It seems as if the Obama’s administration is as fixated on Israel as his predecessor’s was. Why on earth did he make his government denounce the Goldstone report with Israeli terminology? “One-sided”, “deeply flawed”, and “unfair”. Goldstone`s report was exactely the opposite. A small difference in style in defamation could be detected between the attacks by the U.S. and Israel against the author: The American side did not call him an “anti-semite”. Goldstone, incidentally, is an ardent Zionist. His report was way too balanced where Israel´s crimes were concerned. These crimes against humanity were equated to the shelling by Hamas of Israeli towns with home-made Kassam-rockets. The Israeli military attacked a practically defenceless population with the most modern weapons which it obtained from the United States. While the number of dead Palestinians, most of them women and children, reached 1,400, thirteen Israelis died, thereof four from so-called friendly fire.
The Obama administration should know that the bad US-American reputation in the Muslim world is based on its one-sided support of Israel´s 42 year old occupation and colonisation of Palestinian land. The US-American government threatened to use the veto power in the UN Security Council to prevent further proceedings about the Goldstone report. Instead of standing on the side of international law, the Obama administration supports uncritically the position of the occupiers. Even under Obama the US is no honest broker in the Middle East. It is a mistake that only “facts on the ground” count.
Professor Richard Falk is right when he writes: “In essence, the Israeli contention, backed by Washington, is that how we reached the present impasse is of no practical use in mapping a beneficial future. All that counts, according to this view, is the present relation of forces, ‘the facts on the ground’ that the Israelis have been unilaterally shaping to their adventage for many decades, and continue to do so in the Palestinian territories occupied sind 1967. Of course this Israeli position is extremely self-serving, and confronts the Palestinians with an unpalatable choice between swallowing non-sustainable, unjust peace offerings and continuing their struggle under the highly adverse conditions of a prolonged occupation of their territories carried out in manner violative of international humanitarian law.” The various Israeli governments have been violating international law since the the beginning of the occupation in 1967 and the diverse US administations have supported it.
The Obama administration should know that the bad US-American reputation in the Muslim world is based on its one-sided support of Israel´s 42 year old occupation and colonisation of Palestinian land. The US-American government threatened to use the veto power in the UN Security Council to prevent further proceedings about the Goldstone report. Instead of standing on the side of international law, the Obama administration supports uncritically the position of the occupiers. Even under Obama the US is no honest broker in the Middle East. It is a mistake that only “facts on the ground” count.
Professor Richard Falk is right when he writes: “In essence, the Israeli contention, backed by Washington, is that how we reached the present impasse is of no practical use in mapping a beneficial future. All that counts, according to this view, is the present relation of forces, ‘the facts on the ground’ that the Israelis have been unilaterally shaping to their adventage for many decades, and continue to do so in the Palestinian territories occupied sind 1967. Of course this Israeli position is extremely self-serving, and confronts the Palestinians with an unpalatable choice between swallowing non-sustainable, unjust peace offerings and continuing their struggle under the highly adverse conditions of a prolonged occupation of their territories carried out in manner violative of international humanitarian law.” The various Israeli governments have been violating international law since the the beginning of the occupation in 1967 and the diverse US administations have supported it.
