Death and disgrace

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How immoral can the international community get? For close to eight weeks Israel has been pounding Gaza without mercy. And during the past four weeks, the Israeli army has virtually reduced South Lebanon to rubble without even allowing humanitarian aid safe passage.

The world has been sitting and watching. As if this is the world cup final it really wanted, the world simply waits to see who will take the spoils.

Hizbullah -- automatically deemed culpable for all Israeli atrocities following its capture of two Israeli soldiers on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line, has not been defeated as the generals of the Israeli army had promised both their war- supporting compatriots and the bloodthirsty neo-cons controlling the White House. What is true is that over one million Lebanese people have been displaced with around one thousand Lebanese -- mostly civilians and minors -- butchered, while hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza have perished with thousands more hurt and traumatised.

Still the world cannot come together to force Israel -- or even to plead with Israel -- to end its aggression. Is Israel running the planet? Backed by the US, Israel asserts not its right to self-defence, but its desire to shed more Arab blood, to destroy more Arab homes, and traumatise more Arab children.

It took France, which for years has been calling for a multi-polar world to replace the current uni-polar one, to speak up against Israeli aggression, the French president, whose country holds a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, denouncing Israel's campaign as "immoral". But so what? Will anything happen?

Will France go to the Security Council soliciting a Chapter VII resolution to end Israeli hostilities? What a dream! Would Chirac, whose keenness on the Jewish vote for anticipated 2007 French presidential elections, suspend diplomatic ties with Israel, or threaten economic sanctions to halt its aggression? Never.

Chirac's defence of morality is kind, but it is too little too late. And the UN call for mercy in Gaza made last week is also a disgrace, if just.

The fact of the matter is that the world is indifferent, that "interests" trump principles, and that Arab leaders are too weak to defend the nations they lead.