Obama
Allows Toothless UN Resolution Against Israeli
Settlements to Pass
By Zaid Jilani
December
26, 2016 "Information
Clearing House"
-
"The
Intercept" -
The
Obama Administration on Friday finally allowed the
UN Security Council to call on Israel to halt its
settlement expansion on Friday. The resolution
essentially re-states U.S. policy that settlement
activity in the West Bank is illegal and
counterproductive, and that Israel’s security must
be protected.
The U.S.
did not support the resolution, but it did not
utilize its veto power either.
In a press
call Friday afternoon, White House Deputy National
Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben
Rhodes explained that the White House abstained on
the resolution because it “expresses a consensus
international view on Israeli settlement activity.”
“We thought
that we could not in good conscience veto a
resolution that expressed concerns about the very
trends that are eroding,” Rhodes explained. “A
two-state solution.”
The
resolution is toothless — it does not, for example,
authorize any form of sanctions to compel Israel to
respect international law. Yet prior to its passage,
a long list of both Democrats and Republicans called
on the administration to veto it, including
President-elect Donald Trump, New York’s Senate
Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, and Wisconsin-based
House Speaker Paul Ryan:
The administration’s abstention
reflects a larger reality: President Obama did more
to shield Israel from international pressure at the
United Nations than any of his predecessors.
This was
the only Security Council resolution calling on
Israel to respect international law that Obama ever
refused to veto. Under George W. Bush,
six similar
resolutions were allowed through. Under
H.W. Bush, nine resolutions critical of Israel were
allowed through.
At the same
time, Obama
awarded Israel
with its largest military aid package ever — signing
a memorandum of understanding in September that
would give it $38 billion over 10 years.
The
pressure to veto a toothless resolution shows how
constricted U.S. policy on Israel-Palestine has
become in recent years, even though the American
public appears to favor tougher UN action on the
issue. A recent Brookings
poll finds that nearly two-thirds
of Americans favor UN resolutions demanding a halt
to settlements and that a majority of
self-identified Democrats support some form of
sanctions towards Israel to bring about peace.
Meanwhile,
Israel has elected one of its most right-wing
governments in history — with a set of cabinet
ministers
who openly
disdain the two-state solution and
plan to escalate
settlement building. The president-elect
plans to appoint an ambassador to Israel who favors
continued expansion on Palestinian land and actually
helped fund settlement work as a private
citizen.
The U.S.
could use its economic, military, and diplomatic
ties as leverage to halt settlement expansion and
demand that Israel respect the human rights of
Palestinians. But in a political system where
politicians from both major parties — seeking favor
from megadonors
who demand a
stridently pro-Israel policy — react in
outrage to simply asking Israel to respect
international law, such a solution remains off the
table.
Just ask
Sheldon Adelson — the pro-Israel casino magnate
who helped
bankroll Trump.
The views
expressed in this article are the author's own and do
not necessarily reflect Information Clearing House
editorial policy. |
