Biden, Kirby and dead, ungrateful Palestinians
Al JazeeraDec 14, 2023
UN Vote on Gaza Ceasefire Delayed a Third Time
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The Facts
The UN Security Council delayed a resolution on the current Gaza conflict for the third time since Monday, reportedly due to policy differences within US Pres. Joe Biden's administration. One of the main points of contention revolved around allowing the UN — as opposed to Israel — to inspect aid entering the Gaza Strip. Both the UAE and Egypt insisted on a UN inspection system to streamline and speed up aid delivery.
In an attempt on Tuesday to satisfy the US, rather than the original call for "an urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities," diplomatic sources said the resolution language had been changed to an "urgent suspension of hostilities." According to an Al Jazeera reporter covering the meeting, the new draft also "calls for the UN to monitor all of the aid distribution in Gaza," something that wasn't included in prior drafts.
The Spin
Pro-Palestine narrative
The US has enabled Israel to violate every UN-established universal human right while simultaneously preaching about the importance of such universal human rights declarations concerning other countries. To make things worse, the US publicly conducts an about-face on this issue every chance it gets — essentially touting its unchecked ability to make rules but not follow them.
Pro-Israel narrative
This resolution is incredibly hypocritical. While the UAE's draft calls for Israel to stop fighting the terrorists who attacked its citizens on Oct. 7, it has no similar call for Hamas to stop using innocent children as human shields. The US completely agrees that Israel should reduce civilian casualties as much as possible, but that doesn't mean there has to be a ceasefire. This war cannot end with Hamas in power — to do so would give terrorists a win without offering anything in return.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that Israel will lift the blockade on electricity, food, gasoline and medicine in Gaza by February 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.