By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, July 22 -- The Middle East debate in the UN Security Council on July 22 ran until 6:30 pm, ending with Israel's representative snarking that Saudi Arabia and Iran are engaged in a proxy war in Syria but are very close here in the UN.
But the elephant in the room, or in the Security Council chamber, was the draft resolution of Jordan and the Arab Group. Inner City Press published a draft of the draft last week, and has repeatedly been told it is about to be circulated. But several speakers on July 22 asked, where is it?
Once the Security Council's 15 members were finished, more than forty other countries spoke. A sampling of a half-dozen:
Pakistan's Permanent Representative Masood Khan said that the collective punishment of the people of Gaza is being broadcast, live: the collective punishment will be televised, to paraphrase Gil Scott Heron's “the revolution will not be televised.”
Brazil's Permanent Representative Antonio Patriota noted that the Security Council cites protection of civilians in other contexts -- Libya came to mind -- so why not in Gaza?
Nicaragua's Permanent Representative, among others, called for Palestine's admission into the UN as a full member, not only as “Observer” state.
South Africa's Deputy Permanent Representative Mashabane quoted Nelson Mandela: “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
New Zealand's Permanent Representative gave a speech that sounded more in the mainstream of UN member states' views than, say, Australia. In the upcoming election for Security Council seats, New Zealand is seeking the Western European and Other Group seat that its fellow CANZ member Australia is vacating.
The other CANZ-er, Canada, called for the UN to investigate if UNRWA gave rockets found in one of its schools back to Hamas. The question was put earlier in the day to US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf, who said the US is looking into it, don't jump to conclusions.
The session ended with Israel snarking, on mass death penalty grounds, at Egypt - which struck some as strange. But this is the UN. Watch this site.
