Articles 
AUSTRALIA MUST BACK ACTION FOR A CEASEFIRE IN GAZA
WAR CRIMES ARE NOT SOLVED BY MORE WAR CRIMES
Every day, either on the daily news or on our social media, we are being bombarded (this is the right word) by images from Gaza that are horrific. The initial- and entirely justified – shock the world felt at the slaughter perpetrated by Hamas (which should not be forgotten) has been – again rightly – dwarfed by the greater, much greater, slaughter now being perpetrated by the IDF.
X, which used to be Twitter, is now filled with images of dead children and grief-stricken parents (if they are still alive themselves).
The body-count of Israeli's, killed by Hamas, is now far exceeded by the body count of Palestinians killed by the IDF in attacks in which it seems from media reports that are surely not pro-Palestinian, they are not so much collateral damage as a deliberate target.
The arguments that they are used by Hamas as 'human shields', or that Hamas deliberately sites itself in hospitals, schools, kindergartens, wear thin.
Yes, every nation, whether Ukraine or Israel, has a right to protect itself. By carefully measured, strictly surgical, targeted, means.
Better still would be to remove the entire foundation of the dispute by just treatment of ones neighbours, and making friends of those who once were enemies.
An eye for an eye, or ten eyes for an eye, builds a wasteland not an enduring peace. Vengeance will breed vengeance.
Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.
Australia has thus far simply said that it backs Israel 100 % in its war on Hamas.
This is not good enough. There isno purely military solution to the problem of Israel's security. At the very least, Israel must abide by the provisions of humanitarian law as outlined in resolution A/ES-10/L.25. Australia could have voted for that resolution, but seemingly we abstained, because Hamas was not specifically mentioned – or blamed – as the instigator of the violence.
(though the resolution does contain the line: “...Condemning all acts of violence aimed at Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including all acts of terrorism and indiscriminate attacks, as well as all acts of provocation, incitement and destruction,...”
It is regrettable that A-ES10/L.26, which would have specifically condemned the actions of Hamas was rejected.(It failed to achieve a 2/3 majority, at 88 to 55).
We could have and should have, voted for L25 nonetheless and used an EoV (Explanation of Vote) to explain our position. Instead we have been concerned to appear as uncritically pro-Israeli as possible.
Australia is in danger of locking itself into an uncritically pro-Israeli position, in which it supports the insupportable. This cannot be good for Australia's standing with the rest of the world.
Instead, Australia must work to find a constructive solution to a crisis that not only inflicts incalculable suffering on innocent parties, but that threatens to escalate to a much wider middle-eastern conflict.
Israel says it wants to wipe out Hamas altogether. This is most likely impossible. It says that a ceasefire or even a humanitarian pause will give Hamas a chance to regroup.
What is required is a long, slow, painful process of quiet talks in a backroom of the UN between precisely those parties who have sworn never to be in the same room together, or intermediaries who will talk to each other, over days, months, years, first to institute a humanitarian pause, then a ceasefire and then an enduring and just peace.
The alternative is a repetition of what we are now seeing.
John Hallam
People for Nuclear Disarmament
Human Survival Project
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
0411-854-612
