Israel ramps up its 'war' on the United Nations

From bad to worse

Israel's utter contempt for the UN took an unprecedented turn this year when it unjustifiably declared UN Secretary-General António Guterres persona non grata. The UN was established to reflect the international conscience. All he did was the minimum required of him as the head of that organisation.

Israel's defiance of the UN is longstanding. My first encounter with its utter disregard for the will of the international community came in 1978, as a young diplomat on his first overseas assignment at the Egyptian Mission to the UN.

Chaim Herzog, an urbane former Israeli president who was Israel's then permanent representative, would walk into the General Assembly hall carrying a stack of newspapers, which he would then deliberately proceed to read in full view of the delegates, to indicate that he was impervious to what they had to say about his country.

At the time, only a handful of Western countries would openly support Israel. Herzog's successor, Yehuda Blum, a prominent law professor, took Israel's defiance to a new level.

Facing widespread criticism at the Security Council for Israel's flouting of international law and violating countless resolutions, he mustered no plausible defence and instead simply attacked states on issues totally irrelevant to the matter at hand. Only the US and a handful of others were spared his venomous interventions.

Since then, Israel's recalcitrance has risen exponentially, its impunity reaching new and unprecedented heights, first over Gaza and the West Bank and now over Lebanon. It has run roughshod over every principle of international humanitarian and human rights law. Even its closest allies acknowledge its dismal record. 

Breakdown in relations

Only last September, the General Assembly passed a resolution on the ICJ's advisory opinion (issued last July), which declared that Israel's continued presence in the Palestinian territories "unlawful" and that "all States are under an obligation not to recognise" the decades-long occupation.

It called for Israel to comply with international law and withdraw its military forces, cease all settlement building, evacuate all settlers from occupied land, dismantle parts of the wall it constructed inside the occupied West Bank, return land and assets seized since 1967, allow Palestinians displaced during the occupation to return to their place of origin and pay reparations for the damage the occupation has caused.

Read more: Israeli occupation on trial at the Hague

The sole success Israel has had at the United Nations came in 1991 when it succeeded in having the General Assembly revoke a resolution from 1975 which considered Zionism as a form of racism and racial discrimination. At the time, people hoped that this might encourage Israel to cooperate. On the contrary, its defiance only grew.

The international community, as represented by the UN, has been very patient with Israel and has not held it accountable for its persistent and blatant violation of its resolutions. It is now time that the UN took a stand and served Israel notice that it can no longer continue to oppose with impunity the will of the international community.

Historical precedent

Israel has consistently demonstrated, in no uncertain terms, that it will continue to violate international law (particularly humanitarian law and human rights law), so the international community cannot afford to remain passive, passing resolutions without practical impact. That is no longer acceptable. Failing to act undermines the UN's credibility.

The latest Israeli actions, together with the statements of its representatives, indicate that it has no respect for the UN. This was in full display at the United Nations General Assembly in September when Netanyahu delivered a bellicose speech, calling the UN a "house of darkness" and a "swamp of antisemitic bile", adding that more resolutions have been passed by the General Assembly against Israel in the last decade than against the rest of the world's countries.

Israel, therefore, does not deserve the privileged status associated with UN membership and should find no place in the UN's most representative body: the General Assembly. Stopping a state from participating for egregious violations of resolutions has a historical precedent. In 1974, Resolution 3181 suspended South Africa due to its policy of apartheid, which was a violation of human rights, and its policies in Namibia and Rhodesia, which had a destabilising effect on the region.

South Africa was only allowed to resume its activities in 1994 after apartheid had ended. This effectively meant that South Africa could not exercise its membership. Something similar can be employed with Israel, which has violated almost all precepts of international humanitarian and human rights law and destabilised the region. 

Israel should be suspended from participating in the activities of the General Assembly until it implements UN resolutions. If South Africa was suspended in 1974 for similar reasons, why stand idle when Israel commits the same crimes on a grander scale?

List of atrocities

As a reminder, Israel uses wanton force on an unprecedented scale with total disregard for the international standards of necessity, proportionality and immediacy and with total disregard for civilian lives.

It is laying waste to Gaza, confiscating lands, blowing up homes, allowing settlers to intimidate Palestinians in the West Bank, razing entire villages in Lebanon (as with Moheebeeb), denying adequate food to the entire population of Gaza, bombing hospitals and schools, and displacing Palestinians and Lebanese multiple times.

The list of Israeli atrocities goes on and on. I am certain that many member states have seriously contemplated this course of action, only to be deterred by the certainty that the US Congress would then withhold America's key financial contribution to the UN budget.

Yet Israel not only defies the UN; it defies requests from US Presidents, US Secretaries of State, and US Defence Secretaries. A letter dated 13 October indicated that the US would stop providing weapons if Israel did not allow sufficient humanitarian aid to enter Gaza within 30 days, in accordance with laws passed by Congress.

Read more: Full text of US letter to Israel: Let aid into Gaza or face consequences

Continuing to protect Israel at the UN despite its open defiance not only of the UN but of Washington impacts US credibility, given that it purports to champion a rules-based international order. Needless to say, letters will not force Israel to align its policies with international law.

The hour is nigh

The international community must do much more, starting with a complete end to the provision of weapons to Israel. Some European countries have already done so or seem minded to. If actions like this are not taken, Israel will not be deterred and will proceed with impunity, implementing its expansionist policy to totally dominate the region.

This would be none other than a revival of 20th century colonialism in the 21st century. Colonial powers imposed their will by force of arms and technological superiority. As a policy, colonialism failed, as it would fail here. It would simply prolong the state of violence and instability that has plagued the region for decades.

To live in peace in the Middle East, Israel must accept that it is part of a region steeped in history and tradition. It must give up on its impractical and dangerous dream of reshaping it to its own liking, which is a recipe for never-ending strife. It needs to be made to understand that peace cannot be realised by force of arms. It can only be based on justice, and there is no justice as long as Israel continues to occupy Arab lands.

It is high time that the United Nations upholds the basis upon which it was established: "to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained."

Its credibility as custodian of international law and the international system rests on the respect its member states pay to its resolutions. Allowing Israel to continue violating them causes irreparable damage. Something has to change—and fast. It is time to act.