The Green Party of the United States has endorsed Lifeline for Palestine, an international campaign urging the United Nations to invoke its Uniting for Peace resolution to establish a humanitarian protection force for Gaza and implement sanctions on Israel.
The announcement came Tuesday, October 7, coinciding with the second anniversary of the escalation of conflict between Israel and Hamas that led to the current Gaza war. The Green Party said that while it sees “no end in sight to the destruction of Gaza,” it believes action can still be taken to “end this genocide and protect Palestinians” through the UN General Assembly’s Uniting for Peace resolution.
“The Green Party endorses Lifeline for Palestine, an emergency initiative promoting UFP that will establish a UN protection force to deliver humanitarian aid, protect civilians, facilitate reconstruction, sanctions and military embargo,” the statement continued, urging others to sign on to an associated petition.
According to organizers, Lifeline for Palestine is a coordinated global campaign calling on the United Nations General Assembly to invoke the Uniting for Peace resolution as a way to bypass potential vetoes by the Security Council and the United States. That resolution, first adopted in 1950 in response to Security Council deadlock during the Korean War, allows the General Assembly to recommend collective measures when the Council fails to maintain international peace and security.
“A one-year deadline set by the General Assembly for Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice rulings expires on Sept.18, after which the General Assembly is slated to vote on specific actions to end Israel’s genocide,” the campaign states of its mission. “Lifeline for Palestine seeks collaboration with partners throughout civil society to urge our representatives to the UN to resist intimidation from the US and Israel by maintaining their votes for Palestine, and ensuring the proposed measure includes the full spectrum of essential actions[.]”
On its website, the effort calls for humanitarian protection force in Gaza, comprehensive sanctions and a military embargo, withdrawal of Israel’s General Assembly credentials, reactivation of UN anti-apartheid “mechanisms,” and the establishment of a war crimes tribunal. As of Wednesday, its petition had drawn more than 19,000 signatories worldwide, along with several dozen organizational endorsements.
In supporting the effort, the national Green Party joins several other Green affiliates that previously announced their endorsements. The California and Wisconsin Green parties have both backed the initiative, as has the Milwaukee local affiliate. The party’s developing Arab and Muslim American Caucus has also endorsed the campaign.
The statement of support for Lifeline for Palestine follows the party’s September endorsement of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a coalition of more than 50 vessels attempting to break the blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian relief. In that statement, the Green Party urged “all people of conscience” to pressure elected officials and support the flotilla’s mission, while calling on media outlets to cover it with “honesty and urgency.”
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