In a mockery of international diplomacy, the United Nations General Assembly accepted the Hamas terrorist organization’s propaganda narrative and voted to condemn what it claims is Israel’s “excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate” use of force against Palestinian rioters.
The UN specifically voted not to condemn Hamas violence as part of a rejected American amendment and further called for a report within 60 days to contain “recommendations regarding an international protection mechanism” for the Palestinians.
The twisted resolution inverts the reality of a situation in which Hamas orchestrated violent riots openly aimed at storming Israel’s borders and murdering Jews.
Without any evidence or official investigation, and in fact contrary to much evidence, the UN accused the Israel Defense Forces, one of the most moral militaries in the world, of using excessive force during an unprecedented and savage Hamas campaign to violate a nation-state’s borders that saw rioters repeatedly attack Israeli soldiers. The IDF says it operated in accordance with the rules of engagement.
Only last weekend, 10,000 Hamas-directed rioters burned tires to obscure the view of the Israeli military and hurled rocks, grenades and pipe bombs at the IDF. Some rioters opened fire. Even the mainstream news media, which has largely been using unverified Hamas casualty counts, has documented the unmistakably violent nature of the riots.
Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh made clear last Thursday that the point of the riot campaign is to “bring down the walls” protecting Israel from the Gaza Strip.
To make things even more concise, Hamas leader Yahwa Sinwar declared of the Gaza riots: “We will tear down the fence and tear out the hearts from their bodies!”
The venom was dripping from the text of the resolution, which referred to “Occupied Palestinian Territory” instead of disputed territory and used the name of a nonexistent city — East Jerusalem — to imply that the eastern sections of Jerusalem are entirely Palestinian.
The biased text “deplores the use of any excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force by the Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and particularly in the Gaza Strip, including the use of live ammunition against civilian protesters, including children, as well as medical personnel and journalists, and expresses its grave concern at the loss of innocent lives.”
The text “demands that Israel, the occupying Power, refrain from such actions and fully abide by its legal obligations and responsibilities” under international treaties, implying that Israel does not currently protect civilians when the IDF goes to greater lengths than perhaps any other military to do just that.
UN Ambassador Nikki Haley was spot on when she observed immediately following the vote: “Today the UN made the morally bankrupt judgment that the recent Gaza violence is all Israel’s fault. It is no wonder that no one takes the UN seriously as a force for Middle East peace.”
Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio.” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.