The U.S. embassy Jerusalem - An unhumanitarian decision

15/5/18

On Monday, May 14, Israelis and Americans celebrated the opening of a new US Embassy in Jerusalem. The ceremony was widely welcomed as overdue and a step towards peace while the bloodshed nearby in Gaza received little comment.
At the same time, 60 miles away, Israeli soldiers were firing on Palestinian protesters at the Gaza border. It was the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since the Gaza conflict in 2014. Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 52 protesters were killed and more than 2,200 injured either by live gunfire, tear gas or other means.
The bloodshed drew calls for restraint from some countries including France and Britain, and stronger criticism from others, with Turkey calling it “a massacre”.
No Israelis so far have been injured.
Washington lavished praise on the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on Monday – but was mostly silent on the killing of 55 Palestinians and injuring of at least 1,200 by Israeli security forces.
The thousands of Palestinians massed at the border are in their seventh week of protestscalling for the right of return to land that is now part of Israel. They’re also protesting the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is suffering from a stifling Israeli and Egyptian blockade.
The contrast between these two events — an embassy gala and a protest where scores of people were killed is vivid evident of the U.S. hypocrisy on human rights and democracy.
In the eyes of critics, there was little to alter the view of Washington as a bubble of moral indifference. Only a handful broke ranks to condemn Israel’s hardline response to the protests by tens of thousands of Palestinians which, according to medics, left a 14-year-old boy dead.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016, said: “Hamas violence does not justify Israel firing on unarmed protesters. The United States must play an aggressive role in bringing Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and the international community together to address Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and stop this escalating violence.”
Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, was also critical: “It’s just heartbreaking. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is desperate. Instead of cutting aid, the Trump administration must restore our leadership role and do what it can to alleviate the Palestinians’ suffering. The location of the embassy is a final-status issue that should have been resolved as part of peace negotiations where both sides benefit, not just one side. Israel will only know true security when it is at peace with its neighbors.”
Jeremy Ben-Ami, the head of J Street, a U.S. group that favors a two-state peace settlement, called the embassy move a “suicidal act” that blocks the United States from playing any role in helping forge a deal of the magnitude and complexity that Trump seeks.
“The credibility of this administration as a potential broker is lost and irreparable,” he said. “If it does put forth any sort of a proposal, the most one can expect is it will be a recitation of the right-wing Israeli talking points — proposals that have been aired out in Israel for some time but do not bear any resemblance to anything a Palestinian representative can accept.”
“It’s a loss for all of us who really care about the long-term peace and security situation of both peoples.”
Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law and a former legal adviser to the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East peace negotiations, said he was unsurprised by the lack of moral outrage on Monday. “There is no real peace process to speak of,” he said. “Even the Palestinians realise the US situation is hopeless.”
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat last week accused the Trump administration of violating international law and its “own commitments towards the peace process.”
“As Washington pursues a policy of encouragement of international anarchy and disregard for organizations and international law, we call upon all diplomatic corps, civil society organizations, and religious authorities to boycott the inauguration ceremony,” Erekat said.
It is undeniable that the U.S. decision of Jerusalem embassy move is irreponsible and imhumane that lead the Israel – Palestine conflict to no peace at all./.


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All comments [ 9 ]


Red Star 15/5/18 21:29

Even European and other diplomats have declined to attend a separate celebration sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

yobro yobro 15/5/18 21:33

Opening the embassy at the same time as Nakba is just vindictiv!

For A Peace World 15/5/18 21:36

Gaza residents continue to face a desperate situation because of the blockade with water and electricity shortages, as well as a lack of medicines and doctors unable to perform surgeries.

Me Too! 15/5/18 21:52

How can [US Middle East envoy] Jason Greenblatt care about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip after his administration cut $300 million of the funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, which provides services to 75% of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip?

Vietnam Love 15/5/18 22:12

America does not deserve to claim human rights defender!

Voice of people 15/5/18 22:19

This decision did not come from the Israelis themselves, it was from Trump. Imagine some person, that doesn’t have any relations with the Palestinians or the Israelis, saying Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. They don’t have any right to say any of this.

John Smith 15/5/18 22:26

Now, do not put too much faith on the U.S., they just care for themself with their radical and wavy president Trump.

Gentle Moon 15/5/18 22:30

America do not have prestige to condemn or intervene into other countries' human rights record when they themself violate human rights global values.

LawrenceSamuels 15/5/18 22:35

Do not believe what America said just see what they did!

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