The relevance given to a UN Secretary-General is often judged by the degree of controversy caused. In history, the most relevant are usually targeted. Dag Hammarskjöld, refusing to remain a mere bauble of international office, was almost certainly murdered over his intervention in the Congo civil war in 1961. The least relevant (who was that sweet little fella, Ban Ki-Moon?) have barely registered a note of dissent. The big powers like to know they can render such figures impotent, if not insignificant.
It was, for that reason, refreshing to see the current occupant of that post make the less than startling remark that the atrocious attacks of October 7 staged by Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Israeli soil could not be seen as standalone acts of individual, unprovoked outrage. António Guterres was careful to also note that there was “nothing” that could “justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians, or the launching of rockets against civilian targets.”
Guterres also noted that it was “important to also recognise the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.” The Palestinians had “been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished.”
While the attacks by Hamas could not be justified to address such grievances, they also could not be used as a pretext to “justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” Even war, he explained to his colleagues, had rules.
The Secretary-General also reiterated the principle of protecting civilians during armed conflict. This precluded using them as human shields and ordering “more than one million people to evacuate the south, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine, and no fuel, and then continuing to bomb the south itself.”
Such comments did not go down well with the Israeli Foreign Minister. Bullies of international relations are always easily slighted. And so it was that Eli Cohen would gasp and wonder which world the secretary-general was living in. “Definitely, this is not our world.”
The foreign minister made it fairly clear what sort of world that was. “I will not meet the UN Secretary-General. After the October 7th massacre, there is no place for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased off the face of the planet.”
Gilad Erdan, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, spoke in the voice of complacency outraged, going so far as to demand the resignation of Guterres. “A Secretary-General who does not understand that the murder of innocents can never be understood by any ‘background’ cannot be Secretary-General.” With a callow splutter, he suggested that the UN chief had “expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder.”
On army radio, Erdan also announced that Israel would be refusing “to issue visas to UN representatives. We have already refused a visa for the undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths. The time has come to teach them a lesson.”
As ever, Erdan’s reasoning confused explication with justification, but in that world, the nuanced explanation huffs and puffs in tired resignation, leaving the murderous justification to take the front position.
The comments from Guterres also come in light of the perilous operational state of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). The humanitarian agency has been starved of resources and will be forced to cease the provision of hospital care, largely occasioned by Israel’s blockade on fuel. “Current stocks are almost completely exhausted,” the agency states in its October 26 situation report, “forcing life-saving services to come to a halt. This includes the supply of piped water as well as fuel for the health sector, bakeries, and generators.” Staff have also suffered a horrendous: 39 have been killed since October 7.
As for the attacks on his own integrity, Guterres has been combative. “I am shocked by the misrepresentations by some of my statement … as if I was justifying acts of terror by Hamas. This is false. It was the opposite.”
The brainstorming session in the Netanyahu-IDF meetings must have been straightforward: de-historicise conflict, first and foremost; relegate Hamas to some equivalent monstrous organisation, in this case, ISIS; and then, just to make sure, use Nazism and the Holocaust as recyclable motifs.
Along the way, massive Palestinian casualties, many children (2,360 deaths over three weeks), can be excused by pointing the finger at Hamas, because it is not Israeli jets and weapons doing the killing but the policy of a terrorist organisation. And besides, Israel is, as Cohen insists, doing it for “the civilised world”.
The Israeli strategy here is to excuse the inexcusable: the collective, mass laceration of a people. In this, they simply perpetuate the tragic crimes that have been visited, not only upon the Jews, but upon any ethnicity or group in history. The Whig statesman Edmund Burke spoke about not knowing “the method of drawing up an indictment against a whole people.” Unfortunately, in this conflict, that indictment was drawn up some time ago, and is being prosecuted with relentless ruthlessness.
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If only everyone relevant, who should be involved, might be able to improve world peace through better negotiation, diplomacy, dialogue, forums, commissions, compromise, acceptance, empathetic philosophy and even a few drinks or smokes if that suits…
Since Guterres’ “controversial” remark, the IDF have killed thousands of civilians trapped in the Gaza ghetto as they levelled whole blocks of multi-story residential buildings through artillery & airstrikes, and there is also credible evidence of them using white phosphorus munitions amongst the civil population.
All I’ll say on the subject.
It goes without saying that most people abhor killing sensessly. Similarly, there is a long history of armed struggle and militancy, usually by people oppressed by an oppressor. Or, following the principle adopted in the Geneva Convention of ‘indivisible security’.
Nontheless, Guteras’ comment should have been obvious, if not a little mealy-mouthed, by the Palestinian/Arab oppressed but instead has been politicised by apartheid Israel. The latter position is to be expected. The supposed solution was agreed upon in 1947 at the foundation of the state of Israel along with a Palestinian state. The former was created while the latter Palestinian state hasn’t happened for 56 years. This is not contentious but fact.
The UN Security Council has attempted numerous times to firstly cease-fire but even that was too much for the US and its vassals, which promptly vetoed, or voted against the resolutions, or abstained.
Albo’s ALP assisted by Minister Wong finally accepted the ‘two-state solution’ very recently and finally. It’s clear that Wong already knew that the proposal was acceptable to the US and its vassals and that it would never fly. Most Palestinians now accept that the ‘two-state solution’ is and always was dead and, instead, a single state with Jerusalem as capital of both Jews and Palestinians is the only possibility. Of course, Wong and her ALP mates, hiding behind her solicitor charade, will fight tooth and nail to ensure that it’ll be another 56 years at least before such a reality might occur.
Will there ever be justice for the oppressed Palestinian people? Unlikely unless armed struggle or genocide prevails. One hopes for the former, after all, it is how Ben-Gurian prevailed over the UK and established Israel.
There is zero point in trying to reason with the current Israeli administration.
Anything and everything said or done to refute their arguments or stop their murderous rampage of revenge will be met with the same fig leaves that have covered the entire Israeli nation for decades.
Is there another race in the world with a specific term for prejudice towards them and them alone?
(Maybe “never Trumpers?”)
School teachers will accept the “dog ate my homework” excuse a few times but after a while it wears thin and a more adult response is justified.
That response is long overdue by every other country in the world.
Mis targeted revenge must be seen for the bloodthirst of genocide that it is.
Kerri,
I can think even more than of 1 (more than zero) point in trying to leverage and talk reason with the current Israeli government.
1; it is in fact a coalition of political parties comprised of individual people, some of which/whom might be peeled off by reason, thus rendering the aggressivists as a political minority.
2 it could prevent the added horror of an Israeli ground assault into densely populated Gaza, and even the possible easing or cessation of the current murderous bombardment.
3 Encouraging a rational cool-off of the most currently belligerent of the involved parties involved could help prevent the relatively localised carnage spreading to a regional conflagration with thermonuclear wildcards potentially in play
Or am I just being naive and simplistic?
Sadly I believe we are all being naive – Israel has promoted and prosecuted the extermination of the Palestinian state forever, as has Hamas the destruction of Israel. There can be NO winner. Mutually assured annihilation, and not the armies, the PEOPLE.
Israel cannot be excused because of the ghastly and inhuman acts by Hamas, to persecute the CIVILIANS of Gaza they have become the thing that they say is happening to them.
The Palestinians have endured unbelievable persecution over decades, the only difference between Israel and the Nazis during the Holocaust are gas chambers and ovens.How they can sleep at night knowing they have created the Warsaw ghetto on a massive scale is beyond me. They KNEW that eventually Hamas would do what it has done, and create the perfect excuse for wholesale destruction.
We have 2 sides, both terrorists in their own way.
It is not allowed to criticise Israel’s actions in any way. Hamas was roundly criticised for attacking civilians, as it should be. Russia’s has been criticised for the bombing of residential areas,schools,hospitals etc. as it should be. It seems that the same standards don’t apply to everyone.
As Tony Burke today puts it “competitive grief” – nothing will ever come of it.
The brutality and blame has been going on since 1947.
And before that there were the British, the French, the Ottomans, the Romans, the Babylonians and the Assyrians (and others I haven’t named). Very many have extensively researched and understand the history, others have not and may care not to understand.
The holders of codes … Will crazy Netanyahu and the incompetent Likud drag Biden and the US further into an irrevocable position?
And even if not, if Israel becomes a country of the entire old Palestine, what then? Arabs, let alone Palestinians are not going to vanish.
Guterres is doing his job well. The Hague – ICC is quivering, as is the entire ME and the ‘west’.
A bit from today:
Clakka,
I have gleaned from prior posts that you possess both historical backgrounding, and have accumulated localised/regional ME dirt/sand on your shoes, and thus I thoroughly appreciate your inputs on this topic
If you haven’t seen this clip before, it may give you a bit of darkish light relief:
(‘This Land is Mine’ 3:33 mins)
Israel believes that it can talk over those who claim its not an apartheid regime.
It also thinks it can claim to be a democracy, if not civilized, but a democracy just the same.
To acheive a majority of the population to be of the Jewish faith, then you need the numbers.
But the shocking truth is that Arabs multiply at a much faster rate, and a major difficulty is to look sane and reduce the Arabs.
Dropping bombs on them, after having boxed them in seems to be the current thinking.
Whilst posing as benevolent in delaying ground action.
Their tanks can then move into Gaza where nothing then lives.
Believing in the sky fairy is one thing, but believing their actions are just and civilized, is delutional in the extreme, and will simply alienate most of the world.
This type of deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure is an absolute atrocity for which excuses should never be made:
https://images.app.goo.gl/epR1Yxwg5qUvF9fF8
(Oh shit, sorry, I posted a picture of shelled out Ukrainian apartment buildings by mistake)
If Putin told the Ukrainians what sites he was about to target in advance then would that now make him innocent of war crimes too?
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Israelis (who seem to be aware of everything happening around them) knew about the pending Hamas terrorist incursion but let it happen as an excuse to invade Gaza.
Zarhras,
First question, obviously prior notice of atrocity does not absolve culpability, but if Vlad had given the Ukrainians prior notice that he was about to level their homes, at least the civilians there have a semi-friendly open border as a flight option.
The citizens of the Gaza ghetto don’t.
On the flip side, operatives from within Ukraine didn’t launch a campaign of co-ordinated military and terrorist attacks on Russia a few days prior to Putin’s invasion.
As for prior notice of impending attack, the head of Egyptian intelligence claims he gave Netanyahu 10 days warning of impending impending attack, and a US security committee acknowledged that at least 3 days prior warning was given that hamas operatives were mustering and conducting specific rehearsal training near the iron fence.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/12/israel-hamas-war-egypt-warned-foreign-affairs-gaza
Bibi, of course, denies all.
Ps, ‘Australia’ voted against the Kyoto protocol, then implemented a price on carbon dioxide emissions., then axed the very same ‘carbon tax’.
What changed?
The people in power.
The actions of Israel are the direct responsibility of it’s ruling coalition government, not the entire population at large.
@corbusboreus
HAMAS gave it’s own warning.
And others.
The excellent journalist, Matt Bevan, who has run a podcast that started as Russia if You’re Listening, moved onto America IYL and China + Australia IYL as well (and all are excellent listening) has now started a series on the current ME war and become simply IF YOU’RE LISTENING.
The podcast has been further been supplemented with a spot on ABC and the last 14 episodes can also be watched on iView.
His history of the beginnings of the current war is very informative and quite forensic.
Well worth your time and episodes are brief and to the point.
corvusboreus,
Thanks. A 3:33 min artform expresses the entire ‘ownership’ caboodle brilliantly. Illuminates the message of otherwise 10s of thousands of words. Brings light to the perpetual darkness that has continually affected the whole world – the license of lunacy.
Clakka,
You’re welcome.
I value your views and insights.
Kerri,
Thank you for the recommendation.
I just listened to Mr Bevans take on Israeli unpreparedness, and gleaned some completely new info within his succinct bus-tour-guide format.
I will definitely listen to more of his work.
I vaguely knew of Mr Ben Gvir for his malevolent mosque-trolling, but hadn’t realised what a truly rabid psycho he is, nor how central he was to Bibi’s cogs.
In my defense, I concentrate on escalating existential environmental issues, partially because I seem to connect better with non-human organisms, and partially because powermongering geo-politics, esp ME variens, makes biospheric extinctions and climatic catastrophes seem relatively simple to solve.
I mean for phuxake, there is fundamental argument as to whether ‘Jew’ means religious belief/acceptance or ethno-cultural affiliation through heritage.
(A Chinese Zionist Jew and an Atheist Jew from Israel argue theology and politics; sort that one out)
Is Islamic belief homogenous from Sufi through Salafist?
Don’t get me started on ‘anti-Semitism’.
That is definitionally a prejudice against anything within a large, loose collective of language based cultural groupings according to parameters set by bronze-age goatherders.
Slag off anyone who speaks Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, and a bunch of others I can’t be bothered to remember, and you are actively engaging in anti-Semitism.
(Don’t you be playing any of that anti-Semite “shout down Babylon” Rasta-reggae sh!t round me!)
I won’t contribute much else on the subject (esp on a B Langkamp thread,) bar to say that my core hope is for no broadening or escalation of the festering boil on the arse of the world that we call the Holy Land.
I recently posted that the conflict will end when enough Jewish blood has been spilled ( a quote from a Holocaust survivor). I wonder if we have reached that level yet.
I have watched several videos of Torah Jews who do not support Netanyahu and the Zionists. These are Torah rabbis speaking out and calling the present system apartheid.
It’s a pity that most of America’s Jewish population are extreme orthodox Jews. They are a powerful lobby.
Australia cannot afford to be dragged into this never ending conflict. We should not be sending arms or personnel to the ME. We have managed our multicultural community too well to be dragged into a situation that we can’t solve or influence.
If there is a certain amount of Jewish blood required to achieve peace in the ‘Holy Land’, it seems like the Israeli military is in a hurry to meet that volumetric quota, because they seem to have started a large scale ground offensive.
Whatever the amount needed based on current casualty ratios, it will probably also require about 2.5-4 times as much blood from other people (eg Gazan civilians) to achieve it.
In the meantime I guess we ‘pray’ that the leaders of Iran are capable of showing rational restraint.