly starting to shift.
UN for Nothing
UN Security Council in February whereby which the US had vetoed a call for an immediate ceasefire after 13 out of 15 member states had voted in favour
The US had vetoed a call for an immediate ceasefire within the UN Security Council three times over the past few months. Today’s move by the US to block a statement allocating blame to Israel is no surprise. Throughout history, the US has used its veto within the UN more than 90 times, yet more than half of those times were to help or defend its ally Israel.
The UK, on the other hand, has also used its veto to help Israel in the past; however, today’s move to support the statement of blame against Israel is a stark shift in British political output. Only today did the UK’s opposition party lose a seat in the House of Parliament to a staunch supporter of Palestine. According to YouGov, the majority of Brits want a permanent ceasefire, with protests becoming more disruptive as the days go by. Last week, the UK’s landmark, Tower Bridge, was completely stopped because of pro-Palestinian protesters. Public opinion in the US has also been mounting, with the majority also wanting a permanent ceasefire. With elections in both countries expected this year, it becomes apparent that neither the UK nor the US administrations are keen to turn a complete blind eye to Israel’s atrocities any longer.
