Palestine status elevated at UN, Israel and U.S. isolated
On Nov. 29, 131 countries voted to recognize Palestinian statehood by granting Palestine “non-member observer state” status. This elevation at the UN further isolates the U.S. and Israel as they pursue the occupation of Palestine and domination over the other countries of the Middle East. Only seven countries voted with the U.S. and Israel, four of them small Pacific island nations under U.S control. Significantly, U.S. allies France, Italy and Japan voted for Palestine, and others abstained – the UK, Germany and Australia. The peoples of the world support Palestine, while the warmongers of the U.S. and Israel are further isolated and in trouble.
This advance for Palestinian national rights may bring real benefits. It opens a path that may allow Palestine to bring Israel and the U.S. up on charges before the International Criminal Court. The illegal Zionist settlements built by Israel in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are a violation of international law. The UN vote brings prestige.
Israeli officials, staggering from the worldwide opposition to their bombing of Gaza, at first attempted to label the Palestine vote at the UN as “diplomatic terrorism.” Realizing their absurdity, the Zionists then took to saying the UN vote amounted to a violation of the peace process. A peace process that no reasonable person believes exists.
This victory at the UN is only possible due to the continued resistance of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza. Israel bombed and killed over 150 people in the past two weeks in Gaza, creating a worldwide storm of outrage.
The U.S. empire continues to find itself challenged across the Middle East. Peoples across the Middle East, from Iraq to Afghanistan, from Libya to Syria, Yemen and Iran continue to resist Washington’s attempts impose its rule. Meanwhile, the Israelis grow more desperate as their apartheid state erodes. Israel is a castle made of sand, funded by the U.S., and the waves of struggle are causing it to crumble. The Zionist response is more war upon the Palestinian people and aggressive threats towards other nations.
The Palestinian people have a long and difficult struggle as they continue to fight and die for the liberation and the return of their land. The Israeli apartheid state is growing more isolated and unstable, however. Israel’s main backer, the U.S. government, continues to pursue wars and military interventions in the Middle East, to control the land, labor and natural resources of others. The threats of direct U.S. military action against Syria are real and the talks with Iran may be a prelude to war. Now is the time to stand with Palestine and the peoples of the world for freedom and peace. The anti-war movement needs to organize protests against U.S. and Israeli war and act in solidarity with Palestine and the nations of the Middle East.