Australia votes for ‘permanent sovereignty’ for Palestinians at UN By Matthew Knott Australia has backed a United Nations resolution recognising Palestinians’ “permanent sovereignty” over resources in the occupied Palestinian territories in Gaza and the West Bank in a significant shift from its previous stance. The federal government broke with the United States and Israel in two UN votes on Thursday, the latest in a series of votes that have angered local pro-Israel groups in Australia. The United Nations General Assembly in September this year. Credit: Bloomberg Australia joined 155 countries to support a UN committee vote on a draft resolution recognising the “permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, including land, water and energy resources”. Seven nations – including the United States, Israel and Canada – voted no, while 11 abstained.
This vote in the U.N. is meaningless in terms of actually having any impact on the situation. It's just another feel-good vote time in the U.N. for show with no money provided, no enforcement mechanism and no meaningful actions. They might as well vote to require unicorns to shit rainbows.
United States policy at the UN UN diplomats have indicated that the United States would veto any unilateral attempt to declare a Palestinian state at the Security Council.[75] The U.S. has vetoed over forty condemnatory Security Council resolutions against Israel;[76] almost all U.S. vetoes cast since 1988 blocked resolutions against Israel, on the basis of their lack of condemnation of Palestinian terrorist groups, actions, and incitement. This policy, known as the Negroponte doctrine, has drawn both praise and criticism.[77][78] Terrorism The difficulty within the UN to find a unanimous definition of the word terrorism stems in part from the inability to reach consensus over whether Palestinian political violence is a form of resistance or terrorism. The OIC countries argue that Palestinians are fighting the foreign occupation.[66] From the UNODC web site,[67] The question of a definition of terrorism has haunted the debate among states for decades. (...) The UN Member States still has no agreed-upon definition. (...) The lack of agreement on a definition of terrorism has been a major obstacle to meaningful international countermeasures. Cynics have often commented that one state's "terrorist" is another state's "freedom fighter". WIKI
Let's see what a resident of Gaza has to say... I am a Palestinian in Gaza. Hamas must cede control and release the hostages - opinion An anonymous Palestinian described the ongoing suffering in Gaza, insisting Hamas must end it by releasing the hostages and ceding power. https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-829209
The concluding paragraph from the article: Effective intervention must come from the Palestinian leadership led by President Mahmoud Abbas, recognized as the sole representative of the Palestinian people. Hamas must cede its control, allow a ceasefire, and facilitate the release of abductees in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The leadership must bear full responsibility, working with the world and Israel to rebuild Gaza and address all issues, paving the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state living in peace and stability alongside Israel. -Anonymous I feel it is important for us to post personal stories, perhaps with a picture, of those affected by war in order to establish and maintain that seemingly often underappreciated human connection. It may be the strength of this human bond, especially if it reaches our representatives, that may prevent future wars and the avoidable human suffering that goes along with it. I had a high school friend who had a German father and a Lebanese mother. His mother worked at the US State department as a 170 WPM typist. His father served in the US Navy. While my friend's mother was pregnant with him, she became involved in a serious auto accident that led to long term post traumatic stress syndrome type symptoms in her child. The patience, level of commitment, quality of care she gave her child seems to speak even beyond motherhood to a deep, caring, and rich culture. I wish I appreciated who she was back then and learned more about her life in Lebanon and her as a person. Her care made the difference between my friend, a human being that might have otherwise been institutionalized into popular and productive member of society. Also speaks to the power of an intact family unit, often another casualty of war. So yes, readers, let's share or republish the stories of those affected by war here. For them, us, and beyond.
Kidney patients fight to survive after Israeli soldiers destroy dialysis machines For kidney patients in Gaza, the war threatens their access to life-sustaining treatment. “Now I am only treated twice a week, two hours each, and this is not sufficient to sustain my kidney,” Omda Ouda Dogomash said. “Needless to say, we are starving, cannot find clean water and are living in tents. Even the routine medications are no longer available.” Dr Saeed Khattab is a physician at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah. “The Israeli occupation forces destroyed all the dialysis machines at al-Shifa Hospital on purpose – 60 machines catering to 350 patients, including children. As a result, all the surviving patients are now being treated here at Al-Aqsa Hospital,” he told Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/