US proposes to UN 'Israel's' right to 'self-defense'
4 Min Read
The US calls on Iran to halt the alleged arms supply to the Palestinian Resistance while it fuels the Israeli occupation with arms packages amid the ongoing aggression on Gaza.
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The UN Security Council votes at United Nations Headquarters in New York. (AFP)
A draft UN Security Council resolution has been proposed by the US, claiming that "Israel" has the right to "self-defense", and demanding Iran stop exporting arms to "militias and terrorist groups threatening peace and security across the region."
Viewed by Reuters, the draft text urges for civilian protection while asking states to comply with international law and calls for the "continuous, sufficient, and unhindered" delivery of aid to Gaza.
For a resolution to pass, it requires at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the US, France, or the UK.
This follows as a possible counter-proposal after the US vetoed a Brazilian draft on Wednesday that urged humanitarian pauses between the parties to allow aid access to Gaza.
The veto was attempted to be justified by US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stating that more time was needed for diplomacy on the ground amid US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to the region.
Thomas-Greenfield expressed that the US was disappointed that Brazil did not mention "Israel's" right to self-defense. The US claims in its draft text that "Israel" has that right under Article 51 of the founding UN Charter.
Read more: 'Israel' is acting against international law: Borrell
Article 51 articulates the individual or collective right of states to self-defense against an armed attack that must immediately inform the 15-member Security Council of any action.
On October 7, when Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was launched, "Israel" told the UNSC it would "act in any way necessary to protect its citizens and sovereignty from the ongoing terrorist attacks originating from the Gaza Strip."
The boy who cried wolf
The US draft text does not urge for any ceasefire or pause, as it calls to stop "violence in Gaza from spilling over or expanding to other areas in the region, including by demanding the immediate cessation by Hezbollah and other armed groups of all attacks."
The draft resolution additionally demands Iran stop allegedly exporting arms to groups like the Palestinian Resistance group Hamas.
This raises a question, however: How come it is okay for Iran to stop its alleged arms export to the Palestinian Resistance, but the US, UK, and Germany prioritize sending weapons to "Israel" mainly used to murder children in cold blood?
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, said the Palestinian people have "sufficient determination and self-ability to reclaim their right, as they have proven."
In turn, the Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement that "The decisions made by the Palestinian Resistance are fiercely autonomous and unwaveringly aligned with the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people. We emphatically stand in unflinching support of Palestine; however, we are not involved in Palestine's response, as it is taken solely by Palestine itself."
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On Monday, Jordan's UN Ambassador Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud told the UNSC, citing a 2004 opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on an Israeli-built separation barrier around the West Bank, that "the Gaza Strip is an occupied territory," adding: "We recall the advisory opinion of the ICJ ... according to which Israel does not have the right to defend itself within occupied Palestinian territory".
It also ruled that "Consequently, the Court concludes that Article 51 of the Charter has no relevance in this case," and "Israel" rejected the ruling.
