United Nations resolution on Israeli settlement activity, 2011
The Palestinian Resolution was rejected by the United Nations Security Council after the U.S. vetoed the resolution on February 18, 2011. The resolution condemned all Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory as illegal, called Israel and Palestine to follow the Road map for peace plan, and for both parties to continue negotiations to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Over 120 U.N. member states supported the resolution.[1]
Background
The peace process was revitalized in September 2010, with direct talks between Israel and Palestine, with the U.S. supporting the negotiations. A month into the discussions a roadblock was hit when a 10-month settlement construction freeze was allowed to expired on September 26. On October 2, Mahmoud Abbas announced that peace negotiations will not continue until settlement construction is once again stopped.[2]
UNSC Resolution 465 has previously noted that the Israeli settlements are in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.[3]
Palestine has recently been lobbying many nations to recognize it as a sovereign state, with eleven South American states now recognising Palestine since December 2010. Palestine plans to seek recognition from the Security Council later this year as well.[4]
Two months ago, the U.N. General Assembly passed a similar, though non-binding, resolution with 159 for and 6 against, which called on Israel to stop building settlements.[5][6]
UN Security Council vote
The U.S. attempted several times to persuade Palestine to rescind the resolution or accept a non-binding resolution instead. Palestine refused and brought the resolution to the Security Council where it was voted on by the members. The final vote was 14 for and the U.S., whose vote holds veto power, alone was against it. This was the first U.N. veto used by the Obama administration.[7][8]
International response
- US- Ambassador Susan E. Rice, explained her veto of the resolution as "this draft resolution risks hardening the positions of both sides. It could encourage the parties to stay out of negotiations", she made note that the U.S. did not support Israeli settlements but that "[W]e reject in the strongest terms the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity,...Continued settlement activity violates Israel’s international commitments, devastates trust between the parties, and threatens the prospects for peace…"[1]
- State of Palestine-Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, stated "We only want to protect our interest and our rights as guaranteed in international law", he also stated that "We are not seeking to break from the U.S. administration and it is not in our interest to do that"[9] Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum, said that "The veto reveals the reality of the clear US support to what the Zionist enemy does against our people".[10] Riyad Mansour, Palestine's permanent observer to the U.N., stated that “Our overarching goal remains to bring an end to the Israeli colonization and occupation of our land and its destruction of the two-State solution...We fear, however, that the message sent today may be one that only encourages further Israeli intransigence and impunity.”[1]
- Israel- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office replied to the veto that "Israel deeply appreciates the decision by President Obama to veto the Security Council Resolution"[11] Ibrahim Sarsur, an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset responded that “Obama cannot be trusted. We knew his promises were lies. The time has come to spit in the face of the Americans.”[12] Israeli ambassador to the U.N., Meron Reuben, stated that "the resolution before you should never have been submitted,...Instead, the international community and the Security Council should have called upon the Palestinian leadership, in a clear and resolute voice, to immediately return to the negotiating table.”[1]
- Egypt- The Egyptian Foreign Ministry commented that "The veto, which contradicts the American public stance rejecting settlement policy, will lead to more damage to the United States' credibility on the Arab side as a mediator in peace efforts,"[13]
- UN- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon did not voice an opinion on the vote outcome, instead stating "The international community agrees on the urgent need for a negotiated settlement that will end the occupation that started in 1967 and establish an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel. We must do all we can to help the parties move forward."[14]
- Organisation of the Islamic Conference- The organisation which represents 57nations responded by stating that "[The veto] is a devastating blow to the credibility of international efforts to resume the peace process"[15]
- Middle East Human Rights Watch director Sarah Leah Whitson, released the statement, "President Obama wants to tell the Arab world in his speeches that he opposes settlements, but he won’t let the Security Council tell Israel to stop them in a legally binding way,"[16]
- Tawfik Al-Tirawi, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, called upon Palestinians to hold a 'day of rage' the following Friday to protest the American vetoing of the resolution.[17][18]
A protest is held outside the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, the day following the vote, with approximately 50 people attending it. One protestor was reported to have stated the protest was part of "a new campaign pointing a finger at the US complicity in Israeli crimes."[19] The following Sunday, approximately 3000 Palestinians gather in Ramallah to protest the veto.[20]
References
External links
UN General Assembly RES/65/104 passed December 10, 2010-A similar resolution