What's happened
The US is increasingly asserting influence over Gaza, with the UN Security Council discussing a stabilization force amid ongoing conflicts. This marks a shift in international power dynamics, with the US acting as a de facto occupier, raising questions about legality and sovereignty as regional conflicts persist.
What's behind the headline?
The US’s role in Gaza signals a significant shift in regional influence, effectively positioning itself as a de facto occupier under the guise of international stabilization. This move echoes past US interventions, notably in Iraq, where legal justifications were manipulated to serve economic and strategic interests. The UN Security Council’s ambiguous language and selective application of international law reveal a pattern of power imbalance, favoring Western dominance. The US’s actions undermine Palestinian sovereignty, disregarding core rights such as self-determination, return, and resistance. Meanwhile, regional actors and the international community are witnessing a decline in multilateral credibility, as the US and its allies prioritize strategic interests over legal norms. This situation foreshadows increased instability, with the potential for further regional entrenchment of conflict and erosion of international law’s authority. The current approach risks prolonging the occupation and deepening regional tensions, with little regard for Palestinian agency or regional stability. The future of Gaza will depend on whether the international community can challenge this unilateral US-led strategy or if it will become an entrenched, illegitimate occupation.
What the papers say
The New Arab highlights how the US is positioning itself as a new de facto authority in Gaza, using ambiguous language to mask its role and citing historical patterns of US manipulation of international law, especially referencing Iraq’s occupation in 2003. Al Jazeera emphasizes the delayed US intervention and its hypocritical stance, contrasting its actions in Gaza with its earlier support for Ukraine, and discusses the erosion of multilateral institutions’ credibility amid shifting global power dynamics. Both sources critique the US’s selective application of international law and its strategic interests, with The New Arab focusing on legal and political implications, while Al Jazeera underscores the geopolitical decline of US unipolarity and the challenges faced by the UN in this new multipolar world.
How we got here
Recent developments in Gaza follow Israel’s failure to manage the crisis, prompting US intervention. Historically, the US has used international institutions to legitimize its strategic interests, exemplified by past actions in Iraq. The Palestinian Authority’s limited authority and external pressures have facilitated US-led decisions, which violate Palestinian rights and ignore self-determination principles.
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The United States of America, commonly known as the United States or America, is a country mostly located in central North America, between Canada and Mexico.