Russian ambaasador Vitaly Churkin, who for nearly two years now has blocked any U.N. Security Council action to stop the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad from murdering more than 30,000 of his own people, lashed out this week at “procrastination on Gaza.”
In reality, it has been the procrastination, indifference and inaction of Russia and its Security Council allies that gave Hamas the green light to bomb Israeli civilians, finally prompting Israel’s belated response.
On at least 20 separate occasions this year, the Israeli government turned to the U.N. concerning Palestinian rocket attacks, in identical letters sent to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council.
Israel urged the United Nations to act, and, at a minimum, to speak out and condemn the attacks.
“Inaction today could help ignite an escalation of conflict tomorrow,” Israel warned, while exercising astonishing measures of restraint that no country facing a similar onslaught of rockets has ever shown. Yet we are unaware of any U.N. action taken in response.
The letters constitute an important legal record that refute myths propagated by U.N. figures like Judge Richard Goldstone, author of the notorious 2009 report (which he later retracted) that excoriated Israel and exonerated Hamas. From an interview that year:
Israel TV’s Yaacov Ahimeir: “Maybe this is one reason why the Israeli government decided not to cooperate with your commission: your commission, Mr. Goldstone, was established only after the Israeli military operation, which was a reprisal act, and not after seven or eight years of Palestinian shelling of innocent civilians in Israel.”
Goldstone: “… I don’t believe this was an issue, the shelling. I don’t believe [it] was really taken to the Security Council by the Israeli government. I may be wrong but that’s my impression…”
As UN Watch noted at the time, Israel has repeatedlyappealed to the Security Council — which many in the world absurdly imagine to be in Israel’s pocket — yet to no avail. Indeed, here is a massive list of Israeli letters, from 2000 to 2008, completely ignored by the UN.
Ambassador
Permanent Representative