"A bad start"

Translated “Avante!” article by Jorge Cadima, Member of the PCP International Department

The UN Secretary-General’s mandate had a bad start, regarding the people of Palestine, by forbidding the report release from the Economic and Social Committee, for Western Asia (ESCWA), which stated: “ Israel built an apartheid regime that systematically institutionalized racial oppression and the people of Palestine domination”. Rima Khalaf, the UN vice-Secretary General, responsible for CESAO, declared that Guterres demanded the report withdrawal and that, before Guterres refusal to reconsider, presented her resignation from her UN posts. The report was immediately withdrawn from the CESAO internet page.

The censured report is the work of two USA jurists. One of them, R.Falk was the UN Special Reporter on human rights within the occupied Palestine land, in 2008. Although Falk was a Jew, Israel “ compared the report to the Der Sturmer, a Nazi propaganda organ” (in Le Monde, 2017.03.17). Under Trump’s and Netanyahu’s governments pressure Guterres ordered the report’s withdrawal. Israel’s UN ambassador greeted the decision, in the following terms:” Anti-Israeli militants have no place in the United Nations. It is time to put an end to these practices in which the UN leaders use their posts to promote their anti-Israeli objectives” (in Le Monde, 2017.03.17).

It is now 70 years since the UN decided Palestine’s partition into two states, a “Jewish” and an “Arab”. From Resolution 181 only but resulted the founding of Israel, founded on Palestine’s ethnic cleansing (a title from Ilan Pappe, an Israeli historian ). Upon 70 years, the Palestinians carry on awaiting for their state. 70 years of Israel crimes: massacres, persecutions, occupation, wars. Crimes , not only against the people of Palestine, but against other peoples in the region, and the UN, presided by Guterres. Israel, the greatest violator of UN resolutions, is a permanent war and violence agent. It occupies part of the Syrian land, for 50 years. During decades, it occupied part of Egypt and the Lebanon. In Lebanon, it was responsible for hideous massacres in Palestinian refugee camps (Sabra and Chatila); bombed UN quarters, that sheltered 800 Lebanese civilians, killing 106 people, including four UN soldiers, in Qana (1996); killed other four UN soldiers, in 2006, that the then SG Annan classified as “ an apparently intentional targeting” , (in BBC, 2006.07.26); and in 2015, a Spanish blue helmet (in El Pais, 2015.02.27). Israel bombed schools , in Gaza, that sheltered refugees, killing numerous people, in 2014 (in CBS, 2014.07.24). These practices, that “do not belong to the United Nations”. No cronyism with torturers, nor equidistance among executioners and the victims.

The UN ought to be obliged to settle its tremendous historical debt, towards the people of Palestine. But pessimist reasons exist. Upon Guterres election, the Israeli paper Jerusalem Post (2016.06.10) wrote the headline: “ New UN leader is “Israel’s friend”, and Ehud Barak, the ex-Prime minister, said “ Guterres helped Israel with the EU and the Socialist International”. Currently, he seems to wish to break the isolation that Israel crimes have justly remitted the country. Another blow upon the UN.

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