DUPLICITY

Alongside Syria, France under E. Macron is associated with a WHO resolution on the health and prison situation of the Palestinians.

Bernard HADJADJ

On May 23, 2017, the WHO General Assembly adopted a resolution on “sanitary conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan.” Resolution adopted by 98 votes in favor (including that of France), 23 abstentions and 7 against (61 countries were absent).

This resolution, which aims to improve the health conditions of the Palestinian populations in Israel, is, after all, normal, and even commendable for the UN organization in charge of health in the world. The text includes sanitary conditions for prisoners and detainees. Here again it is a noble step to worry about prison health.

Obviously the unsaid is that Israel treats the Palestinian populations badly.

Exemplary countries at the initiative of this resolution?

They are thirteen in number: Algeria, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Kuwait, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Syria, Tunisia and Venezuela.

Yes, you read that right: SYRIA! Which, as everyone knows, attaches particular importance to the health of its population:

Population of Aleppo besieged, deprived of all humanitarian aid;
400 attacks carried out since March 2011 against medical establishments (children's hospital included) leading to the death of numerous patients and that of 768 medical personnel.
Use of chemical weapons against civilian populations.

On the other hand, and contrary to the great compassion of the Syrian authorities, the insensitive Israel has received and cared for more than 2 Syrians in its hospitals since 600!

As for the special care that the Syrian regime reserves for its prison population, it resulted in the death of at least 17 in custody as a result of torture and ill-treatment between March 723 and December 2011.

As for the prison conditions of certain countries which are moved by the situation made to the Palestinians, they should sweep in front of their door. Appalling conditions of detention in Venezuela, Cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments in Saudi Arabia, ill-treatment of detainees with iron bars in Pakistan.

Regarding Palestine (Palestinian Authority and Gaza) torture and ill-treatment of detainees are commonplace!

Israel: eternal scapegoat

Israel is neither a paradise, nor this land flowing with "milk and honey", but from there to accusing it of all the ills of the planet, there is a step that the United Nations is taking cheerfully with the complicity of the worst authoritarian regimes.

Inequalities and discriminations are not the prerogative of Israel, they are found in many countries with often more acuteness, but only Israel is systematically singled out.

Indeed disparities exist but how big are they? Israeli Arabs face more inequality than Israeli Jews with respect to:

To work. “Israeli Arabs have lower labor market participation and employment rates than Jews, which negatively impacts their economic well-being. The gaps are not very high among men – 65.6% participation among Arab men compared to 70.8% among Jewish men and 59.3% compared to 66.3% for employment – but they widen among women – 22% participation among Arab women against 68.2% for Jewish women and 18.6% compared with 63.1% for employment. (OECD, 2009).

This situation is comparable to that which prevails in the Arab States where the employment rates are respectively 26% among women and 77,1% among men. (Human Development Report, UNDP).
At school. The average number of years of schooling is 10,2 for Arabs and 13 for Jews. Despite this gap, the average length of schooling for Israeli Arabs is far above the average for Arab countries, which is 5,9 (HDR, 2011). This length of schooling is 8,6 years in Jordan, 6,4 in Egypt, 5,7 in Syria and 7,9 in Lebanon.
To health. Life expectancy is 75.3 years for Arab men against 79,3 for Jews. As for women, this is 78,8 years for Arabs and 82,6 for Jews. (OECD, 2007). Arabs, however, live longer in Israel than in neighboring Arab countries: 73 years for men and 74 years for women in Jordan and 69 for men and 74 for women in Egypt. (WHO, 2011). As for the infant mortality rate (2007), it is 7,7‰ among Arabs and 4,4‰ among Jews. The infant mortality rate is 13,6‰ in Jordan and 17,6‰ in Egypt.

How to understand that France is following in the footsteps of the Syrian regime guilty of the worst abuses against its people, at the very moment when President Macron is asserting his firmness against Bashar El Assad?

It is certainly too early to judge. Let's hope that the actions will follow the fair and firm declarations of intent of the President of the Republic.

But it is clear that for Israel, there is still "nothing new under the French sun".