Attacks on U.N. Forces: Israel Has Made An Enemy of The World

Editorial

15:38 JST, October 18, 2024

Israel, which has been spreading warfare in the Middle East, has now attacked U.N. peacekeeping forces. This is an outrageous act that makes an enemy of the international community and cannot be tolerated at all.

The Israeli military used its tanks to force entry into a position of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is responsible for peacekeeping in southern Lebanon, and launched such attacks as firing at the facilities. Five personnel from Indonesia and Sri Lanka have been injured.

The attacks on UNIFIL, which is operating based on a U.N. Security Council resolution, are clear violations of international humanitarian law. It is quite natural that 40 countries, including Italy, which contribute personnel to UNIFIL, issued a joint statement condemning the attacks, and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya expressed concern.

Israel continues to fight Hezbollah, a Shiite group based in southern Lebanon, and claims that it had warned UNIFIL in advance. That cannot be used to justify the attacks on U.N. forces.

Israel appears to be becoming increasingly hostile toward the United Nations. It unilaterally decided that U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres had not criticized Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on Israel and banned him from entering the country.

Israel has also called for the dismantling of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which operates in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. This may be because Israel considers UNRWA to be under the influence of the Islamist group Hamas, which is hostile toward Israel.

Israel bombed an UNRWA school that had been designated as a polio vaccination site in Gaza the night before vaccinations were to begin, killing more than 20 people, including children. This was an atrocious act.

Israel was founded after the end of World War II based on a U.N. resolution. If it continues to defy the United Nations, of which it is a member, and engage in such foolish behavior as making the United Nations the target of its military action, the country will only completely isolate itself from the international community.

The war in the Middle East, which was triggered by Hamas’ cross-border attacks in October last year, has continued to escalate only due to the fact that the United States has virtually allowed Israel to run out of control.

The U.S. administration of Democratic President Joe Biden, which continues to defend Israel, is feeling a growing sense of urgency as anti-Israeli public opinion strengthens within the United States as well. It has been pointed out that this will also impact the upcoming presidential election in November.

The United States has urged Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within 30 days and suggested that Washington could suspend its military assistance if this is not achieved. The United States provided Israel with missiles for defensive use, but the time may have arrived for Washington to put into action the suspension of support regarding offensive weapons.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 18, 2024)