Israelis Snub UN Ceasefire Call

by Dave Keating | January 9, 2009 at 05:03 am

632 views | 47 Recommendations | 17 comments

Israel indicated today that it will ignore a UN resolution calling for an immediate cease fire to the bombing of Gaza. Israel still enjoys the support of the US, which has not called for an end to the bombing.

Israel is to keep up its offensive in the Gaza Strip despite a UN call for an immediate end to nearly two weeks of conflict involving Hamas militants.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the latest firing of rockets into Israel showed the resolution was "unworkable".

The Security Council resolution demanded a truce, access for aid workers and an end to arms smuggling.

Israel continued its bombardment during the night and on Friday morning, carrying out at least 50 air strikes.

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donkylemore

at 06:58 on January 9th, 2009

Israel has ignorede this UN resolution 242 which requires it ( Israel ) to it's pre 1967 borders

And we , the civilized world , members of the UN have presided over the Israeli defiance of this crime.

The problem is of course that the he International Court of Justice which is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations .

The International Criminal Court was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for among many other things " war crimes and crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression although it cannot currently exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression..

What are the UN waiting.

The imposition of immediate sanctions is a sine qua non ; the introduction of an UN peace enforcing mission is something which would force the US to cease it's ambiguity. Put up or shut up.

Obama , Much lies on your shoulders.

Emilio Lizardo

at 08:12 on January 9th, 2009

If one considers the Israeli-Palastinian situation along side the India-Pakistan situation, then a pattern may emerge.

One may then be drawn to the conclusion that these situations are not accidental at all ...

It is quite obvious, IMHO, somebody wants to keep the pot boiling ...

Emilio Lizardo

at 12:11 on January 9th, 2009

If burning white phosphorus touches your skin, it will burn you. If you are burned with white phosphorus, you may also develop heart, liver, and kidney damage.

This stuff is so poisonous to humans it is no longer used in either rat-poison or fireworks ...

White phosphorus is the most active allotropic form and is extremely toxic when inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through burned areas (Eldad and Simon 1991). It is fat soluble, glows in yellow-green light, and ignites spontaneously upon drying and exposure to air. Storage of white phosphorus in water prevents it from burning spontaneously (Eldad and Simon 1991).

White phosphorus can cause thermal injury and hygroscopic damage by absorbing water from surrounding tissues. It reacts with oxygen and water to form strong acids (H3PO2, H3PO3) and combines with metals like copper to form dark-colored inactive salts (Eldad and Simon 1991). White phosphorus particles can burn on the surface of the skin or penetrate deep into the tissues when carried on shrapnel particles. Local destruction of tissues continues as long as white phosphorus is exposed to oxygen. White phosphorus smoke with a garlic odor is characteristic of white phosphorus burns (Eldad and Simon 1991).

High mortality rates seen following white phosphorus burns can be due to its absorption from the burned surface, which may result in multi-organ failure (mainly liver and kidneys), hyperphosphatemia, hypocalcemia, and electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities (ST depression, QT elongation, microvoltage of QRS and bradycardia) (Bowen et al. 1971; Eldad and Simon 1991).

White Phosphorus being delivered to the residents of Falluja by US forces.

Marines sing white phosphorus on combatants and non-combatants alike in Fallujah

Karen Hatter

at 13:53 on January 9th, 2009

Eyewitness accounts, provided by NowPublic contributor, Sameh Habeeb, living precariously in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian Territories, can be found here.

poor oligarch (not verified)

at 16:16 on January 9th, 2009

Most people will have noticed, it having been reported so widely, and so amongst most readers here your patronising sarcasm will be superfluous. Likewise most readers here will be outraged by the humanitarian crisis which world opinion sees that as the responsibility of Israel.

Heritage

at 06:01 on January 9th, 2009

And though the resolution is legally binding, it does not have any enforcement mechanism, and Israel has ignored dozens of UN resolutions over the years, our correspondent said.

More of the same. The resolution means nothing to Israel. Only the US can stop the massacre and it's not prepared to do it yet. Palestinian life is not valued the same as Israeli life.

More than 763 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 200 children, since the Israeli offensive began on December 27. More than 3,121 people have also been wounded.

Eight Israeli soldiers and three civilians have died in the same period.

How many more must die?

Karen Hatter

at 16:48 on January 9th, 2009

Well said, Poor Oligarch.

Paschen

at 06:08 on January 9th, 2009

What else was to be expected. They know that if push comes to shove the US will come to their rescue and even Veto what ever may need to be Vetoed.

Paschen

at 07:05 on January 9th, 2009

You know very well that the UN can not act against Israel because of the US veto right. First the Veto rights have to be removed and that is not so easy.

SOLARLIFE

at 09:53 on January 9th, 2009

The answer to UN investigation about attacking the UN school. First shoot two UN Truck drivers next day, then ignore cease fire. The goal total demoralisation of Palestine people to move them out of the country. second provoke Iran to make war.

Amy Judd

at 14:24 on January 9th, 2009

Before any of the comments on this thread get out of hand, please do remember that we have a code of conduct that we expect all our members to adhere to, and while it is perfectly fine to have an opinion about a matter and express that, we don't allow personal attacks on other members to take place.

If you have any questions, you can ask me in a private message.

Thanks

gahooch

at 15:40 on January 9th, 2009

By the way, has anyone noticed that Hamas has rejected the UN resolution?

djsblack

at 13:25 on January 9th, 2009

The Religion of Peace and Hamas in their own words.

israeli.agent

at 15:57 on January 9th, 2009

Emilio,

If possible, could you please elaborate a bit about this statement?

Thank you

Agent

gahooch

at 19:01 on January 9th, 2009

gahooch

at 19:00 on January 9th, 2009

Is it patronizing sarcasm to call out those who ascribe all evil to Israel but are silent or deny that Hamas has anything to do with this humanitarian crisis? Is it patronizing sarcasm to call out those who castigate Israel for rejecting the resolution but say nothing about Hamas' rejection?

If I'm patronizing I apologize. But the sarcasm is well deserved.

Emilio Lizardo

at 19:01 on January 9th, 2009

Divide and rule
In politics and sociology, divide and rule (derived from Latin divide et impera) (also known as divide and conquer) is a combination of political, military and economic strategy of gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy. In reality, it often refers to a strategy where small power groups are prevented from linking up and becoming more powerful, since it is difficult to break up existing power structures.

Typical elements of this technique are said to involve

creating or encouraging divisions among the subjects in order to forestall alliances that could challenge the sovereign.
aiding and promoting those who are willing to cooperate with the sovereign.
fostering distrust and enmity between local rulers.
encouraging frivolous expenditures that leave little money for political and military ends.

The use of this strategy was imputed to administrators of vast empires, including the Roman and British, who were charged with playing one tribe against another to maintain control of their territories with a minimal number of imperial forces. The concept of "Divide and Rule" gained prominence when India was a part of the British Empire, but was also used to account for the strategy used by the Romans to take Britain, and for the Anglo-Normans to take Ireland. It is said that the British used the strategy to gain control of the large territory of India by keeping its people divided along lines of religion, language, or caste, taking control of petty princely states in India piecemeal.

Also mentioned as a strategy for market action in economics, it can be applied to get the most out of the players in a competitive market.