WHERE9S THE UNITED NATIONS? As the situation in the Middle East deteriorates, the United Nations is conspicuous by its absence. Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Somalia, Afghanistan and East Timor are a few of the world9s trouble spots where United Nations troops have been deployed in the past decade. The conflict between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli State has been allowed to drag on without United Nations intervention because of the United States intransigence in the United Nations. Any permanent member of the United Nations Security Council can veto any resolution put before the United Nations. Time and time again, the United States has vetoed requests by the world body to have United Nations observers placed between Israeli and Palestinian forces. The Palestinian Authority has time and time again called for United Nations observers to be placed on the ground in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli State9s refusal to recognise the Palestinian State has allowed them to ignore any requests for intervention, as they say that the problem is an internal problem not a problem between two states, so according to their logic, the United Nations has no mandate to intervene. The current cycle of violence cannot be resolved by either side or the United States. It9s a problem that potentially effects the whole world because Israel has a nuclear capacity that it will use, if it believes its existence is threatened. United Nations intervention would act as a brake on both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. Israel9s current policy vacuum is isolating not just the Israeli State but Israeli citizens from the rest of the world. History tells us that no State can survive in isolation. As the pressure in the Middle East rises, its possible that even Israel9s staunchest ally, the United States, may abandon them to their fate, to protect their access to Middle East oil supplies. Israel9s continued survival depends on the establishment of a Palestinian State and establishment of economic and social links between itself and its neighbours. The policy being pursued by the Sharon government is a policy that if pursued to its logical conclusion, will lead not only to the destruction of the emerging Palestinian State but Israel itself. That9s why it9s important that these elements in Israel who are struggling against the Palestinian occupation and who refuse to support the war effort are supported by all of us. Joseph Toscano / Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society
