Half-hearted gesture
One step forward, one step back. The status quo prevails on the plausible Statehood of Palestine. But as a mark of consolation, the UN General Assembly made a stride as it approved a resolution granting the hapless and traumatised nation an enhanced presence within the world body. Endorsement of the full-membership application will come as a shot in the arm in terms of an identity reflection for a race engaged in a struggle for survival at the hands of Israel. Though short of a sovereign entity status with control over territory and population, Palestinians still have a long way to go for attaining their liberty from the yoke of neo-imperialism.
The fact that nine so-called egalitarian states voted against the resolution, including the US, and 25 ducked out, indicates that emancipation of mankind as enshrined in the UN Charter is symbolic and is ages away from being implemented in letter and spirit. The audacity to tolerate the barbarism and nuisance of the Jewish state speaks of the transgression and compromise that has set in negating values of freedom. Washington’s bogey that it believes in Palestinian Statehood through talks is its moral torpedo, and reflects how subjugated its political administrations are before the Zionist lobbies.
The General Assembly backing for a state, however, will be on the gallows at the Security Council as the US will spare no time in vetoing it. This is so because the White House has never been an honest broker when it comes to peace in the Middle East, and its blatant support for Tel Aviv undermines its global leadership too. Such attempts to obstruct the international community’s efforts to correct the historical injustice are unbecoming of Americans. But that is so, and likely to remain so.
The half-hearted support for Palestinians, incidentally, has come at a time when plans to invade Rafah and obliterate Gaza are on the cards. None are looking at the existential crisis that Palestinians are facing with a mounting death toll. The world community must move ahead from resolutions and make their presence felt in totality.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 12th, 2024.
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