March 27, 2024 (EIRNS)—"The unspeakable is regularly said in Gaza. From teenage girls hoping they are killed; to being told a child is the last survivor from their entire family. Such horror is no longer unique here…. Amid it all, so many brave, generous and tireless Palestinians continue to support one another, and sister UN agencies and UNICEF continue.
“As we heard yesterday: the (United Nations Security Council) ceasefire must be substantive, not symbolic. The hostages must go home. The people of Gaza must be allowed to live…. In the three months between my visits, every horrific number rose dramatically. Gaza has shattered humanity’s records for its darkest chapters. Humanity must now urgently write a different chapter.” This was the partial testimony of James Elders, spokesman of UNICEF, at a March 26 press conference in Rafah, site of the next impending mass kill of women and children in Palestine (there are 600,000 children in Rafah.)
Is our humanity a mere abstraction? Do we have an immortal human identity above our various ethnic and cultural differences? Are we a single human species, or not? If we are not, then the United States’ representatives at the United Nations, at the State Department, in the Congress and Pentagon are correct—Monday’s UN Resolution 2728, calling for a ceasefire, immediate release of hostages, and allowing full humanitarian access to Gaza, “is not binding.”
UN Secretary General António Guterres wrote on X that “The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable.” But that was not the view expressed by the United States. The UN Security Council vote was 14-0, with one abstention—the United States.
In a press conference the following day, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby was asked about this:
Q. “On the nonbinding thing, the UN Secretary General said after the vote, ‘This resolution must be implemented.’ You say it’s nonbinding. So, who is right here? And if it’s nonbinding, if, as you say, it does not change anything, why has the administration blocked so many pretty similar resolutions in the past?
Kirby: “Because they didn’t condemn Hamas. I’ve said that repeatedly….”
Q: “This one doesn’t condemn Hamas either….”
