Press TV has interviewed Alberto Garcia Watson, a political
commentator in Beirut, to discuss a UN bid to put Israeli military on
blacklist for its crimes against Palestinians and children, in
particular.
What follows is a rough transcription.
Press TV: First of all, whenever the United Nations is seeking to
put the Israeli military on its blacklist, we know that there is a
special relationship between the United States and Israel; the first
question would be that how would the United States react to this?
Watson: Well, we know so far what the relationship between the United
States administration and Israel is at this point. The visit of
Netanyahu in the past weeks to Washington and his declaration of war to
Obama and to Senate prove that the ties between the United States and
Israel are at the most delicate moment. However, the United States will
not allow this to take place. Let’s not forget that this is just a
recommendation by a representative of (the office of) Children and Armed
Conflict from the United Nations and even inside the United Nations Ban
Ki-moon most probably will put his pressure on it so Israel does not
feel too much under pressure. Let’s not forget that Israel was created
unilaterally a few months after the United Nations was created. The
United Nations has given the okay and the free path for Israel’s
impunity in all this decades and in the past conflicts, their past
operations, let us say in their past carnages. The impunity, even backed
by United Nations, has been very very clear. Ban Ki-moon would not
accept this, the United States does not accept this, let us not forget
just a recommendation by a representative of children. However, the
Israeli army has proven to be a criminal institution and it targets
children in every single military operation. We are talking about 556
children that were murdered and over 3,000 that were injured. Thousands
of children in Gaza suffering from depression and from traumatized
symptoms due to this situation and on top of it, Israel makes sure that
even the blockade and the siege on Gaza keeps standing. So I am not very
optimistic that this is going to get through. However, this is pointing
at the United Nations, like the European Union with Mogherini, even the
Vatican that just recently recognized the State of Palestine is
pointing at marginalizing Israel.
Press TV: Of course, it also calls into question the issue of
accountability for the deaths of these 500 children and of course the
more than 3,000 children who were injured in this war. What other
avenues does Palestine have to bring Israel to be held accountable?
Watson: I think that after all these massacres that have happened,
targeting children, elderly and the sick, and has proven that Israel
just plays its military operations with absolute and total international
impunity. We see now that Netanyahu has created a [regime] of the most
extremist members of the parliament that are calling for the annex of
the West Bank, East (al-Quds) Jerusalem and Gaza. I think that the
extreme views now from the Israeli [regime] and the lack of the
international pressure over this [regime] is going to make very little
to support any implementation of sanctions against Israel. And as long
as the United States keeps a veto on the United Nations Security
Council, time and again, it will just give the possibility to Israel to
keep on going taking land, keep on with the military operations. We just
saw yesterday that Israel again bombed Gaza; there is no condemnation…
we don’t see any condemnation from any institution apart from
humanitarian organizations, but that is not enough. We need the United
States get more involved and we definitely need that the United Nations
[to get] really involved and declare and put first the army on the black
list, because it has proven to be a criminal institution that targets
especially children and the elderly and the women, and my God, what more
proof does the world need that this criminal entity cannot just keep on
killing. There has to be sanctions… there has to be punishment from the
whole world and the United Nations itself.
Press TV: And if the UN fails to hold Israel accountable in any way,
how much would this take away the trust of nations which would believe
in an international body that would fight for their justice?
Watson: The United Nations has lost all credibility for the past
decades. But in the recent years with the last massacre occurring in the
Gaza Strip, it has proven that the United Nations has no credibility
whatsoever. Ban Ki-moon seems not to be able or under pressure or
personally to really fulfill any pressure or any punishments or any
sanctions against Israel. It does against other countries where not much
of evidence might be on place but the sanctions are put there but we
don’t see it on Israel. It is untouchable. We don’t see that the united
nations has the capacity and we see that the United States has so much
power. Being a country that has the biggest debt with the United
Nations, it is still as the one threatening with cutting the funding
with the United Nations in case the UN takes any measure against Israel.
Jumat, 29 Mei 2015
Israeli military “criminal insititution”: Analyst
09.09
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