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How US enables Israeli occupation, apartheid and war crimes
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they hold a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, January 27, 2020. (Photo by AFP)
The United States has been Israel’s biggest ally since its illegal creation in 1948, running roughshod over Palestinian rights while giving the Israeli regime a blank check to commit gross violations of human rights and international law.
The US supports Israel financially, militarily and diplomatically. It gives the regime $3.8 billion a year, most of which in military aid. As Israel’s closest ally, the US has vetoed dozens of resolutions at the UN Security Council condemning Israeli occupation, settlement activities and human rights violations.
Emboldened by Washington’s unconditional support, the Israeli regime has oppressed the Palestinians through unlawful killings, forced displacement, abusive detention and expansion of illegal settlements.
Successive US presidents have touted the so-called special relationship between Washington and Tel Aviv. President Donald Trump, however, has taken this to a whole new level.
The Republican president has upended years of US policy through his self-proclaimed “deal of the century,” which he officially unveiled in January at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his side.
Trump deal: A prize for Israel at the expense of PalestinePalestinian leaders voice their strong opposition to the so-called ‘peace’ plan which Trump is preparing to unveil, emphasizing the need for popular resistance against the scheme.
The scheme meets Israel’s demands while paying lip service to a Palestinian state with limited control over its own security and borders. It designates the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and allows the regime to annex settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.
Palestinian leaders say the proposal will only cement Israel’s longstanding policy of permanent occupation, colonialism and apartheid.
Jerusalem al-Quds has been designated as “occupied” under international law since the 1967 Arab War. The entire city is currently under Israeli control, while the regime also claims the city’s eastern part, which Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.
The status of Jerusalem al-Quds has long been the target of US vetoes at the UN.
In December 2018, the US vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution rejecting President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The unanimity of the rest of the Security Council in condemning the move was a strong rebuke to Israel and Trump’s scheme.
Supporting war crimes
Israel has committed war crimes and other violations in occupied Palestine particularly in Gaza, which has been under a crippling siege since 2007 and witnessed three wars since late 2008.Nearly 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed during Israel’s 50-day onslaught in 2014 on the besieged city.
Back then, the US Senate unanimously voted to support Israel’s so-called right to defend itself while the regime massacred civilians in Gaza using. The US also stands accused of aiding and abetting war crimes by providing Israel with the military means to commit them.
Israel has extensively lobbied the US government to oppose the International Criminal Court’s investigation into its war crimes, including the use of live ammunition against protesters, the demolition of civilian homes and infrastructure, and forcible displacement of Palestinians as part of its illegal settlement activities.
The US on Friday threatened to “exact consequences” if the ICC moves ahead with the ongoing efforts to investigate war crimes by Israel.
Pompeo warns ICC of ‘consequences’ if it probes Israeli war crimesThe US secretary of state has threatened that Washington will “exact consequences” if the International Criminal Court goes ahead with a potential war crimes probe into Israel.
Following his trip to the occupied territories this week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced the ICC, saying the international court does not have jurisdiction over Israel.
“The United States reiterates its longstanding objection to any illegitimate ICC investigations,” Pompeo said in a statement, blasting the ICC as “a political body, not a judicial institution.”
Palestine was accepted as an ICC member in 2015, three years after signing the court’s founding Rome Statute, based on its “observer state” status at the United Nations.
Illegal expansion of settlements
About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in several resolutions.
The issue of settlements has long been a stumbling block to the so-called peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Palestinian leaders say the presence of illegal settlements makes it impossible for them to form an independent state in the future.
Netanyahu, the Israeli premier, has pledged to annex all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and has set July 1 for the start of cabinet discussions on the matter.
Condemnations have been swift from across the globe. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said the move would shut the door on possible “peace negotiations.” The Arab League has called it “a new war crime.”
Pompeo in Israel to talk annexation as Palestinian rage boils overThe US secretary of state is in Israel to discuss “annexation” of Palestinian land under a Washington scheme, among other topics.
However, the US State Department has reiterated that Washington is prepared to recognize Israeli “sovereignty” over occupied territories.
Trump’s deal of the century has effectively granted Israel a green light for the annexation in flagrant violation of international law.
Netanyahu has said he was confident he would be able to annex West Bank this summer, with support from the US.
Israel Lobby holds a ‘stranglehold’ on US
No account of Washington’s unconditional support for Israel can ignore the reach and influence of Israel lobby, especially the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as AIPAC.
Israel lobby has effectively hijacked US policy in the Middle East. AIPAC acts as an agent of the Israeli regime and has a “stranglehold” on the US Congress.
During the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza, AIPAC pushed a resolution in Congress to affirm Israel’s right to defend itself while the regime ruthlessly killed civilians in Gaza.
The lobby spends millions of dollars in campaign donations to make sure that the candidates with a favorable view of Israel get elected into office. It is also very active in smearing politicians who dare to defend Palestinian rights or criticize Israel.
Quds Day an opportunity for world to unite against Israel
Muslim nations and supporters of the Palestinian cause are gearing up to mark the International Quds Day on Friday to condemn the Israeli occupation and call for the liberation of Palestine.
Held on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, the Quds Day is an annual display of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
International Quds Day to be observed in pandemic yearThis year, the International Quds Day will be observed in the time of pandemic.
Millions of Muslims and non-Muslims sympathetic to the Palestinian cause hold rallies across the world to unite against the Israeli aggression.
This year, because of a global coronavirus pandemic, human rights activists in Iran, the UK, South Africa and elsewhere have planned to replace street rallies with online events.
The Quds Day has taken special importance this year given Trump’s deal of the century and Netanyahu’s plan to annex the West Bank.
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