The latest round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been going on for over 20 days. While the bombardment is continuing, the crisis seems set to spill over into neighboring countries and probably the whole Middle East region. At a time when the majority of the international community is condemning the violence against civilians, the behavior of the US seems quite peculiar. Instead of calling for an immediate ceasefire, it is not only sending more munitions to this land under fire, but also standing in the way toward a complete and fundamental solution to a problem that has been dragging on for decades. As in most cases, when Uncle Sam shouts out “The US is coming to rescue!” things are usually getting worse, and a fair and equitable path forward is out of the question.
On the second day after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, the White House immediately approved military aid to its ally and dispatched the first batch of military equipment the day after Israel began its revenge. Two USS carrier strike groups were quickly assembled in the eastern Mediterranean to strengthen military deterrence. A fortnight after the outbreak of the conflict, the Biden administration proposed to the Congress for military aid to Israel worth $14.3 billion.
With the ammunition provided by Uncle Sam, Israel was able to carry out days of airstrikes all across the Gaza Strip and a possible massive ground operation. With the “ironclad” support from the US, the Israeli Defense Forces has the guts to set fire indiscriminately to residential buildings and public facilities, including hospitals, costing thousands of lives, most of whom are elders, women and children, the most vulnerable of society.
Under the grandiose excuse of the so-called commitments to its close allies, what Uncle Sam has done with his partners has no difference from mafia gangs, i.e. to kill, to set fire, to violate the basic human conscience.
When those US politicians condemned Hamas’ acts and screamed “Finish them!” they should have known that excessive defense could also constitute a crime and there is never any justification for disproportionate acts of revenge, let alone that these acts could cause humanitarian disaster, like the siege of Gaza.
Seeing from the lens of “double standard,” the US always enjoys its supremacy over other nations and peoples. Uncle Sam and his friends use their supremacy to run roughshod over international law. There is no need for Israeli self-defense to meet the conditions of necessity and proportionality, nor any need to comply with international humanitarian law. In their own opinion, the bombardment causing large casualties in Gaza never constitutes a war crime. Nor does the Gaza siege, the displacement of such a large number of civilians, and the reckless use of white phosphorus munitions against the unarmed people of Gaza constitute crimes against humanity. They mustn’t forget that the Palestinian people, whose homeland has been under Israeli occupation for a long time, have every reason and right to live in equal peace. This is exactly the “despicable form” unfolding before the world right now.
When the majority of the world is about to act collectively and stop the calamity that is completely out of line with modern society, it is Uncle Sam, once again, who stepped out of rank and voted against two UN Security Council resolutions calling for a temporary ceasefire between Palestine and Israel. Both resolutions asked for the respect of the human rights of the people in Gaza and both were dismissed by the country which always claims to care about “human rights status” around the globe.
For the US, the region of the Middle East is always a leverage for its own geopolitical interests and a good market for its arms dealers. In a nutshell, when Uncle Sam comes to the rescue, it is his own interests rather than the lives of local people that he really wants to save. For the sake of the former, he can’t be too ready to sacrifice the latter.
(Global Times)
