Members of the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL keep watch on the Israeli town of Misgav Am from Aadaysit in southern Lebanon. EPA
Members of the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL keep watch on the Israeli town of Misgav Am from Aadaysit in southern Lebanon. EPA
Members of the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL keep watch on the Israeli town of Misgav Am from Aadaysit in southern Lebanon. EPA
Members of the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL keep watch on the Israeli town of Misgav Am from Aadaysit in southern Lebanon. EPA


In the Israel-Gaza war, the UN must play a bigger political role


  • English
  • Arabic

October 19, 2023

As the Israel-Gaza war and its devastating impacts intensify, threaten regional spill-over, and widen global discord, world leaders including the US President rush to the region. As news broke on Tuesday night of a hospital in Gaza being hit with a missile, killing hundreds of civilians, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “horrified”, noting that “hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law”.

Mr Guterres is right, of course, but his remarks will have many questioning what the organs responsible for promulgating international humanitarian law – chiefly the UN – can do to contain the spiral of violence, if anything. After all, the UN has itself become a target, intentionally or not, with nearly a dozen UN staff killed in an Israeli air strike last week, along with 30 pupils at UN-run schools.

So where is the UN and what is its role?

The UN has been central to the Palestine-Israel story since its own formation in 1945. Britain, exhausted by the Second World War, wanted to be rid of its Palestinian mandate and referred the issue to the UN in April 1947. Its Special Commission recommended partition into Jewish and Arab states, and the UN General Assembly duly obliged in November 1947 through Resolution 181. But it was not a universally popular verdict, with 33 member states favouring and 23 against or abstaining.

Displaced Palestinians in Gaza gathered at the UNRWA Beach Elementary school last week after evacuating their homes damaged by Israeli air strikes on October 12. Getty Images
Displaced Palestinians in Gaza gathered at the UNRWA Beach Elementary school last week after evacuating their homes damaged by Israeli air strikes on October 12. Getty Images

By today’s glacial pace of UN movement, creating and dividing a new state and its peoples in less than a year was indecent haste. That fateful decision spawned decades of strife that bedevils the UN’s Middle East role to the present day.

After the 1948 war, the UN created its first-ever mediation function. But within months the pioneering UN mediator Folke Bernadotte was assassinated by Zionists. Despite this unpropitious beginning, the persistent UN appointed Ralphe Bunche, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for securing the 1949 armistice between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.

A long line of UN envoys followed, the latest being the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. He is backed by many General Assembly and Security Council resolutions reiterating the recognition of Palestinian rights and a two-state solution. However, the UN has lacked implementation capacity. Progress such as the 1970s Camp David Accords and 1990s Oslo Accords was due to influential member states.

It is in mitigating human suffering that the UN comes into its own

But those got undone in previous cycles of Palestinian violence and Israeli repression. Unable to break through them, UN peacemaking became moribund. That is not helped today by a Security Council paralysed by geopolitics and member states polarised between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine camps. The latest Security Council resolution with the modest objective to pause fighting and give Gaza civilians a breather foundered for this reason.

Consequently, the Secretary General cannot exercise his peacemaking functions and is reduced to making general pleas to follow international humanitarian law during hostilities. That is easier said than done when Gaza is so densely populated.

Current peacemaking is not coming from the UN, but from states that carry clout with the warring parties, such as Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the US. But their differences mean the necessary compromises will take time.

But the UN could be indispensable when the war ends by legitimising any agreements, rather like the officiant at a wedding, and supervising the parties to keep their promises. It is well-practised in doing that in many places as far apart as Congo and Cambodia.

It was also in the Middle East that the UN created its first-ever peacekeeping mission in 1949 with the UN Truce Supervision Organisation.

That is still there 75 years later, along with sister missions, the UN Disengagement Observer Force created in 1974 for the Golan between Israel and Syria, and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon created in 1978 with a monitoring role on the Lebanon/Israel border.

The three missions have a biennial budget of $612 million and deploy 12,000 personnel.

With no enforcement power, they observe and go between the belligerents during numerous flare-ups. Perhaps they have put out small fires here and there. But they have not deterred any major wars while suffering abuse and aggression from all sides: 438 peacekeepers have been killed over the years.

Israeli soldiers patrol at an undisclosed position in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on Sunday. AFP
Israeli soldiers patrol at an undisclosed position in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on Sunday. AFP

Their current impotence is shown in Israel-Hezbollah clashes across the Lebanon border and Israeli bombing of Syrian airports. But closing down the missions is not on the cards because it would send perverse signals to the belligerents while removing crucial international eyes and ears on the ground.

UN peacekeepers are less popular globally, as their troubled withdrawals from the Sahel indicate. Nevertheless, could they play a useful postwar role? Possibly, because some neutral security monitoring mechanism will be useful in Gaza. But this depends on trust from all sides. That cannot be assumed.

It is axiomatic to eventual peacebuilding that justice is dispensed for wrongs done during fighting, and human rights grievances tackled.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has field presences in Israel and Palestine, including Gaza. The Human Rights Council has received numerous reports on the grave situation and passed many resolutions of condemnation and demands for redress. But with some of its own members abusing human rights and the council having no executive authority, its pronouncements have little practical value.

The International Court of Justice is the UN’s principal judicial organ, to which the General Assembly referred the question of legality of Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands in a highly divided vote in 2022. The Court is in no hurry to rule and, anyway, its judgements are only advisories, including its earlier ruling on the illegality of the walls built by Israel to contain Palestinians.

The International Criminal Court is another mechanism invoked by Palestine, which is a signatory to the Rome Statutes while Israel is not. In 2019, the ICC Prosecutor ruled that there was reasonable basis to believe that war crimes were committed by Israeli forces and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, justifying further investigations. ICC tardiness to do that has been contrasted with its speed in the much later case of Russian aggression on Ukraine.

In short, the UN’s human rights and judicial mechanisms are unlikely to be able to make a meaningful difference to the evolution of the current crisis. The perverse consequence of delayed accountability is to normalise no-holds-barred war-making, as just seen with the atrocious bombing of a Gaza hospital.

That human suffering is at the centre of Palestine’s long and tragic history is incontestable. Mitigating that is where the UN comes into its own. The Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) caters for 5.9 million people in the region including two thirds of Gazans. UNRWA is the de facto provider of services that elsewhere a government would organise, such as education, health care and social protection.

UNRWA has done this since 1949, developing Palestinian skills and capacities, and bringing a modicum of hope. Its Gaza operations with its 13,000 – mostly local – staff have pivoted overnight towards emergency relief. Its 288 schools have been sheltering the displaced from air strikes.

UNRWA is joined by 22 other UN agencies in Palestine, and key are the World Food Programme, World Health Organisation, and Unicef providing life-saving food and healthcare.

Several aid workers have been killed and the courage of those who have survived will be tested further in coming days as they accompany the fleeing population with or without humanitarian corridors and safe zones.

Much of Gaza is likely to be flattened but will need rebuilding if people are to return – or else the evacuations are tantamount to ethnic cleansing. That must not happen, and it is UN agencies that will be central to rebuilding.

The UN’s indispensable humanitarian and recovery role is not contested. What about its underplayed political function? This is not perfect, by any means. But when toxic rivalries among global and regional powers feed the Palestine-Israel dispute, the peace support function of the UN may be the missing piece of the fiendishly complex jigsaw that is the Middle East crisis.

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

How being social media savvy can improve your well being

Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.

As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.

Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.

Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.

Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.

However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.

“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.

People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

Famous left-handers

- Marie Curie

- Jimi Hendrix

- Leonardo Di Vinci

- David Bowie

- Paul McCartney

- Albert Einstein

- Jack the Ripper

- Barack Obama

- Helen Keller

- Joan of Arc

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
%3Cp%3E1984%20-%20Apple%20unveiled%20the%20Macintosh%20on%20January%2024%3Cbr%3E1985%20-%20Steve%20Jobs%20departed%20from%20Apple%20and%20established%20NeXT%3Cbr%3E1986%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20Macintosh%20Plus%2C%20featuring%20enhanced%20memory%3Cbr%3E1987%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20Macintosh%20II%2C%20equipped%20with%20colour%20capabilities%3Cbr%3E1989%20-%20The%20widely%20acclaimed%20Macintosh%20SE%2F30%20made%20its%20debut%3Cbr%3E1994%20-%20Apple%20presented%20the%20Power%20Macintosh%3Cbr%3E1996%20-%20The%20Macintosh%20System%20Software%20OS%20underwent%20a%20rebranding%20as%20Mac%20OS%3Cbr%3E2001%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20Mac%20OS%20X%2C%20marrying%20Unix%20stability%20with%20a%20user-friendly%20interface%3Cbr%3E2006%20-%20Apple%20adopted%20Intel%20processors%20in%20MacBook%20Pro%20laptops%3Cbr%3E2008%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20MacBook%20Air%2C%20a%20lightweight%20laptop%3Cbr%3E2012%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20MacBook%20Pro%20with%20a%20retina%20display%3Cbr%3E2016%20-%20The%20Mac%20operating%20system%20underwent%20rebranding%20as%20macOS%3Cbr%3E2020%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20M1%20chip%20for%20Macs%2C%20combining%20high%20performance%20and%20energy%20efficiency%3Cbr%3E2022%20-%20The%20M2%20chip%20was%20announced%3Cbr%3E2023%20-The%20M3%20line-up%20of%20chip%20was%20announced%20to%20improve%20performance%20and%20add%20new%20capabilities%20for%20Mac.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Burnley 0

Man City 3

Raheem Sterling 35', 49'

Ferran Torres 65'

 

 

Jawan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAtlee%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Nayanthara%2C%20Vijay%20Sethupathi%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk

“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”

“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”

“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”

“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”

Rebel%20Moon%20-%20Part%20One%3A%20A%20Child%20of%20Fire
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EZack%20Snyder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESofia%20Boutella%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%2C%20Ed%20Skrein%2C%20Michiel%20Huisman%2C%20Charlie%20Hunnam%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Retail gloom

Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.

It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.

The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties? 
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
%3Cp%3EGoogle%20wasn't%20new%20to%20busting%20out%20April%20Fool's%20jokes%3A%20before%20the%20Gmail%20%22prank%22%2C%20it%20tricked%20users%20with%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fmentalplex%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emind-reading%20MentalPlex%20responses%3C%2Fa%3E%20and%20said%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fpigeonrank%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3E%20well-fed%20pigeons%20were%20running%20its%20search%20engine%20operations%3C%2Fa%3E%20.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20subsequent%20years%2C%20they%20announced%20home%20internet%20services%20through%20your%20toilet%20with%20its%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Ftisp%2Finstall.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Epatented%20GFlush%20system%3C%2Fa%3E%22%2C%20made%20us%20believe%20the%20Moon's%20surface%20was%20made%20of%20cheese%20and%20unveiled%20a%20dating%20service%20in%20which%20they%20called%20founders%20Sergey%20Brin%20and%20Larry%20Page%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fromance%2Fpress.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3EStanford%20PhD%20wannabes%3C%2Fa%3E%20%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBut%20Gmail%20was%20all%20too%20real%2C%20purportedly%20inspired%20by%20one%20%E2%80%93%20a%20single%20%E2%80%93%20Google%20user%20complaining%20about%20the%20%22poor%20quality%20of%20existing%20email%20services%22%20and%20born%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fgooglepress.blogspot.com%2F2004%2F04%2Fgoogle-gets-message-launches-gmail.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emillions%20of%20M%26amp%3BMs%20later%3C%2Fa%3E%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
HOW TO WATCH

Facebook: TheNationalNews 

Twitter: @thenationalnews 

Instagram: @thenationalnews.com 

TikTok: @thenationalnews   

England-South Africa Test series

1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London

2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham

3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London

4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester

Updated: October 19, 2023, 11:01 AM`