KUALA LUMPUR: The ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict could end within one day if the United States stops funding military aid to Israel.
United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN-SDSDN) president Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs said the military aid provided by the US was among the major reasons for the conflict as Israel could not fight the war without US munitions.
He said despite innumerable UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions to stop the conflict, Israel also had no intention to end the decades of oppression against the Palestinians due to the support provided by the US.
"Israel has no intention of allowing a Palestine state (to be established) and the US has no intention of pushing the former to do anything (to stop the war).
"(And) this war which has been ongoing for 57 years can end within one day if the US decides that they are not shipping weapons to Israel anymore.
"Israel cannot fight this day-to-day war without the US munitions," he said during a panel discussion at the 2024 Global Intellectual Discourse in Universiti Malaya today.
Also present were the sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizuddin Shah, Khazanah Research Institute senior advisor Professor Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Universiti Malaya's visiting professor Professor Datuk Woo Wing Thye.
Sachs said Palestine's application for UN membership, supported by 14 member countries, was also opposed by the US on behalf of Israel back in 2011.
He also said the UN membership applied by Palestine was not dismissed, but was put into suspension without any determination.
Following this, Palestine was told to accept the observer status instead, said Sachs.
"Hence, another recommendation that I am making today is that the UNSC should admit Palestine as the 194th country.
Sachs said the political landscape in the US has changed, particularly its administration, which is in a very bad political situation domestically.
He said Malaysia, in playing its role in ending the conflict, should join forces with other countries in condemning the heinous act of Israel towards Palestinians, all of which have been done with the support of the US.
"What should Malaysia do? How do you juggle it all? My goal is that 190 countries tell the US to stop (supporting Israel).
"I wouldn't say to just say it by yourself, but rather in a group. That is where the UN General Assembly comes in handy.
"This is because there is overwhelming public opinion worldwide about this; and it needs to be manifested again and again until the message is there. Don't lose hope. It (the assembly) is not perfect, (but) it has got to be made better. It is the place where all these issues should be raised."
In December last year, the US approved a US$147.5 million sale of 155mm high-explosive artillery munitions and related equipment to Israel under an emergency provision that waives the usual congressional review.
The same provision was used a month prior to that in approving the sale of nearly 14,000 rounds of 120mm tank ammunition to Israel.
According to the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency, Israel had also requested that 155mm fuses, primers and charges be added to previous foreign military sale cases, increasing their estimated total cost from US$96.51 million to US$147.5 million which required a new notification.