Will Israel get away with its policy?

The low-key US reaction to the condemnation of Israel this week by a UN-backed commission for its bloody assault on the besieged Gaza Strip is appalling.

Home to 1.7 million Palestinians, last year 2,251 Palestinians were killed in Gaza; of these, 1,462 were civilians, of whom 299 were women and 551 children.

Israeli losses were six civilians and 67 soldiers.

The 217-page report, issued by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry and submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, found that both Israel and Palestinian fighter groups, primarily Hamas, were responsible for violations of international law that could amount to war crimes.

But both Israel and Hamas refused to cooperate with the commission, and Hamas is reportedly planning to submit its version of the 51-day war later this week.

The Israeli launching of the war was triggered by several events in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, primarily the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli youngsters and the subsequent burning to death of a Palestinian teenager by Israeli extremists.

There was huge Israeli firepower during this aggression, compared to two earlier Gaza wars, amounting to “more than 6,000 air strikes … and approximately 50,000 tank and artillery shells fired”.

In contrast, the UN commission reported that the Palestinian fighters fired 4,881 rockets and 1,753 mortars towards Israel.

Whether this conflict will lead to an Israeli trial is doubtful in the view of an Israeli analyst who writes that “the UN’s Gaza report makes for good headlines and will keep UN officials busy for weeks to come, but it doesn’t provide any evidence that will help get Israelis in the dock in The Hague”, at the International Criminal Court, as the Palestinians are hoping.

It is too early to tell whether the US administration will totally support the Palestinians in their position; there was a recent public hint from President Barack Obama that they can approach the United Nations on this issue.

Judging from this week’s mute reaction to the just released UN report, US support is not very encouraging, if not disappointing.

For a start, the American media have been low-keyed about the UN report, which did not merit front-page attention in the country’s two leading newspapers, The Washington Post and The New York Times.

However, the Times editorial last Tuesday had a powerful last paragraph: “… Israel has a duty, and should have the desire, to adjust its military policies to avoid civilian casualties and hold those who have failed to do so accountable. Absent some kind of peace agreement with the Palestinians, another war in Gaza seems inevitable.”

American politicians are not willing to crack the whip against Israel for its extremist and uncompromising policies, especially given the upcoming presidential election.

New Jersey’s Republican Governor Chris Christie had to apologise publicly for having used a correct term at an event hosted by pro-Israel Republican billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

He reportedly used the term “occupied territories” in a reference to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and then said he misspoke.

He asserted that “he is an unwavering friend and committed supporter of Israel and was sorry for any confusion that came across as a result of the misstatement”.

This “apology” preceded an announcement by the Episcopal Committee for Justice in Israel and Palestine that focused on the upcoming 78th General Convention of the Church in Salt Lake City “to open and produce discussion of the resolutions calling for use of economic leverage to advance a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land”.

The event will mainly focus on the committee’s proposed resolution “calling for boycott and divestment from companies that profit from Israel’s nearly half-century occupation of Palestinian lands and denial of Palestinian freedom”.

The announcement said: “As Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu wrote in a letter of support for the committee’s resolution, we act in order to bear witness to the use of Christ’s justice to free the oppressed and by so doing to liberate the oppressor so that these two peoples can finally be reconciled and live together in dignity, security and peace.”

This event follows a fire started earlier this month by Israeli Jewish extremists that damaged the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes alongside the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, where Christians believe Jesus performed the bread and fish miracle.

The Israeli police are now investigating the event, reported The Washington Post.

A police spokesman said the arson attack resembled previous acts of vandalism by Jewish extremists who target monasteries, churches, mosques and cemeteries.

It added that “Israel has debated whether to label the hate crimes as terrorism”.

The Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land said in a statement: “We consider this to be a serious hate crime. It comes at a time when many hate crimes are taking place against holy sites, and we are wondering where the government and the security services [are].”

The writer is a Washington-based columnist.