Has Israel become a rogue state?
Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 March 2011 21:16 Tuesday, 01 June 2010 11:39
The attack by Israel on an aid convoy in international waters resulting in the deaths of at least 9 aid workers and the kidnapping of hundreds has shocked the world. Although not the first incident by Israel where it has ignored common international law and basic human rights, the willingness of Israel to target even unarmed aid workers has left many wondering what has possessed Israel.
Israel has released footage of soldiers being hit with iron bars onboard the ship and saying they fired in self defence. All that might very well be true. Somebody is hitting you with an iron bar and you have a gun in your hand, I don't think anybody would not defend themselves by discharging their weapons. But Israel knew the consequences of sending in armed soldiers on board ships. It was a deliberate action that has no legal or moral justification.
Such excuses from Israel are but a cover up of several facts. Firstly, soldiers (or even police) should never have been put on the ships. The ships were in international waters. When Somali men board ships in international waters, it is called piracy. A few have even been put on trial in the Hague. Israel believes it is above international law in being able to board ships in international waters.
Israeli forces approach on of the aid ships
Secondly, Israel knew the aid convoy was departing from Cyprus well in advance. It had offered to take the aid (if the ships docked in Israel) and send it to the Gaza strip. But Israel was also offered the opportunity to inspect the aid as it was loaded at ports in Cyprus and Turkey. Israel refused. Doing so would have meant that Israel would not have been able to block supplies of cement and pasta - both of which are not allowed into Gaza by Israel. Can you image if the people of Gaza got their hands on cement to rebuild their homes and pasta to eat? All hell would break lose! Had Israel wished to inspect the cargo and check for the mythical weapons it could have done so. It chose not to.
Thirdly, the ships have every right to sail into Gazan ports. The blockade by Israel is illegal and the UN has repeatedly called for Israel to lift its blockade. It refuses to do so. Israel has no authority to instruct ships to dock anywhere other than the authority that derives from the use of force if it is not obeyed. Shooting dead aid activists has bolstered that authority.
The actions of Israel have rightly earned them worldwide condemnation from around the world. In addition, Israel refuses to obey UN resolutions and is actively in breach of numerous resolutions. It refuses to open up its nuclear programme to UN inspections - even America and Russia do this. Israel's attitude to the UN bears more in common with North Korea than with any democratic nation. Settlements built by Israel on Palestinian land are illegal by international law. Their settlement strategy is akin to moving into your neighbours house and asking 'what you gonna do about it, punk?' while pointing a loaded shotgun at him. Their blockade of Gaza is highly illegal.
The term rogue nation is reserved for those countries that continually flout international law. That refuse to respect basic human rights. That act with impunity against all it sees as enemies, believeing that they are above international laws and standards, that their actions bear no consequences. North Korea, Syria and Iran are rogue states. Israel's actions can only lead one to conclude that it too is a rogue nation.
Since when has America supported rogue states? Why does it support Isreal and not North Korea when the actions of Israel and North Korea are the same?
There comes a time in every country's history when it simply must chose to do the right thing. Going into Afghanistan was the right thing. Supporting Europe against the evil of Hitler was the right thing. Standing up to Israel and insisting it obeys international law and abides by UN resolutions is the right thing. Nobody is looking for the destruction of Israel - at least not rational people. But rational people are right to demand that Israel must live up to its responsibilities as a nation and cease breaching international law, UN resolutions and basic human rights.
The actions of Israel do immense damage to America by virtue of the fact that America is the primary guarantor of Israel's security. When Israel acts in such a contemptible and cowardly fashion as to shoot dead aid activists on ships in international waters, America is inextricably linked with the action. America becomes the laughing stock of the world - Israel is effectively dictating to us what we must do. We must protect it from the consequences of its actions, no matter what actions it takes.
From any moral standpoint,the actions by Israel should be condemned outright. Who in their right mind believes an attack on an aid convoy can be right and proper? Whether you are Jew or Muslim unarmed aid workers should not be shot. Instead, Obama, the man who trumpeted change and promised to restore America as a beacon of hope, weepily hides under a rock whilst issuing platitudes and soundbites rather than doing the right thing and standing up to wrongs committed by Israel. What kind of leader does America have when he is willing to trade America's hard won reputation for liberty, justice and truth over the votes of a lobby? Is this what America has become?
None of us is foolish enough to believe that Hamas is innocent either. They will use this attack to bolster their own support. But people are intelligent. Nobody condemning the actions of Israel supports Hamas by default, as the Israeli's public relations spinners would have you believe. This aid convoy was not about Hamas - it was about breaking the illegal blockade of 1.5 million people by Israel and supported by the United States. Is that the type of country we want? Where we support the imprisonment of 1.5 million people and deny them cement to build homes, pasta to eat, computers to learn and books to read? Is this the America that is meant to act as a beacon of freedom to the world?
The result of pandering to the whims of a nation that believes itself above the requirement to submit to the UN or be held accountable by the standards of international law is war. Israel will drag America into a war that it should not be in. Blanket commitments to Israel's security are misplaced - it is Israel that is breaching UN resolutions, it is Israel that leaves 1.5 million people with no hope - where the only option is to join Hamas. If there is no jobs, not enough food, no cement, no education, no opportunity - what do you do? Sit at home all day or break the siege? Does that mean Hamas is right? No. It's a contemptible organisation. The targeting of innocents can never be supported. Sadly, both Hamas and Israel have shown themselves equally capable of blowing the heads of innocent men, women and children. They are as bad as each other. Hamas and Israel are two sides of the same coin. Their actions are matched equally by the actions of the other. The inability of America to join those dots is incredible.
Our support for the murder of those aid workers onboard an aid convoy will return to haunt us. It's a sad day when America chooses wrong over right, when it sells its principles for votes. Today is one of those days.
