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Since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the international condemnation calls including the United Nations, the Security Council and the European Union, against Russia to stop its attacks have accelerated.
A number of European countries began sending arms shipments and volunteers to fight the forces of Russian army in Ukraine.
The international community also imposed different kinds of sanctions on Russia, including the financial sector, freezing deals with Russian banks, removing Russia from the SWIFT financial system, and preventing air traffic to and from Russian airspace.
So, it is clear that Ukraine, as a country, has the right to defend its territory against the Russian attacks, as guaranteed by international law, whereas Article 51 of the United Nations Charter stated that “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.
Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defense shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.”
In contrast, Israel has been occupying the Palestinian lands since 1948, where it has practiced all forms of extrajudicial killing, arbitrary detention of thousands of Palestinians, and the displacement of indigenous people from their homes in areas that are supposed to be occupied under the provisions of international law.
As a response, Palestinians make desperate attempts to confront Israel with primitive tools at times, and locally-manufactured military means at other times, in what they believe is their right that have been guaranteed to them by the same UN Charter No. 51 regarding the right of peoples to self-defense.
Nevertheless, the political hypocrisy of the international community did not show clemency to the Palestinians. The writers of UN Charter equated the victim with the slayer, believing that the rule of self-defense does not include countries such as Palestine in its struggle with Israel.
In addition, the United Nations and the Security Council issued dozens of resolutions related to Palestine, most notably:
Resolution 194 of 1948, Resolution 3236 of 1974, Resolution 2334 of 2016, Resolution 1397 of 2002, Resolution 608 of 1988, Resolution 476 of 1908, Resolution 452 of 1979, Resolution 242 of 1967.
It is clear according to resolutions’ results that were issued that there was no Israeli commitment to them. The United States, the strategic ally of Israel, used the “Veto” to prevent the condemnation of Israel before the different bodies of the international community, and this helped Israel to continue its hostile policies and actions against the Palestinians.
The Israeli escalation against the people of Gaza between 2008-2021 witnessed the killing of thousands of Palestinians and the injury of tens of thousands of others, in addition to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of families as a result of losing their homes, which made them suffer in the summer heat and the cold winter in the refugee tents or caravans.
Israel has also attacked the United Nations institutions, schools and civilian headquarters.
Not far from Gaza, Israel through its settlers, illegally residing on the occupied Palestinian territories, attack the Palestinians in Jerusalem aiming to expel them from the city, and at other times, it gives them demolition notices for their homes because they did not obtain the ownership certificates for their homes that they inherited from their ancestors for hundreds of years, and even before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
Media and Technology
On the second day of the Russian military operation, Ukraine asked Apple company to stop its services for users in Russia.
Facebook, Google, Netflix and YouTube have also suspended their services in Russia.
The European Union announced the restriction of access to the Russian media in the EU countries, including the banning of the Russian channels “Russia Today” and “Sputnik”.
Also, the American billionaire Elon Musk agreed to provide Ukraine with a satellite internet service via “Star link” technology, just hours after an official Ukrainian request to Musk.
On the other hand, Israel totally controls the social media outlets and harnesses its relations to fight the Palestinian content and replace it with a misleading narrative to justify its policies in killing, arresting, and displacing the Palestinian people.
The Sports Sector
In the wake of the continuous Russian attacks against Ukraine, international efforts continue to curb Russia. One of these means is to ban the Russian sports.
The International and European Football Associations decided to suspend the participation of all Russian clubs and teams in continental and international tournaments.
The International Badminton Federation also announced the cancellation of all its tournaments scheduled in Russia. In addition, the International Olympic Committee withdrew the Olympic Medal from the Russian President Putin.
Also, the EU decided to end its partnership with the Russian company, Gazprom, in all sports competitions. Add to that, the European stadiums filled with Ukrainian flags and banners calling to end to the Russian attacks.
On the contrary, the international community has not been able to punish Israel or to impose isolation on its sports. Israel has largely destroyed the Palestinian sports infrastructure by preventing the movement of Palestinian clubs between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to play the various competitions.
Israel also arrested a number of Palestinian athletes, which made them lose the opportunity to participate with their clubs. During its aggression on Gaza in 2014, Israel demolished more than 30 Palestinian sports buildings, including the headquarter of the Palestinian Olympic Committee.
Also, during the latest May 2021 aggression on Gaza, the Israeli forces killed ten Palestinian athletes and smashed Palestine Stadium, where most of the Palestinian Premier League matches are held. The international sports community has also practiced a negative policy against those who shows sympathy with the Palestinians under the pretext of separating sport from politics and religion.
In 2016, the EU investigated with fans of Scottish professional football club, Celtic raising Palestinian flags during their team’s match against Israeli team Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the Champions League, where the Scottish club Celtic condemned the behavior of its fans.
Earlier in November 2021, the International Olympic Committee banned the Algerian player Fethi Nourine for 10 years, after he had withdrawn in front of an Israeli player in the last Tokyo Olympics.
All these facts reveal the status of political hypocrisy adopted by the international community and the double standards policy in handling international issues, which confirms that the international community stands firmly before the truth, but in the way that serves its higher interests.
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By: Dr. Raed Qaddoura
Political analyst specializing in Palestinian-Israeli affairs
PhD, Strategy and International Relations, UKM Malaysia
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