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Content about United Nations

August 29, 2015

Two months after formally recognizing Palestine, the Vatican objected to a Palestinian request for the two observer states to be allowed to raise their flags at UN headquarters.

The ongoing dilemmas over Palestinian statehood took a new turn this week as the Vatican objected to a Palestinian Authority request for the two observer states to the United Nations to be allowed to raise their flags at its headquarters. The Palestinian leadership called on the UN to adopt a resolution approving the raising

June 23, 2015

A report by the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict finds that both Israel and Hamas may have committed war crimes during the 51-day conflict.

A report released June 22 by the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict finds that both Israel and Hamas may have committed war crimes during the 51-day conflict.

May 23, 2015

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation talks concluded at the UN without approving a final document—due to US blocking of a provision on creating a Middle East nuclear-free zone.

The 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) concluded at the UN in New York on May 22 without approving a final document—due to US blocking of a provision on creating a Middle East nuclear-free zone. The US blocked the document, saying Egypt and other Arab states tried to &quot

March 3, 2015

Netanyahu's speech before Congress was mostly controversial over its perceived meddling in US politics—not its incessant barrage of lies, distortions and double standards.

Bibi Netanyahu's polarizing speech before Congress today was basically a repeat of his 2012 performance at the UN, but with the level of doublethink considerably jacked up.

January 28, 2015

Hezbollah fighters attacked an Israeli military convoy in the Shaba'a Farms border area—contested by Israel, Lebanon and Syria—in retaliation for an Israeli air-strike on Syria.

Hezbollah fighters attacked an Israeli military convoy in the Shaba'a Farms border area Jan.

January 24, 2015

The UN hearings on anti-Semitism will certainly enflame anti-Semitism—affording Israel the opportunity for propaganda exploitation, and Jew-haters to exploit the backlash.

This is why UN hearings on anti-Semitism are a very, very bad idea. The General Assembly "informal" conference opened Jan.

December 27, 2014

A Hamas leader said that the draft resolution for Palestinian statehood presented to the UN Security Council is "disastrous," and has "no future in the land of Palestine."

A Hamas leader on Dec.

December 21, 2014

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Israel to pay Lebanon over $850 million for an oil spill caused by air-strikes on a power station during the 2006 war.

The UN General Assembly on Dec. 20 approved a resolution calling upon Israel to pay Lebanon over $850 million in damages for an oil spill caused by air-strikes on storage tanks at the Jiyyeh power station during the 2006 war. The assembly voted 170-6 in favor of the nonbinding resolution, with three abstentions.

August 15, 2014

Bibi Netanyahu appealed to US legislators to help Israel stave off a feared global push to bring Israeli leaders to trial on war crimes charges in the wake of the Gaza offensive. Litigation has already been brought in a few countries.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to US legislators to help Israel stave off a feared global push to bring Israeli military and political leaders to trial on war crimes charges in the wake of the Gaza offensive, the New York Post reported Aug. 6.

July 29, 2014

Right-wing nationalist formations like "If Americans Knew" and Bashar Assad cheerleaders like the International Action Center are hurting the cause of standing up to the Zionist machine in New York City.

Today's depressing news that  some 10,000 joined a "New York Stands with Israel" rally at the UN (overseen by Chuck Schumer, of course) was compounded for me by a demoralizing encounter outside St. Mark's Church.

July 24, 2014

Development of the Gaza Marine 1 and 2 offshore blocs has been held up by conflict over the Strip and its waters. Is "Protective Edge" aimed at securing them under Israeli control?

Well, we don't think so either, actually.

December 26, 2013

On Christmas Eve, Israeli forces destroyed two "illegal" Bedouin villages in the West Bank, followed two days later by another such demolition in the Negev.

The UN Palestine refugee agency on Dec.

December 19, 2013

Some aghast at the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are strangely unconcerned with that in Yarmouk, the Damascus refugee camp now besieged by Syrian regime forces.

Isn't it utterly absurd that there are some aghast at the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and utterly unconcerned with that in Yarmouk, the Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus now besieged by forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad... and vice versa...? A brutal winter storm in the region has exacerbated the suffering in both blockaded enclaves, and most Palestinians assuredly grasp the obvious symmetry. In some quarters, however, a sort of ideological blindness seems to prevail: Assad's apologists are of course outraged at the agony in Gaza, but find that in Yarmouk invisible. The US State Department, in turn, exploits Yarmouk for propaganda against Assad, while displaying no such concern for Gaza...

December 6, 2013

Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1962 thanks to CIA intelligence, and only removed from the US "terrorist watch list" in 2008—15 years after his Nobel Peace Prize.

With the passing of Nelson Mandela today, Barack Obama of course issued the requisite accolades, hailing the departed icon of South African freedom as "one of the most influential, courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth... Like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set. And so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him." (USA Today) Obama's words may well be heartfelt, but the notion that the US stood beside Mandela in the long struggle against apartheid is revisionism that must be combatted. 

August 10, 2013

At least 28 Palestinian refugees were killed in Syria last month as refugee camps in the country continue to be dragged into the civil war, leaving thousands displaced. 

At least 28 Palestinian refugees were killed in Syria during July as refugee camps in the country continue to be dragged into the civil war. The UN agency for Palestine refugees,UNRWA, estimates that the homes of 44,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria have been damaged by conflict, and that half of t

June 6, 2013

Samantha Power's appointment as UN ambassador may signal a determination on the part of the Obama administration that intervention in Syria is inevitable.

The usual frustrating mess.

April 6, 2013

For a fourth consecutive day, young Palestinians in Hebron clashed with Israeli troops in protests over the death of an elderly prisoner in Israeli custody. 

For a fourth consecutive day April 5, young Palestinians in Hebron clashed with Israeli troops in protests over the death of an elderly prisoner in Israeli custody. The fiercest clashes took place in Bab al-Zawiya neighborhood in the center of Hebron April 4 after the funeral procession.

December 24, 2012

Palestinian Authority employees, who held a general strike last week, will shut down the West Bank again this week to protest non-payment of their salaries due to Israeli sanctions.

Palestinian Authority employees will strike again this week after receiving only part of their November salaries, union leaders announced Dec. 23. Palestinian government employees in the West Bank began a two-day general strike on Dec.

December 2, 2012

Israeli government officials announced plans to build 3,000 settlement units in the critical E-1 area of the occupied West Bank—a day after Palestine was admitted to the UN.

Israeli government officials announced plans Nov.

November 30, 2012

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution to upgrade Palestine to a "non-member state" at the United Nations, implicitly recognizing a Palestinian state.

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Nov. 29 to upgrade Palestine to a "non-member state" at the United Nations, implicitly recognizing a Palestinian state. There were 138 votes in favor, nine against and 41 abstentions.

October 12, 2012

Israel is explicitly using its own Mizrahi citizens as bargaining chips against the claims of stateless Palestinian refugees in its new "Justice for Jewish Refugees" campaign.

Seemingly in response to Mahmoud Abbas's initiative to revive a statehood bid for Palestine at the UN, Israel has launched an initiative to demand restitution for Jewish refugees from Arab countries.

April 22, 2012

UN aid agencies in the occupied West Bank protested that Israel destroyed 21 homes of Palestinian Bedouin refugees at Khalayleh north of East Jerusalem—leaving 54 people homeless, including 35 children.

UN agencies in the occupied West Bank said April 22 that Israel last week destroyed 21 homes of Palestinian Bedouin refugees—leaving 54 people homeless, including 35 children.

November 10, 2011

A wave of anti-Semitism in Lithuania is seized upon by Israeli commentators to delegitimize Lithuania's vote for Palestine's UNESCO entry. Meanwhile, Israel's own UN ambassador is caught in a photo-op with French ultra-rightist Marine Le Pen...

In the wake of this week's UNESCO vote to admit Palestine as a full member, the legacy of World War II and the Holocaust is once again being used as a political football.

November 3, 2011

The Israeli government said it will move ahead with "sensitive housing projects" in East Jerusalem and the West Bank as a rebuttal to UNESCO's decision to grant Palestine full-member status. The US meanwhile cut funds to UNESCO.

The Israeli government immediately said it would move ahead with "sensitive housing projects" as a rebuttal to UNESCO's Oct. 31 decision to grant Palestine full-member status. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a forum of eight senior ministers formally decided the next day to initiate a new wave of settlement construction on the West Bank.