Interest in Israel: the US and the UN

By Jaya Spier

An inquiry released by the United Nations today has stated that Israel was negligent in its conduct during the war with Gaza earlier this year. The Israeli army was criticized for the way in which its actions affected citizens and UN property and employees.

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has commented that it was never irresponsible in its conduct and that in some situations members of Hamas hid amongst civilians and near UN property and shot at soldiers. The IDF was just defending itself and the resulting casualties and property damages were not Israel’s problem.

“The UN report, commissioned by Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary-general, said the Israeli military intentionally fired at UN facilities and civilians hiding in them during the war and used disproportionate force.” (AJE) However, Ban Ki-Moon did not publish the completed document but instead released his own summary of the report.

Former head of Amnesty International, Ian Martin, led the inquiry. He looked specifically at situations where death, injury, and damage to UN property and staff was involved. However the report concluded that Israel made many mistakes during the war in January and “should be investigated under the rules of international humanitarian law"(Guardian). An estimated total of $11 million in damages to UN property occurred during the fighting.

This inquiry has been released just as the United States is calling for a crackdown on Israeli behavior. Joe Biden, today, stated at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual conference that "Israel has to work toward a two-state solution. You're not going to like my saying this, but not build more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow the Palestinians freedom of movement" (CNN).
However, this statement does not mean that the United States is wavering on its support of Israel. Biden also said at the AIPAC conference, “With all the change you will hear about, there is one enduring, essential principle that will not change; and that is our commitment to the peace and security of the state of Israel,” Biden said to several thousand attendees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual policy conference in Washington. “That is not negotiable. That is not a matter of change. That is something to be reinforced and made clear" (ABC).

President Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden met with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the White House today to discuss U.S. participation on supporting peace in this region. We will have to see if Israel takes any action based on the recent UN report and how much involvement the Obama administration will be allowed to have in future Israeli-Palestine talks.