TODAY. Biden in a bind – powerless to stop the genocide, but keen to fund it and promote it.
IF THE UNITED STATES REALLY WANTED TO END THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA – it could do this straight away - by simply ending the military funding to Israel.
“We’re the United States of America for God’s sake, the most powerful nation… in the history of the world,” Biden told CBS News.
And Biden said- ” I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life“
SO -AMERICA IS NOT POWERFUL. Because quite clearly Biden cannot do anything in the least effective to stop the suffering of the people of Gaza.
However – Biden’s very feeble crocodile tears are a bit hard to believe ! “we will continue working to protect civilians, consistent with obligations under international humanitarian law.”
THE PROBLEM IS: We are expected to believe that Biden’s USA is so powerful - in the face of its obvious weakness to do anything !
Of course, the answer to this conundrum is so simple: Biden is insincere and a hypocrite.
Biden is 100% behind the Israel genocide of Palestinians. Here’s what he says about the Israel hostages held in Gaza “I will never forget the grief and the suffering”
And then there’s Biden’s comment on the Gaza death toll (which has now passed 24,000)-“I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war. … I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using.”
And there’s Joe Biden meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet during his visit to Israel, - “I don’t believe you have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and I am a Zionist.” He made it clear that he stands with Israel and will commit U.S. military aid to protect it from future attacks. Citing “the urgency of Israel’s defensive needs,” the Biden administration on 29/12/23 said it would bypass Congress for the second time this month to approve an immediate arms sale to Israel.
Biden showcased his unflinching support for Israel’s war aims in his address 0n 12 December 23 - He likened Hamas to “animals” and vowed that he would not “walk away from providing Israel what they need to defend themselves and to finish the job against Hamas.”
Don’t expect anything meaningful or truthful to come out of the mouths of Joe Biden and his coterie of mealy-mouthed well-paid sycophants – Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Victoria Nuland, Lloyd Austin Karine Jean-Pierre etc
South Africa has made its genocide case against Israel in court. Here’s what both sides said and what happens next
Paul Taucher, Lecturer in History, Murdoch University, Dean Aszkielowicz, Senior Lecturer in History and Politics, Murdoch University, January 16, 2024 https://theconversation.com/south-africa-has-made-its-genocide-case-against-israel-in-court-heres-what-both-sides-said-and-what-happens-next-221017
Following the October 7 attack by Hamas, Israeli forces have carried out sustained attacks on the Palestinian controlled territory, dividing the international community.
Last week, the South African government presented a case to the International Court of Justice. They argued the Israeli government’s attack on Gaza, and especially the actions of its forces within Gaza since early October, could amount to genocide.
Few cases that have gone before the court are as explosive and potentially significant as this one.
Here’s how the hearings unfolded and what happens now.
Defining genocide
The crime of genocide is covered in the 1948 United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
It is defined as acts committed with intent to destroy, either in part or in whole, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, including:
- killing members of the group
- causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
- deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about a groups physical destruction, in whole or in part
- imposing measures to prevent births
- forcibly transferring children.
The Genocide Convention is designed to not only prosecute individuals and governments who committed genocide, but to prevent it from occurring.
Therefore, the Convention states that while genocidal acts are punishable, so too are attempts and incitement to commit genocide, regardless of whether they are successful or not.
The South African case
The South African government argued that Israeli forces had killed 23,210 Palestinians. Approximately 70% were believed to be women and children.
Crucially for the court, South Africa argued Israeli forces were often aware that the bombings would cause significant civilian casualties. It said many of the Palestinians were killed in Israeli declared safe zones, mosques, hospitals, schools and refugee camps.
Beyond the death toll, South Africa argued that there were 60,000 wounded and maimed Palestinians. The separation of families through arrest and displacement has caused large scale and likely enduring harm to civilians. South Africa highlighted the displacement of 85% of Palestinians, particularly the October 13 evacuation order which displaced over one million people in 24 hours.
The South African government also alleged the Israeli attacks and the actions of its forces were preventing the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people being met. It particularly emphasised the Israeli decision to cut off water supply to Gaza. The distribution of food, medicine and fuel were also hampered. Israeli attacks on hospitals were also highlighted.
South Africa alleged the denial of adequate humanitarian assistance, especially medical supplies and care, amounts to the imposing of measures to prevent births.
Finally, South Africa focused on speeches by Israeli political leaders and soldiers advocating for the erasure of Gaza. This included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reference to the biblical destruction of enemies of ancient Israel and military commanders’ reference to Palestinians as “human animals” that need to be eliminated. These were used as evidence of incitement to genocide.
If the International Court of Justice doesn’t find that Israel is committing genocidal acts, South Africa has argued the Israeli forces have demonstrated an intent to commit genocide, and that there should be an interim order made to stop it.
The Israeli response
The Israeli government rejects all of the allegations by South Africa. Israel presented its arguments on January 12.
Israel’s overall argument is that the attacks on Gaza have been directed at Hamas soldiers. It says the civilian casualties have been an unfortunate consequence of carrying out military operations in an urban environment. Accordingly, the deaths, injuries and damage are not genocidal in nature, but instead, are incidental to military action.
Israel has presented evidence that it is delivering food, water, medical supplies and fuel to Gaza, demonstrating the opposite of genocidal intent. The Israeli Defence Force also runs a Civilian Harm Mitigation Unit.
These actions, according to Israel, are “concrete measures aimed specifically at recognising the rights of the Palestinian civilians in Gaza to exist”.
Finally, Israel has argued that the quotes South Africa have argued display incitement to commit genocide have been taken out of context. According to Israel, the court has no grounds to find that there are acts of genocide taking place, or that there is genocidal intent.
At this point, the court will not decide whether Israel has committed genocide or not. Determining that will likely take several years. Instead, the court will decide whether the allegations are at the least plausible, and if so, likely order that Israel and Palestine reach an interim ceasefire, and for Israeli forces to take all necessary steps to prevent genocide.
How significant is it?
If the court rules in favour of South Africa, a major world power – supported by the US and much of the Western world – will have been found to have committed what has, historically, been the most notorious of crimes.
That said, the prospect of any ruling by the International Court of Justice having a meaningful impact on the conflict in Gaza is remote.
The UN and its legal institutions are powered solely by a belief the international community is respectful of international institutions and international law. The problem is when a powerful country does not believe a ruling by a United Nations body applies to them, little can be done to enforce it.
Analysis: World will add enough renewables in five years to power US and Canada
A boom in Chinese solar power construction drove another record-breaking
year of renewables growth in 2023, according to the International Energy
Agency (IEA).
Carbon Brief analysis of figures in the IEA’s Renewables
2023 report show that the world is now on track to build enough solar, wind
and other renewables over the next five years to power the equivalent of
the US and Canada. Rapid growth has also pushed the IEA to once again
significantly upgrade its renewables forecast, adding an extra 728
gigawatts (GW) of capacity to a five-year estimate it made just a year ago.
This is more than the electricity capacity of Germany and India combined.
The agency attributes this growth to plummeting costs of solar power and
favourable policy regimes, particularly in China. New solar and onshore
wind now provide cheaper electricity than new fossil fuel power plants
almost everywhere, it says, as well as being cheaper than most existing
fossil fuel assets.
Carbon Brief 12th Jan 2024
State of the Climate: 2023 smashes records for surface temperature and ocean heat
Last year was the warmest since records began in the mid-1800s – and
likely for many thousands of years before. It was the first year in which
average global temperatures at the surface exceeded 1.5C above
pre-industrial levels in at least one global temperature dataset. Here,
Carbon Brief examines the latest data across the oceans, atmosphere,
cryosphere and surface temperature of the planet.
Carbon Brief 12th Jan 2024
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of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
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