Most of us would agree Israel should be punished for its crimes against the Palestinian people. However, we often forget that the United States is an accessory to these crimes. US military aid to Israel is about $3bn every year. Who pays for the weapons which are used by the Israeli military? The answer is that those weapons were a gift from the United States.
UN Security Council resolutions constitute international law. Yet Israel has ignored UN Security Council resolutions for decades.
In 1967, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 242 which declared that the Israeli armed forces should withdraw from occupied Palestinian territories (including the West Bank and Gaza). Israel has ignored this resolution; its armed forces restrict the movement of Palestinians in the West Bank while protecting the Israeli settlers who are engaged in ethnic cleansing. Israeli armed forces besiege Gaza, and periodically slaughter the civilian population of Gaza (as is happening now).
In 1979, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 446 which declared Israeli settlements in occupied territories illegal. Israel has also ignored this resolution; settlements in the West Bank expand every year.
When other countries ignore UN resolutions, they are usually punished by economic sanctions imposed by the Security Council. However, Israel has never faced sanctions as it is protected by the US, which has the power to veto sanctions against any country. This is the only reason why there are no UN Security Council resolutions imposing punishment on Israel for its war crimes.
So let us be clear: Israeli war crimes are made possible by US military aid to Israel, and Israel gets away with war crimes because it is protected from sanctions by the US in the Security Council. The US should therefore be considered an active supporter of Israel’s war crimes.
Bangladesh does not allow any imports from Israel; Bangladesh as a state is already boycotting Israeli goods. There is nothing more that Bangladesh (as a state), can do to punish Israel for its war crimes.
However, we can try to make the United States think twice about its blind support for Israel’s war crimes.
Almost every famous brand you can think of is owned by an American company. These brands are the power behind the American economy. Millions of people around the world are sympathetic to Palestine. If we were all to express our anger at Israel by boycotting American brands, American companies would feel it, and would urge their government to distance itself from Israel.
As a country, Bangladesh cannot boycott US goods, as we need access to the US market for our garments. However, as individual consumers, all of us can choose to boycott American brands. That is the best way for us to protest US support for Israeli war crimes.
