Aftershocks of UN resolution against Jewish settlements

By Sajjad Malik
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, December 29, 2016
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The Israeli leadership is livid after the UN Security Council passed a landmark resolution against Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The anger is directed against everyone but primarily against the United States, long assumed to be a close ally.

Indeed, it was a rare occasion for the U.S. decided to abstain rather than cast a veto in a Security Council debate on the Jewish state's policy towards Palestinians. This time the administration of President Barack Obama, who has had an uneasy relationship with Israeli leaders, decided to sit on its hands.

This should be an eye-opener for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. However, instead of seeing the writing on the wall and accepting the decision of the wider international community, the political and military leadership of Israel has decided to fight.

Not only were the American ambassador and envoys of the countries actually voting in favor of the resolution summoned to receive an official Israeli protest, Netanyahu actually called Secretary of State John Kerry to express his anger.

"As I told John Kerry on Thursday, friends don't take friends to the Security Council," he said later.

Israeli leaders also accused the United State of conspiring to bring the resolution to the table when an earlier move by Egypt was scuttled. "We have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated on the wording and demanded it be passed," Netanyahu added.

There could be an element of truth in this, as without tacit American support, it would have been hard for the resolution backers to table it, let alone get it passed without opposition.

The key point, however, is not why or how the resolution passed. In fact, Israeli leaders are misleading their own people by focusing solely on the UNSC. Why is Netanyahu afraid to admit to his people his policies have failed when even an old ally country like the U.S. is finding it morally and legally apprehensible to accept some Israeli actions?

Why are Jewish leaders not ready to adopt a rational way to fight global public opinion on some of their policies which are obviously considered totally unacceptable not just to the Palestinians or Muslims in general, but also to the international conscience?

Part of the Netanyahu government's anger is due to the fear that UN may adopt another resolution in coming weeks to impose terms for peace negotiation between Israel and Palestine, when the former insists on dealing with all issues bilaterally.

The 9/11 atrocity has done colossal damage to the Palestinian cause. Islamic militancy and the ongoing war on terror has diverted world attention and the plight of vulnerable people in places like Palestine, Kashmir and several other regions has tended to be totally ignored.

After more than a decade of fighting the militants, there is growing realization that some of the basic root causes of militancy are still there.

The time has come when neither Israel nor other countries can treat opposition to Israeli policies as "terrorism" and kill or maim the innocent people.

The fundamental failure of Israeli leadership is that they have failed to add to the number of their "friends" during the past 15 years since 9/11 and draw any long-term benefits from the war on terror. Instead, the provocative punitive measures by Israel in Gaza have backfired.

Netanyahu may well be right to get hot under the collar against America or Obama, but there are four other permanent UNSC members. He should have been able to have enough moral courage and goodwill at his disposal to persuade any of them to veto the resolution.

The post-resolution anger is also designed to ward off domestic outrage. However, this won't solve the problems surrounding its very existence faced by the Jewish state. There is a peace conference scheduled for January 15 in France.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has compared it with the infamous "Dreyfus Trial" in 19th Century France. Lambasting the peace conference and decision by France to host it, he reportedly urged French Jews to migrate to Israel.

His remarks may be seen as triggered by the fear that the conference may led to the resolution in the UNSC, mentioned above, deciding terms of peace talks with the Palestinians.

However, such trademark aggressive posturing is not the right way to defend Israel or face the realities of global politics. The reactionary policies of Israeli leaders have done more damage to their cause than their opponents.

Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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