When Starvation Is a Weapon, The Harvest Is Shame
AntiWarMAR 2024
UNSC Votes in Favor of Gaza Cease-fire, US Abstains
Image copyright: John Lamparski/Contributor/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The US is doing everything it can to both ensure that Israel can eliminate Hamas' military capabilities and prevent regional escalation. Israel must be able to defend itself from terrorist attacks, whether from Gaza or elsewhere, and the US will always support Israel in maintaining its security. However, Netanyahu is going too far with the war in Gaza, and he must be willing to follow through on his promises and compromise as needed so that another extended truce can take effect, which will hopefully lead to a more permanent resolution to this conflict. Security can only come through peace.
Pro-Israel narrative
Allowing the UNSC to pass such an outrageous resolution demonstrates that the Biden admin. no longer believes that supporting Israel is worth the political capital. Caving to pro-Hamas fanatics, Biden is willing to throw Israelis under the bus to try and salvage his political career. The world has forgotten the atrocities Hamas committed on Oct. 7 and Israel's moral duty to protect its citizens. This resolution only serves to support Hamas' political narrative.
Pro-Palestine narrative
Though the Biden admin. may produce crocodile tears on command over the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, in reality, US military support for Israel is the primary reason the war has lasted this long. Israel would simply not be able to maintain a war of this magnitude for such a long period of time without overwhelming US intervention, yet Biden behaves as if it is Israel that calls the shots. Palestinians are starving to death in a man-made famine, and all the US can do is express "disappointment" and abstain on watered-down UNSC resolutions.