The United States of America continues to put its political and veto weight behind Israel when it comes to supporting the genocidal state called Israel at the UN.
Recently, International Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric was quoted as telling the BBC that the situation in Gaza had become "worse" than "hell on earth". Despite this, the United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" in Gaza while the 14 remaining countries on the council voted in favour. Grasping the gravity of the humanitarian crisis - starvation as a weapon of war - applied by Benjamin Netanyahu-led government; the vetoed resolution also called the situation in Gaza "catastrophic", and demanded the "immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into war-ravaged Gaza."
Justifying the unjustified veto in the name of self-defence, before the start of the voting in the council, Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea made her country's opposition to the resolution, which she said "should come as no surprise". "The United States has taken the very clear position since this conflict began that Israel has the right to defend itself, which includes defeating Hamas and ensuring they are never again in a position to threaten Israel." US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee recently stated that an independent Palestinian state on historic Palestine - widely regarded as a prerequisite for a two-state solution - was no longer a goal of US foreign policy.
On the back of the blocked resolution in question, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly declared that "Today, the United States sent a strong message by vetoing a counterproductive UN Security Council resolution on Gaza targeting Israel". It is important to note that the USA stood alone in vetoing the UN resolution being discussed. This is nothing but validating the genocide of Palestinians in the name of self-defence. Other Security Council members criticised the US for the veto. Pakistan's ambassador to the UN said the failed resolution would "remain not only a moral stain on the conscience of this council, but a fateful moment of political application that will reverberate for generations." Democratic principles seem to hold little sway when it comes to weaker nations or internationally marginalised countries. Vetoing a resolution calling for a complete ceasefire and uninterrupted flow of aid distribution is a stark testament to the political depravity that pervades the international political landscape.
The blockade of aid into the war-ravaged Palestine has fuelled famine, taking a devastating toll on the people of Palestine, especially those in the Gaza Strip. By siding with Israeli occupation forces, the White House has severely tarnished its democratic standing. Its image has never been as tarnished as it is today. Various independent minds, human rights watchdogs, and conscientious countries have questioned the rationale behind supporting Israel and subsequently bailing it out by blocking resolutions - this reportedly being the fifth in line - especially when Gaza has become synonymous with hell, hunger, and humiliation and mass casualties among Palestinians trying to reach humanitarian assistance, even at aid distribution sites run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Shouldering the psychological baggage of displacement, bombardment, and the subsequent horrors of body bags, hunger, maimed bodies, and amputated loved ones is one of the most difficult times people in Gaza are facing. Only recently, Jack Wood resigned and subsequently dropped a bombshell by revealing that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed and controlled by the US and Israel, had declared that it could not fulfill the principles of "neutrality, impartiality, and independence."
Israeli forces killing people waiting for food distribution is a stark testament to the concerns conveyed by the former head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and the ensuing crime scene in Palestine - the killing of the hungry, seeking aid.
Rawhi Fattouch, Chairman of Palestinian Legislative Council convincingly commented and called for an immediate halt to the distribution of US-Israel aid in Gaza. He stressed that the aid has turned into "death traps" that lure hungry people into being targeted. Terming the killing of those at the aid distribution sites a systematic massacre, he called for an international investigation and urgent UN protection for civilians. Reportedly, former UN aid chief Martin Griffiths condemned Israel for killing Palestinians seeking aid saying, "Food has become an opportunity for killing, I have never heard of such a thing."
Israel's crimes against humanity are evident in its use of starvation as a weapon of war with impunity. Due to the aid blockade, Palestinians, especially those in the Gaza Strip, which lies in ruins, are facing not only starvation but also a severe scarcity of life-saving drugs. Remember that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The interception of the Gaza-bound aid ship called Madleen by Israeli forces in international waters and consequent detention of those onboard, has sparked widespread criticism and outrage against Israel's conduct of the conflict. The "Madleen", carrying climate change activist Greta Thunberg, French-Palestinian Rima Hassan (Member of European Parliament), and other prominent personalities, was part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an organisation that has campaigned against Israel's blockade of Gaza and tried to break the siege by boat that carried essential supplies like baby formula, medical equipment and food. Once the aid vessel was intercepted by the Israeli authorities and those onboard taken to Israel against their will, Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, took to microblogging site X tweeting that "While Madleen must be released immediately, every Mediterranean port should send boats with aid, solidarity and humanity to Gaza. They shall sail together, united, they will be unstoppable." She further added, "Breaking the siege is a legal duty for states, and a moral imperative for all of us." Hundreds of North African activists have launched the "Soumoud" (Steadfastness) convoy to Gaza in solidarity with Palestinians. The convoy includes Tunisians, Algerians, Mauritanians, Moroccans, and Libyans, aiming to reach Rafah via Egypt. In the aftermath of the bloody raid on the flotilla, Noam Chomsky is quoted as saying: "For decades, Israel has been hijacking boats in international waters between Cyprus and Lebanon, killing or kidnapping passengers, sometimes bringing them to prisons in Israel including secret prison/torture chambers, sometimes holding them as hostages for many years. Israel assumes that it can carry out such crimes with impunity because the US tolerates them and Europe generally follows the US lead." Türkiye strongly condemned Israel's raid on the Madleen, calling it a clear breach of international law. Ankara minced no words and said that the attack showed once again that Israel acted like a terror state, silencing humanitarian efforts as it uses hunger as a weapon of war in Gaza.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused Israel of carrying out "premeditated genocide" in Gaza during a visit to Paris. "What is happening in Gaza is not a war. It's a genocide being carried out by a highly prepared army against women and children," said Lula at a joint news conference in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron. Criticising the vetoed resolution calling for complete ceasefire and ensuring aid for the war-ravaged Gaza, China's Ambassador Fu Cong said Israel's actions have "crossed every red line" of international humanitarian law and seriously violated UN resolutions. "Yet, due to the shielding by one country, these violations have not been stopped or held accountable."
Some of China's own actions may be seen as contradicting the legal principles. On one hand, China is denouncing the USA for vetoing a UN resolution, and on the other hand, it is reportedly aiding Israel's policy of illegal settlement in the West Bank. Colombian President Gustavo Petro is known for his bold and blunt approach when dealing with those involved in crimes against humanity. His recent statement, "Don't trade with genocidal states," made headlines in the global media.
In the op-ed “How China is Quietly Aiding Israel's Settlement Enterprise' in Middle East Eye,” Razan Shawmreh, a Palestinian researcher specialising in Chinese foreign policy in the Middle East and China's grand strategy at the international level, offers insightful analysis on the topic. "Take the case of Tnuva, a major Israeli food producer that operates in illegal settlements. Despite international calls to boycott the company, China's state-owned conglomerate Bright Food acquired a 56 percent stake in Tnuva in 2014. In 2021, Tnuva won a tender to operate 22 public transport lines that serve 16 settlements in Mateh Yahuda - all built on occupied land in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. These aren't just buses; they are infrastructure supporting colonial entrenchment, making settler life easier and more permanent. Another example is the 2016 acquisition by China's Fosun Group of Ahava, cosmetic brand whose manufacturing is based in Mitzpe Shalem Settlement. Ahava, the target of global boycott campaign, was previously identified by the UN General Assembly as part of the illegal settlement enterprise.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the US accounted for 69% of Israel's imports of major conventional arms between 2019 and 2023
All the while, Chinese diplomats continue to issue calls for Israel to halt its settlement expansion. But what about China's own involvement in these very activities? The UN human rights agency regularly reports on businesses involved in settlement-related activities, and yet Chinese companies continue such collaboration. According to numerous UN resolutions, Israeli settlements constitute a flagrant violation of international law. China's actions directly contradict the legal principles it claims to uphold. While Beijing voices opposition to settlement activity, its economic ties with Israel strengthen the foundation of Zionist colonialism, at the expense of Palestinian rights. What is more disturbing is how effectively these investments have remained under the radar - quietly sustaining apartheid, while Beijing speaks of an independent Palestinian state. It thus suggests that business interests and geopolitical equations outweigh democratic principles and humanitarian considerations, and this phenomenon is deeply entrenched in the global political order."
Washington's Great Game in the Middle East
The vetoed resolution by the United States of America is neither the first nor will it be the last, given the geopolitical game of thrones the White House has in store for the Middle East. Because of this, Israel continues to have a supply of weapons, logistical and institutional support at the UN. Israel is undoubtedly a political project that was institutionalised by British Colonialism. Israel is a proxy of international powerful players. There is nexus between Israel and the USA, driven by geopolitical equations in the Middle East. However, Arab states seem oblivious to this dynamic hence cozying up to the imperialist powers that are fostering proxies to undermine them.
Caught in security quagmire and subsequently threatened by Israel, Arab states will likely continue to engage in an arms race, importing modern weapons. No rocket science is required to know that the beneficiaries of this business called war economy are the imperialist powers. The collective failure of the Muslim world over death and destruction in various countries, including Palestine, has emboldened international players and its proxy, Israel, to continue with war crimes with impunity. Foreign policy experts argue that wealthy Arab states like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, etc are dancing to the tunes of imperialist powers. While people in Gaza were being culled by Israeli occupation forces, either by bombs or starvation, powerful Arab countries were hosting US President Donald Trump, who supports Israel in the name of self-defence. This sends a clear and loud message that the lives of Palestinians do not matter to Arab states or Western powers that claim to be great democracies in the global political order. However, their moral and institutional compass is stained with the blood of innocent people.
In an insightful piece of writing titled "US Tech and Finance Have Become Israel's Greatest Allies" by Colin Powers, convincingly commented and concluded that "The liberalisation of Israeli capital markets created close ties between US finance and the Israeli state. These connections have given rise to a capital coalition in both countries with an interest in continuing the genocide. In a passionate speech before Congress in 1986, a young Joe Biden made a surprisingly frank admission. Not only was Israel vital to America's interests, but if 'Israel did not exist, the United States would have to invent an Israel.' Soon after October 7, Biden repeated this statement while receiving Israeli president Isaac Herzog at the White House. One way of interpreting Biden's comments is as a confirmation of Israel's military utility to the United States. As an outpost of Western power within the Middle East, Israel has prevented the formation of a strong and independent Arab bloc and ensured, alongside the Gulf's monarchies, that fossil fuels flow in an orderly and predictable manner. This service makes the country essential to America's extraction of value from the periphery and undergirds Washington's unflinching support for Tel Aviv. But geostrategic considerations are not all that binds the United States and Israel. Domestic lobbying of the kind John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt described in their book on the subject certainly plays a part. But as well as advancing America's imperial interest, Israel also has deep economic ties to the United States. These ties help explain why when it comes to Israel's security, there is 'no daylight' between Washington and Tel Aviv, and why so many American firms are complicit in Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza."
The winds of change
According to BBC News, more than 300 foreign office staff who raised concerns about potential UK "complicity" in Israel's conduct in Gaza were told if they profoundly disagreed with government policy they could consider resigning. The staff letter was reportedly sent to Foreign Secretary David Lammy last month. In it, officials questioned the UK's continued arms sales and what they called a "stark...disregard for international law" by Israel. Recently, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hit headlines in international media outlets saying the images of children being killed during Israel's war on Gaza are "painful" and have left him "deeply troubled". The Spanish manager of the English Premier League club urged the world to speak up instead of choosing to stay silent "in the face of injustice" as he addressed an audience after receiving an honorary degree at the University of Manchester.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza Strip has sparked worldwide outrage and calls for action. Following the staggering toll of over 60,000 deaths caused by modern warfare, Gaza lies in ruins, with haunting images of amputated men, women, and children, and multiple famines caused by the aid blockade, resulting in food scarcity and medicine shortages that are strangulating the remaining population. The killing of hungry people at aid distribution points, the seizure of Gaza-bound aid vessels, and other atrocities have shaken global societies to their core. With consciences stirred, people across countries are demanding an end to the ongoing onslaught against Gazans. Even cries are coming from Israel against the ongoing killing spree in Gaza. According to news published in TRT World, thousands of Israeli Jews and Palestinian citizens of Israel marched towards Gaza in protest against the ongoing genocidal war on besieged enclave, demanding an end to the starvation and killing of civilians. "We refuse to remain silent while our government talks of annihilation, so we chose to take action." The demonstrators also called for a deal with Hamas to secure the release of all captives.
Independent UK MP and former Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn is one of the conscientious characters in British political landscape, marked by colonial thinking in foreign policy. He introduced a bill in the U.K. House of Commons on Wednesday (June 4, 2025), seeking an independent inquiry into the U.K.'s role in the conflict and its support for Israel. This parliamentary engagement is both democratic and humanitarian. JC uploaded the following commentary on his Facebook page: "For the past 20 months, UK government ministers - Conservative and Labour - have aided and abetted crimes against humanity. Recently, some politicians have attempted to backtrack and change their tune. Perhaps they are frightened by the consequences of their complicity. If they had any integrity, they would weep for the 61,000+ Palestinians who died as a result of their moral and political cowardice. We will not rest until the government finally listens to the demand being made by millions of people of all backgrounds and faiths: end all arms sales to Israel, now. Momentum is shifting. We will expose the full scale of UK complicity in genocide. We will bring about justice. And we will continue to campaign for the only path to peace: the liberation of Palestine." Undoubtedly, Britain is in the eye of the storm following the alleged threatening episode involving David Cameron and ICC judge Karim Khan, as well as the controversy over the "silence or closure" ultimatum from trustees to the Oxford Union Debating Society regarding a speech by a Palestinian. What about the democratic ideals, such as 'freedom of speech' that European states have consistently championed and lectured other countries about?
Faced with public fury, Britain, and four allies namely Canada, Australia, Norway and New Zealand joined hands to sanction two Israeli far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for "repeated incitements of violence" against Palestinians. UK foreign secretary stated that the Finance Minister Smotrich and National Security Minister Ben-Gvir had "incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights". Both will face travel ban on entering the UK and will have their assets frozen as part of the measures announced by the UK foreign secretary. Apparently, sanctions slapped on the Israeli ministers in question by Britain and allies aim to pacify the growing public outcry demanding an end to arms sales to Israel. Sanctions slapped on ministers in question is seen as saving the skin of Israel involved in crimes against humanity. Holding Israel accountable for its actions is moral, organisational and institutional imperative. Someone rightly remarked that "Gaza has left no veil untouched on anyone's face. From the individual to the family, to society, then to political parties, entities, states, alliances...all were tested. And the question posed to each was the same. To what extent do we truly believe in the slogans we repeat about freedom, justice, dignity, and the right to life?"
Rising political tides against the supply of arms to Israel can be measured from the following news, uploaded on Palestine International Broadcast Facebook page: "Dockworkers at the Marseille-Fos port in southeastern France refused to load military components destined for Israel, in protest against the ongoing genocidal war waged by the Israeli military in Gaza, according to a labour union statement recently issued." Public indignation against the supply of weapons of mass destruction being supplied to Israel is boiling up in states like the UK and France.
However, Israel and the powerful Western governments remain in a state of denial and defiance, neglecting the rising political climate in their respective countries.
"Stop arming genocide"
According to the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, led by a former UN high commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay, Israel has committed the crime against humanity of "extermination" by attacking Palestinian civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites in Gaza. "Evidence is mounting of 'a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza', commission chair says." "We are seeing more and more indications that Israel is carrying out a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza," commission chair Navi Pillay, said in a statement. The report said Israel has damaged or destroyed more than 90 percent of the school and university buildings in Gaza and destroyed more than half of all religious and cultural sites in the territory. "Israel's targeting of the educational, cultural and religious life of the Palestinian people will harm the present generations and generations to come, hindering their right to self-determination," Pillay continued. "Children in Gaza have lost their childhood. With no education available, they are forced to worry about survival amid attacks, uncertainty, starvation and subhuman living conditions," said Pillay. "What is particularly disturbing is the widespread nature of the targeting of educational facilities, which has extended well beyond Gaza, impacting all Palestinian children." While the report focused on the impact on Gaza, the commission also reported significant consequences for the Palestinian education system in the occupied West Bank.
Ahead of the UN conference next week sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently said the current violence makes a two-state solution all the more necessary. "My message to world leaders and delegations is that it is absolutely essential to keep alive the two-state solution perspective with all terrible things we are witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank." And for those that doubt about the two-state solution, I ask: What is the alternative?" the secretary-general said. "Is it a one-state solution in which either the Palestinians are expelled or the Palestinians will be forced to live in their land without rights. That would be totally unacceptable."
Reportedly, the US is by far the biggest supplier of arms to Israel, having helped it build one of the most technologically sophisticated militaries in the world. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the US accounted for 69% of Israel's imports of major conventional arms between 2019 and 2023.
Because of humanitarian crisis in Gaza, this is a critical moment to take action against Israel's actions in the besieged Gaza Strip. As Martin Luther King Jr said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." If the Western World allows this injustice in the name of self-defence, smaller nations and internationally marginalised communities may become the next targets, regardless of their geographical location. While Gaza is burning, Israel has launched "Operation Rising Lion" against Iran. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel launched a "targeted military operation" against Iran, striking "at the heart" of Tehran's ballistic missile programme. He further added, "The attack was to roll back the threat to Israel's 'very survival'. The operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat." It speaks volumes about the reckless modus operandi of the rogue state called Israel.
When a reporter asked: "Why do you think so many countries and the governments around the world are just ignoring what is happening in Gaza?" Greta Thunberg replied: "Because of racism. Tolerating fascism in Palestine due to racism is a warning sign for European elites, exposing their deep-seated issues."
Censuring silent spectators, Labour MP Paula Barker said: "Our grandchildren will ask why we effectively stood by whilst a people were eradicated by bombs, by bullets, by starvation and no doubt the further ethnic cleansing that is still to come."
Stopping arming Israel should be beginning of the end in the larger interest of humanity.