Support for Israel should not get in way of belief in fundamental rights of people
After decades of oppression and conflict, the Palestinians were finally granted the recognition they’ve been long struggling for. Last Thursday, nearly 140 member countries of the United Nations voted in support of recognizing Palestinian territories as a non-member observer state in the U.N. Of the 193, 41 member countries abstained from voting, and only nine countries voted against the recognition of Palestine. The U.S., not surprisingly, was one of them. For the Palestinians and anyone who has any concept of equal rights among human beings, the move was a huge benchmark of success.
The vote to recognize Palestine as a state is largely a symbolic move. As an observer state, they still don’t have enough power to negotiate their way to peace. They do, however, have the power now to partake in U.N. agencies, such as the International Criminal Court and the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty which gives them the right to sue Israel for war crimes. The long-run implications of the vote on Palestine are still uncertain, but they are a few steps closer from where they stood before.
The opposition of the U.S. toward Palestine’s move to independence, however, is baffling. On Thursday, the U.S. and Israel criticized the U.N. vote for being a “unilateral” move, a move that benefits only one group of people. After witnessing the Palestinians suffer through decades of oppression and warfare, it’s absurd that the U.S. would even dare suggest that there is anything wrong with exclusively giving Palestinians back a small amount of the dignity and freedom they have been stripped of for years. With only nine opposition votes, it’s clear that the rest of the world, whether they support Palestine or Israel, believes that Palestinians should at the very least receive recognition for being a nation of people who deserve fundamental rights, as any other state does. The U.S., as a country that so frequently touts ideas of human rights and world peace, would do well to relinquish some of its pride and realize that despite the desires of the U.S. to continue supporting Israel out of habit, Palestinians are people, too.
Right now, the U.S. is threatening to remove its financial support for Palestine if it uses its newly acquired U.N. status against Israel , a vengeful and immature threat. Doing so would only serve to gain the U.S. more enemies and make our country look bitter. Recognizing Palestine while still supporting Israel are not two mutually exclusive capabilities.
Though Palestine’s future remains unclear, the supportive member countries of the U.N. should take it upon themselves to ensure that Palestinians can still receive the aid and support it needs and work toward including Palestine in decision-making processes. Hopefully some day in the future, Palestine will be able to have a say in the fate of its own people.