Surprisingly “the world” seems to believe that Israel’s retaliation to months of Hamas missile barrages is disproportionate…
French President Nicolas Sarkozy accused Israel of using disproportionate violence in its attacks on the Gaza Strip Saturday. The bombardment must stop immediately, Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said in Paris. Sarkozy also condemned the launching of rockets by Palestinian militants on Israel from the Gaza Strip and called for an end to the “unjustifiable provocation” that had led to the current situation.
… and is insisting that attacks must be halted immediately:
In a statement released Saturday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate halt to all violence in both Gaza and southern Israel. “While recognizing Israel’s security concerns regarding the continued firing of rockets from Gaza, Ban firmly reiterates Israel’s obligation to uphold international humanitarian and human rights law and condemns excessive use of force leading to the killing and injuring of civilians. He condemns the ongoing rocket attacks by Palestinian militants and is deeply distressed that repeated calls on Hamas for these attacks to end have gone unheeded,” the statement continued.
You know what would have been a good time to “condemn the launching of rockets by Palestinian militants” and to “recognize Israel’s security concerns”? Any time before Israel was forced to retaliate by dozens of rocket barrages and Hamas’s boastful warmongering. Because – if those really are genuine concerns – they’ve seemed rather muted during the last few months. Maybe UN officials were too busy relaxing – although they seem to have had plenty of time for condemning Israel and blocking Israeli envoys from speaking.
Whatever. It’s nothing compared to what the media is ramping up to do. The sound you hear is the whirr of thousands of copies of Photoshop being booted up.
UPDATE: Opps. Apparently the UN had found the time to condemn Palestinian rocket fire in the last few weeks… for misfiring and hitting Palestinians. Apologies for the error.
References:
* World Reacts to Israeli Strikes in Gaza [DW]
* UN demands ‘immediate’ halt to attacks [JPost]
* Hamas Leaders Spent Last Month Bragging About War, Mocking Israeli Restraint [MR]
* Ban Ki-Moon’s Marie-Antoinette Moment [PJM]
* UN Open For Anti-Semitism On Yom Kippur, Closed For Business On Ramadan [MR]
* UN General Assembly chief tries to block Israeli envoy’s address [Ha'aretz]
* Israeli Gaza Strikes Called ‘Holocaust’ By Hamas [Gateway Pundit]
* Lessons learned: Israel’s PR blitz [Yourish]
Previously:
* Iran: No Seriously, We’re Not Going To Talk To Obama Unless He Capitulates First
* Hamas: As A Reminder, We’re Not Renewing The Ceasefire We’ve Been Breaking On A Daily Basis
* The UN Says Stuff
