UN Appoints Diplomat to 'Unarm Gaza,' Forgetting How Disarmament Works
Former UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov is set to lead a 'Board of Peace' with the stated goal of 'disarming Gaza.' This, of course, comes after months of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip (allegedly to 'dismantle Hamas'), leaving the territory in ruins. One might wonder how Mladenov plans to 'disarm' a population whose resistance has been largely a response to ongoing occupation and
repeated assaults, without first addressing the source of the conflict—the occupation itself. This 'disarmament' initiative echoes historical pressures to strip indigenous or occupied populations of their ability to resist, while maintaining the military superiority of the occupying power. It's a standard play from the playbook: demand the disarming of the besieged, not the besiegers. Perhaps
Mladenov can start by convincing Israel to 'disarm' its half-century-plus occupation and illegal settlements, a concept that curiously never seems to make it onto the 'Board of Peace' agenda. The irony is so thick, you could cut it with a drone strike.