Israel threatens NATO members who recognize Palestine. US will 'sanction' the ICC.
Biden is for and against statehood for Palestine. Netanyahu claims Palestine never existed.
So let me get this straight…
In a coordinated move, Norway, Ireland, and Spain announced they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28. France, Belgium, and Slovenia then came out in support of the arrest warrants of Israel and Hamas leaders issued by the ICC. All this really must have pissed off Netanyahu who accused them all of “antisemitism” and of “aiding Hamas” — a crime punishable by who knows what? — and immediately recalled Israel’s ambassadors to the first three. He then threatened ICC's Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, saying that while he himself was not concerned about traveling abroad, “the prosecutor, however, should be worried.” Pres. Biden then moved to “sanction” Khan and the ICC. I’m not even getting into the various meanings of that word, ie. State-sponsored assassination.
How far will Biden/Blinken go?
I’ve heard that a small group of Arab-American leaders met with Sec. Blinken Friday. Blinken supposedly told them that if Palestine became a state, federal law would mandate the defunding of the UN, which could then defund the World Food Program, causing global starvation. So how does this mesh with Biden’s recent calls for a “two-state solution” that would guarantee, in Biden’s words, “peace, security, and dignity?”
Answer please, Mr. Secretary.
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All this happened only three days after the mysterious crash of a helicopter that killed Iran’s president and defense minister. As might be expected, there were only two countries that felt the need to deny responsibility for the crash, Israel and the US. So I assume Khan is taking Netayahu’s threat seriously
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The recognition by these three European allies has Biden/Blinken’s heads spinning. Remember, Norway and Spain are both NATO members. Ireland has a relationship with NATO but is not a member due to its traditional policy of neutrality. Israel is not a NATO member.
So the question for the US-led alliance is, what happens if Israel decides to punish either of these countries (and more European countries likely to follow) economically, politically, or militarily? The potential for NATO’s implosion now looms large.
Some 140 countries have already recognized a Palestinian state, more than two-thirds of the United Nations’ membership.
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Diplomatic recognition of Palestine by European countries is Israel’s worst collective nightmare. Recognition undermines the whole rationale behind its genocide in Gaza. Netanyahu and his right-wing clique in Tel Aviv claim that Palestine never existed. For them, the ethnic cleansing of Gaza is ordained by biblical prophecy. They still refer to Palestine using the biblical terms, Judea and Samaria.
In a video statement today, Netanyahu said:
“80% of the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria support the terrible massacre of October 7. This evil must not be given a state. This will be a terrorist state.”
Israel has already become a pariah nation. Biden’s blind devotion to Netanyahu, even as the latter works tirelessly to elect Trump in November, is stunning.
The inherent contradictions of capitalism will continue to intensify. The last time this occurred on a massive scale, the world's only communist country ended up saving one capitalist bloc (Allied powers)
from another capitalist bloc (Axis powers). In other words, saving capitalism from itself.