UN Peacekeepers Shot by Israelis Not News, Just Another Tuesday
The mainstream outlets, like France 24, dutifully report that Israeli forces 'shot at' UNIFIL peacekeepers from a tank in southern Lebanon. (One might wonder what a UN detail is doing in front of a tank, but I digress.) This isn't a new phenomenon. In 2006, an Israeli airstrike killed four UN observers in southern Lebanon, yet official apologies were readily accepted and the incident quickly faded
from headlines, despite calls for an independent investigation. While Israel's 'security concerns' always serve as a convenient umbrella, the international community's silence on these repeated transgressions against UN personnel raises critical questions. Are UN symbols merely suggestions for certain militaries? Or perhaps the US veto within the UN Security Council makes accountability for its
closest ally (receiving over $3 billion annually in U.S. aid, according to OpenSecrets) more of a suggestion than a requirement?