Marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had a word for the international community in general and Israel in particular. The head of the international organisation, whose resolutions about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have yet to be enforced, expressed concern about the Israeli procrastination for paying peace its dues. “Few Palestinians are optimistic that anything decisive will be achieved next year or ever. Looking at the situation on the ground, I understand their despair. Soon after direct talks on a final status began in September, they were undermined by the expiry of Israel's commendable settlement moratorium. Construction of hundreds of new units throughout the West Bank resumed and new approvals for settlements in East Jerusalem were given. This development is a serious blow to the credibility of the political process. Israel is obliged to meet its responsibilities under international law and the Roadmap and freeze settlement activity,” Ki-moon said in a statement released by the UN office in Cairo on November 29. “It is also true that few Israelis seem hopeful that peace can soon be achieved, and I am sensitive to Israel's security concerns. But I ask all Israelis to look with fresh eyes at the indisputable emergence of a reliable security partner on the ground, and the continued commitment of President Abbas to Israel's right to live in peace and security and to his rejection of violence and terrorism. I also remind everyone of the promise of the Arab Peace Initiative that a two-state solution and comprehensive Israel-Arab peace would be followed by the establishment of normal relations between Israel and all Arab States.” This paragraph reflects the weakness of the UN, which is presuambly responsible for ensuring peace and justice. The UN Chief hasn't asked Israel to show commitment to resolutions 242, 338, 1397, 1515 and 1850, requesting to end the occupation. Regarding Gaza's situation, Kimoon called upon Israel to fully implement the UN Security Council resolution 1860 and to enable civilian reconstruction, free movement of people and the export of goods, and to facilitate the swift implementation of projects. For some months now, news of Gaza have disappeared from the international media that seem busy with the cat-and-mouse game between Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, pertaining to the temporary settlement freeze in return for the resumption of direct talks. The international community seems to have bowed to Israel and stopped organising aid convoys to break the inexorable siege on Gaza after the deadly Israeli military raid on the Freedom Flotilla, and seems to find Israel's easing of the blockade sufficient. International aid agencies and human rights groups in Gaza have affirmed that the partial lift of the Israeli blockade hasn't helped much to lessen the ordeal of the Palestinian people, who continue to face severe economic hardship. The inhabitants of Gaza are still deprived of basic food and other necessities of daily life, especially the building materials desperately needed to rebuild houses, schools, hospitals and other utilities that were severely damaged or destroyed during the last Israeli war on Gaza. Even the building materials for UN reconstruction projects are only now trickling in. So far only seven per cent of what has been allowed by Israel has actually arrived. As expected, the Israeli government has dismissed the recent report, compiled by 21 different organisations about conditions in Gaza, and called it ‘distorted' and ‘misleading'. Even without Israel's comment, the international community only focuses on the Gaza tragedy when something particularly bad happens. Thus, Palestinians will continue to suffer under Israeli occupation, the longest ongoing occupation known in modern history. Whether living under the inhuman Gaza siege, or suffering from the continuing theft of their land by Jewish settlements in the West Bank, or being stopped from visiting the holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, or facing eviction from their homes in East Jerusalem, the entire Palestinian society is severely affected by the Israeli occupation. If only the international community was convinced that it's high time to end it.
