Sanctions on Israel could be watershed moment at UNSC
American writer and activist Phyllis Bennis says a significant development at the UN Security Council would be the endorsement of the sanctions the UN General Assembly called for in a majority vote last year, which included economic sanctions and the suspension of trade, cooperation agreements and diplomatic ties.
However, as the US has vetoed dozens of UNSC resolutions critical of Israel, Bennis said “impunity breeds war” and that “the US government provides the impunity that enables the Israeli genocide.”
The activist added that Arab countries, which have so far refrained from taking action because of their relationship with the US, could also impose sanctions and measures against Israeli officials.
Countries supporting Qatar must come up with ‘concrete action plan’ in response to Israeli attack
It is a pivotal moment for the entire region. This is an unprecedented attack on an Arab country, after years of multiple countries in the region trying to normalise ties with Israel.
What this attack on Qatari soil has done is push that narrative away from this being a Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and brining it yet again to a wider, regional issue.
It is quite important for Qatar to highlight that this is not an issue only for Qatar … it wants the response to be a regional response, and that is what we’ve been seeing in the past 48 hours multiple allies within the region arriving in Doha.
This show of solidarity … is not just from Arab countries, it is also countries in the Western Hemisphere – the Europeans, the Americans [and] Iran, Turkiye.
They have to come up with not just words, but with a concrete action plan on what they will do if this does not stop.
They have at their behest a number of tools – they have diplomatic actions … then there are the trade routes and economic issues that these countries can take on board.
There are a multitude of options that have always been available.
