Murder in international waters

Elsa Claro

• THE Israeli government has exceeded all limits. That is nothing unusual because, whatever Zionist tendency is in power, each one has demonstrated an aggressiveness bordering on aberration.

It has placed the United States, so accustomed to pulling it out of the political fire every time it falls into an outrageous or contradictory situation, in a tight spot. That was evident at the end of the recent meeting on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the central focus of global disarmament efforts.

The previous non-proliferation meeting in 2005 was unable to reach a final resolution that would at least set the bases for future commitments. This time around, the meeting was able to get the 189 signatories to ratify a treaty committing the nuclear arms states to implement the necessary measures to set about eliminating them. They did not set any dates, that is true, but there is now a basis, where previously there were only weak feeble intentions.

Despite having between 100 and 200 nuclear warheads, Israel is not a party to the agreement but, on the contrary, demonstrated its opposition to the decision of the all the others to try and keep the Middle East free of nuclear weapons. Israel was also asked to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty and to submit to routine inspections, as is the case with all the other member countries. Its pretension to be unique is not acceptable.

But Israel snubbed the United States, placing it in a double-bind situation. The White House cannot oppose the conference demand without exposing Barack Obama to ridicule, because he has come out in favor of nuclear disarmament. The president himself, in spite of everything, issued a statement objecting to any attempt to single out Israel.

Nothing new, but a failure because, barely hours after that expression of support, the Israeli army attacked an international flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip. Deaths and injuries; arrogant official justifications; incredible accusations from Tel Aviv against the aid volunteers, calling them agents of Al Qaeda; all increased the international condemnation, on the same day that the 14th Session of the UN Human Rights Council began in Geneva.