The United Nations General Assembly voted 124-14 on Wednesday to strip Israel of the right to self-defense in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.
The test of the resolution was based on the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion in July that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory was illegal.
The resolution also calls on member states not to sell arms or military equipment to Israel that would be used in Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem.
Among the 43 countries that abstained were Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Some 12 of the 27 European Union countries abstained, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden.
Why does it really matter that issues can be “discussed” if the issue being discussed is as atrocious as what Israel is doing to Palestine.
Israel and the US know that what they’re doing is wrong. Them and their crony countries aren’t going to change course because of this.
It doesn’t exactly prevent WW2 if they tell Hitler to stop and he doesn’t listen…unless of course they choose to let him continue his goals unimpeded rather than go to war, citing their documented disagreement as sufficient counter action…
Because there is value in a large group speaking with a unified voice to say “this is wrong, and you need to know that the rest of us think it’s wrong. Your behavior will affect the relationship you have with us all going forward”. Direct intervention isn’t the only form of consequence.
Is it the best solution to the problem? No. Is it still worth doing? Yes.