International newspapers and websites highlighted the United Nations General Assembly’s overwhelming majority vote in favor of Palestine’s bid to obtain full membership, and the issue of Israel’s use of American weapons in violation of international humanitarian law.
A report by The Guardian newspaper said that the UN General Assembly’s overwhelming majority vote in favor of the Palestinians constitutes “a sign of Israel’s increasing isolation in the international arena.”
The report added, “The result of the vote represents a clear expression of global public opinion’s support for the establishment of a Palestinian state, driven by the continued bloodshed and widespread famine in Gaza as a result of the Israeli war.”
For its part, Haaretz newspaper saw that the UN General Assembly vote, “even if it was a symbolic step, is in the eyes of Israeli officials a worrying indicator from a diplomatic standpoint, even with the realization that the United States will not allow full membership for the Palestinians.”
The Israelis’ concern – according to the newspaper – comes from the intention of many European countries to officially recognize the Palestinian state in the coming weeks.
Duality of standards
On another issue, former American officials told the Washington Post that the US administration moved slowly with Israel regarding the implementation of laws and policies that prevent the use of American weapons in violation of international humanitarian law.
The newspaper quoted experts as saying, “The United States has always been selective in the ways it applies international law, and it is likely that many violations were carried out with American weapons.”
According to an article published in Foreign Policy magazine by a researcher from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington “is tarnishing its reputation and the reputation of the rules-based order to which it claims to be committed by denying Israel’s violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza.”
As for “Le Monde” newspaper, it focused in its report on the movements of Israeli forces in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and its surrounding areas, noting that “one of the results of the new situation is the cessation of aid from the Rafah crossing, and this poses a threat to the conduct of relief operations and the management of available resources.”