US intervention in UN policy for Israel

First and foremost, thanks to those who commented on my previous post, thank you for clarifying my intention on the pursuit of happiness as a quote from the Decl. of Indep.

Now to provide one of the many answers to your question about how the US supports Israel and just a bit more clarification about the whole situation, I'm going to focus on UN policies that have enabled both the US and Israel to continue the Occupation of Palestine.

One of the important things to keep in mind about this issue is that it has been going on for many years, and so I will be providing excerpts from UN draft resolutions that span quite a number of years.

If you would like to see for yourself the many UN resolutions I will be presenting, they can be found at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/UN/usvetoes.html

If you would like to see the actual UN Security Council resolutions, you can easily google the code, which is the S/##### in the name, or you might need to do some specific searching for the more recent ones.

If you look into the S/10974 resolution drafted in July 24 1973, "the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Algeria, chad, Guinea, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan and the United Republic of Tanzania" are "Conscious that the rights of the Palestinians have to be safeguarded" and "Expresses its conviction that a just and peaceful solution of the problem of the Middle East can be achieved only on the basis of respect for national sovereignty, territorial integrity, the rights of all States in the area and for the rights and legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians." The votes for this draft go as follows:

In favour: Australia, Austria, France, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Panama, Peru, Sudan, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Yogoslavia.
Against: United States of America.

To contrast this earlier draft resolution with the more recent situation, to see how it has progressed, I will look into the February 17 1989 report by the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/RES/1989/2 (A+B)).

The UN Commission "Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, as well as the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

1. Affirms that the Israeli occupation of Palestine constitutes a gross violation of human rights and an offence against the peace and security of mankind;

2. Affirms that the systematic and persistent policy practised by the Israeli occupation authorities and reflected in the killing of Palestinians, including children, the breaking of the bones of youths, causing them grievous and permanent bodily harm, the subjection of towns, villages and camps to living conditions intended to destroy them through the imposition of curfews and military siege, the throwing of gas bombs into houses, mosques and hospitals resulting in the death of many Palestinians by suffocation, and the savage beatings and maltreatment of pregnant women, causing them to abort, all constitute serious violations of the principles of international law, human rights and fundamental freedoms;

3. Affirms that Israeli violations of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, applicable to the Palestinian population and territories under Israeli occupation, including the physical and psychological torture of Palestinian detainees and their subjection to improper and inhuman treatment, the imposition of collective punishment on towns, villages and camps, and the administrative detention of thousands of Palestinians, for example in the "Ansar 3" concentration camp in the Negev, the deportation and expulsion of Palestinian citizens by force, the confiscation of their property, raiding and demolition of their houses, and the annexation of Jerusalem, all constitute war crimes under international law;

4. Condemns Israel:
(a) For its gross violation of international conventions, the principles of international law, and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, through the systematic and persistent practices mentioned above, and calls upon Israel to desist forthwith from such practices and, pursuant to the principles of international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions, to withdraw from the Palestinian territories occupied by force;

(b) For its expropriation of Palestinian land and the establishment of Israeli settlements thereon;

(c) For annexing Jerusalem and altering its architectural character and its demographic and structural composition as well as the institutional status of the occupied Palestinian territories, and considers all such measures and the consequences thereof null and void;

(d) For its attacks against holy places, such as mosques and churches, and its attempt to occupy Al Aqsa Mosque and to destroy it, as well as for obstructing the freedom of worship and religious practices;

(e) For its attacks on universities, schools and institutes and the closure thereof in occupied Palestine, and its obstruction of the education of thousands of students and pupils in such institutions"

I've decided the actual draft speaks for itself and does not need my personal interpretation, nor my paraphrasing. I haven't looked into more recent UN drafts that are not included in the Jewish Library (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/UN/usvetoes.html) but I plan on doing so to get a better idea of the UN's attempts to rectify the situation. You can, if you have time or wish to learn more, look into the resolutions to get a better sense on how the US veto power in the UN has led the Commission on Human Rights to create this report in 1989.

By including these direct quotes I only wish to provide evidence on the situation that has progressively gotten worse, and if you are unable, due to time, to look more deeply into these resolutions, I will be happy to provide some more examples of resolutions that have been vetoed by the US regardless of the occupation's violation on human rights.

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