Research Papers / Reserach on The Role The United States Has In The Palestinian Genocide [3]

Diego Zagaste

The Role The United States Has In The Palestinian Genocide

The United States and Israel have had an intimate relationship for many years. It's a codependent and dysfunctional relationship that's been going steady since Israel's first establishment as a country in 1948. As confirmed by the words of Middle Eastern Affairs Specialist Jim Zanotti "Since Israel's founding in 1948, successive U.S. Presidents and many Members of Congress have demonstrated a commitment to Israel's security and to maintaining close U.S.-Israel cooperation. Common perceptions of shared democratic values and religious affinities have contributed to the strong bilateral ties" (Zanotti).
The US once benefited from having this relationship through trade and resources but now the dynamic has shifted to war mongering. The US funds the military in Israel and profits off of the death of Palestinians. The money the us is sending to Israel is used to create an endless supply of weapons and soldiers that are killing off the palestinian people in a genocide. The Israeli defense force has had a history of predatory behavior and since the escalation of the crisis in Palestine it has left them at a clear disadvantage. Because of the atrocities and violations of the Geneva Convention Israel is responsible for, the US must end its 'special' relationship with Israel. The United States has had a detrimental relationship with Israel and should stop funding a genocide and start aiding the humanitarian crisis in Palestine. The aid and money the US is investing in a war they have no business being a part of should be going to real aid rather than machinery and weapons.
The conflict began over disputes in territory. Palestinian and Israel borders were argued over then came mistreatment and discrimination. "As a scholar, I cannot overlook the flaws in Amnesty's report, but they should not distract us from acknowledging the truths it contains. Its indictment of Israel's treatment of Palestinians since the state's founding in 1948 until today is based on an extensive, detailed, and well-documented catalogue of charges, including seizure of land, appropriation of property, denial of civil rights and freedoms, restrictions on movement, and other human rights violations. These specific charges are incontestable. Israel has appropriated Palestinian land and properties (and is still doing so), it does restrict Palestinian freedom of movement, it has imprisoned tens of thousands of Palestinians (sometimes without trial), it has tortured Palestinian detainees, and it has kept millions of Palestinians as stateless subjects without civil rights under a military occupation that has continued for more than five decades" (Waxman). This may have been a predictable outcome as the establishment of Israel was rooted in colonialism and historically speaking these oppressive establishments have inflicted violence and always result in devastation and genocide. The genocide that the US took part in with the systematic killings of the native and indigenous populations as well as erasure of culture and langauge, is another great example of a colonialism and genocide. Another examples of this is the genocide in South Africa. The apartheid there led to years of racial tension and generational trauma. "For many people, the term 'apartheid' immediately brings to mind the segregation, discrimination, and repression of black South Africans during the decades of white minority rule there. In fact, the word itself means 'apartness' in Afrikaans, and it was first used by the ruling party in South Africa in 1948 to describe the racial laws and regulations it imposed, purportedly to preserve the purity and primacy of the country's white population" (Waxman). The crisis in Palestine falls into the category of apartheid by Waxman's own understanding of the word. Yet he debates if the crisis could be considered as such this could be a result of the way news and information on the crisis is spread.
The Israeli defense force known as the IDF has had a recorded history of abusing it's power and now armed with financial and weaponry support through the US it's clear the advantage Israel has in this unjust war. Israeli police escalated the crisis when they began their cycles of abuse of power and mistreatment of the palestinian people. The difficult situation only got harder as conflict arose in the borders of the holy site. "Tensions are high as clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians around Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site continue. There has been near daily violence on the site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary" (Lieber; Goodman).
The topic itself is difficult to talk about because of the moral complexities of the two territories. The religious fanatics on the three major religions at the core of the conflict has also complicated the matter further. The history of the Jewish population and their experience with genocide bring reason for delicate treatment around the subject but often leads to ignorant hateful rhetoric on muslim and Jewish matters. It's hard to have conversations on the topic without heated debates, when often the discussion results in either islamophobia or antisemitism. Although Zionism is a regime set to establish the jewish state in Palestine the opposition of the movement should by no means be an excuse for others to be anti-semitic. The resistance organization named Hamas originally began as a means to fight the oppressive regime of the Zionist rule but only instigated the matter further. The radical organization of muslim origin has consequently fostered hate and have given the ignorant and uninformed an excuse to verbalize their islamophobia.
Islamophobia is encouraged heavily in US media, tv shows, movies and even songs are written to depict muslim, brown and black people as 'terrorist' the enemy essentially. This is most likely why the coverage on the matter is heavily biased or often one sided. The United state's number one expense is propaganda. Colonialism and white supremacy are responsible for the erasure of intricate parts of the conflict and perhaps the major reason for the minimal coverage.
The unfilter coverage we get from journalists and civilians living through the conflict paint an entirely different picture of the crisis than the whitewashed coverage we see in local news outlets. Heart breaking caption from journalist and activist Bisan Owda who has been living through the crisis and has spent time in an encampment, on her image of a death queue shows how much local media is refusing to report. "I don't know if this post is to ask for your solidarity.. We tried it, and nothing stopped Israel's thirst for the blood of my people, or it was not enough for that! But this is to show how horrific our world is, and how alone my people are in the face of the monster. 'I once heard a story that I did not like, about a village where everyone was vile and despicable, so they threw the only man in the village who had noble morals off the mountain. They killed him because he reminded them of their ugliness.' This is what is happening with the Palestinians today, unfortunately. The queue you see now in this photo taken an hour ago in Jabalia / North Gaza is the death queue. The Israeli terrorist army separates the females from the males (men and male children sometimes)... They order the women to leave and take the men to a far place, with their hands tied and blindfolded and they are often placed in a deep hole.. and we all know what happens later. Either they bury them alive, as happened in the north and Khan Yunis during the first ground invasion, or they execute them on the ground, or they take them hostage, as happened to 10,000 who subsequently suffered torture, murder, organ theft, and rape. What do you think? What is the most likely scenario? I feel disgusted with all human ideals and values. The Zionist colonizers in 2024 are doing this before your eyes. What oppression and pain, these men survived and protected their families from all kinds of death over the course of a year and until the last moment, and they refused to leave their homes, and now they are being annihilated in this way. They are depopulating northern Gaza by killing the entire population" (Owda).
Similarly to the US killing of the buffalo, a main food source of the native communities at the time, Israel has cut off food supplies to palestine. Perhaps these vicious similarities are why the US is so reluctant to sever its ties to palestine. The blockades Israel keeps instating are violations of humanitarian rights and Geneva convention. "According to the Laws of Occupation, an occupying power cannot use deadly force within the territory it occupies, but instead only the force available during law enforcement operations. Erasure of this distinction would change the law and dramatically expand the legitimate use of military force. In the case of occupation, it justifies the declaration of war by an occupying power against the civilians it occupies making them doubly vulnerable to warfare" (Erakat). The prevention of aid is deadly force, the destruction of food during starvation is deadly force, on multiple occasions Israel has violated geneva code and against the wishes of the United Nations the US continues to fund israel. There is no excuse or debate on morality when it comes to the crimes committed by Israel during the crisis. Rape torture degradation and humiliation of innocent palestinians none that is fair defense or an adequate response to the threat Hamas imposes. The systematic killing and removal of the palestinian people is ethnic cleansing.
How much funding is going into this genocide is the us providing? Roughly $310 billion (Masters; Merrow) this fiscal year. As a country facing food insecurity and a humanitarian crisis of its own is it a justifiable expense? The United States has roughly 47 million starving Americans (Feeding America) every year funds should be allocated there, not weapons and soldiers. The homeless population in the US is devastating, many of which are veterans in these nonsensical wars the US keeps funding. "In 2016, the U.S. and Israeli governments signed their third 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on military aid, covering FY2019 to FY2028. Under the terms of the MOU, the United States pledged to provide-subject to congressional appropriation-$38 billion in military aid ($33 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grants plus $5 billion in missile defense appropriations) to Israel" (Sharp). The funding in military equipment, training, and soldiers is astronomical and should come to a stop. The ridiculous quantities of money going into weapons of mass destruction alone should be reason enough to bring Israel and the us' relationship to an end. Funding must stop immediately. "For FY2023, Congress authorized $520 million for joint U.S.-Israel defense programs (including $500 million for missile defense) in the FY2023 James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act. Per the terms of the MOU, Congress appropriated $3.8 billion for Israel (FMF and missile defense) in the FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, and added $98.58 million in funding for other cooperative defense and nondefense programs" (Sharp). How much more money will the us spend on this genocide. It does not make sense for the US to keep funding Israel's economy while undergoing so many dire situations of its own. The US only motivation in continuing its ties with Israel is for the position and advantage the territory would have in militaristic times of crisis should the US go to war in neighboring middle eastern countries. "U.S. foreign aid has been a major component in cementing and reinforcing these ties. U.S. officials and many lawmakers have long considered Israel to be a vital partner in the region, and U.S. aid packages for Israel have reflected this calculation. Some U.S. citizens have worked to cultivate U.S. support for Israel since its creation in 1948, and since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, advocates for Israel have engaged in organized, broad-based domestic efforts to foster bipartisan support in Congress for the bilateral relationship,including for U.S. aid to Israel" (Sharp).
Being Israel's number one sponsor and motivator the US is responsible for the many palestinian lives lost and displaced. The US must be held accountable as it has blood on its hands and is the only hold in a de escalation experts share similar views. "Everyone knows what needs to be done about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and creation of a cooling-off period. Just as Presidents Eisenhower and Reagan once demanded that Israel withdraw from the occupation of Suez and Lebanon, respectively, the US president must put on real pressure"(Utley). The US also holds an important position, one of the five permanent members of the UN security council. "In 1947 the United States Mission was created by an act of Congress to assist the President and the Department of State in conducting United States policy at the United Nations. Since that time, USUN has served a vital role as the Department of State's UN branch. Today, USUN has approximately 150 people on staff who serve to represent the United States' political, economic and social, legal, military, public diplomacy and management interests at the United Nations" (United States MIssion to the UNited Nations). Because of this and many other positions the US holds, the US must play its crucial part in ending its ties to Israel and start aiding the palestinian people.
The long term repercussions of continuing to fund Israel will continue to devastate the lives of the palestinian people. The bombings in Gaza show a clear picture of what this war will lead to. The mass casualties and devastation of all parties involved is inevitable. Current conditions in Gaza are critical because of the bombing; thousands have lost their homes. Life saving medical procedures are being done without anesthesia, proper tools, medication or a sterile environment. The current living conditions of Palestinians still in Palestine are catastrophic. People are suffering from starvation and living in tents and life is no better for those who fled the conflict, refugees face racial discrimination, bigotry and islamophobia. Israel is responsible for the displacement of Palestinians since its initial establishment in 1948 and as the years go on the number of those killed and forcibly removed continues to grow in quantity. By association this is also the fault of the US.
In the long run all cultural ties will be severed and the generational trauma will continue to hurt the Palestinian people. What genocide does is rip the people from their land and the land of its resources in the process. We know how the seizure of land in the americas continues to afflict the indigenous populations in the US languages are lost numbers in the population dwindle and communities face food insecurity, poverty and systematic oppression to this day. This is the possible future of Palestine as well as the current experience for other countries affected by colonialism like the romani and people of South Africa.
Currently the most that individuals can do is crowdfunding for those who need to escape the conflict and those who are directly affected by it. Spreading awareness for broader exposure on the state of the situation can help. Calling local representatives and urging the US government to take action is a good short term solution.
Long term solution to end the crisis in Palestine is an immediate stop in funds to israel. The US must also urge Israel to remove the IDF in palestine. And the immediate aid in medical supplies and food to Palestine as well as the US coming together with the UN to bring refuge to the displaced Palestinians and aid in rebuilding the wreckage caused by the war. Israel and the US must take accountability for their action against Palestine and the US must take its accountability in the role it has played in the crisis. As Jon so elegantly states "Everyone knows what needs to be done about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and creation of a cooling-off period. Just as Presidents Eisenhower and Reagan once demanded that Israel withdraw from the occupation of Suez and Lebanon, respectively, the US president must put on real pressure" (Utley).
Because the United States has had a detrimental relationship with Israel it must its aid as that money and military aid is funding a genocide. The best thing for the US to do moving forward is start aiding the humanitarian crisis in Palestine as well as open its doors for refugees running from the ethnic cleansing. In conclusion because of the economical factors, the war crimes Israel is guilty of, and the moral implication of continuing to fund this genocide Israel and the US need to severe ties and the US needs to play the important role it owes the UN to play.

Work Cited