Insulting the world – Editorial by Stéphane Sahuc – October 30, 2024

The adoption by the Israeli Parliament, by an overwhelming majority and despite international pressure, of a text prohibiting the activities on its territory of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is a new step in the negation of the Palestinian people and their right to have a State.

By denying the legitimacy of UNRWA, the State of Israel is in fact denying the existence of Palestinian refugees and therefore the consequences of the conflicts which have bloodied this region of the world for eighty years. Concretely, it is an authorization to expel the Palestinians from East Jerusalem, a blank check for the continuation of colonization in the West Bank and a sentence of death by starvation for Gazans who have survived the bombings. In the Gaza Strip under Israeli blockade, two million people are entirely dependent on humanitarian aid, which was trickling into the enclave. By preventing this aid, which, according to the UN, is “irreplaceable and indispensable”, Tel Aviv can no longer deny its desire for ethnic and genocidal cleansing in order to clear out this territory.

With the adoption of this text, Israel is also once again targeting the United Nations. A few weeks ago, the Israeli Foreign Minister told UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that he was unwelcome, accusing him of supporting “terrorists, rapists and murderers”. In southern Lebanon, soldiers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, whose departure Israel is demanding, have been directly targeted by military operations. Netanyahu is attacking the UN to show the world his determination to free himself from rules and diplomatic frameworks. He knows that he can count on the benevolence of the far-right international which, from Orban to Milei, via Meloni and other Le Pen, has temporarily put its racism before its anti-Semitism. He is finally banking on a Trump victory in a few days to be able to present the international community with a fait accompli.