24 dec 2016
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the UN Security Council resolution on settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories, expressing no intention of abiding by its terms.
“Israel rejects the contemptible anti-Israel UN resolution and will not subordinate itself to it,” a statement released late Friday by Netanyahu’s office said.
Netanyahu defended the settlement expansion in Jerusalem and the West Bank by claiming that “the Security Council does nothing to stop the slaughter of half a million people in Syria.”
He also described his apartheid and racist regime as “the one true democracy in the Middle East.”
The premier launched a scathing attack on outgoing US president Barack Obama for not using the veto power against the resolution.
"The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes," he said.
"Israel looks forward to working with president-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution," he added.
Defying pressure from right-winger Trump and furious lobbying by Israel, the Obama administration refused to use its veto power on Friday and allowed the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction.
The administration’s decision not to veto the measure reflected its accumulated frustration over Israel’s persistence in expanding settlements.
Its vote abstention also broke a longstanding policy of shielding Israel from action at the UN that described the settlements as illegal.
“Israel rejects the contemptible anti-Israel UN resolution and will not subordinate itself to it,” a statement released late Friday by Netanyahu’s office said.
Netanyahu defended the settlement expansion in Jerusalem and the West Bank by claiming that “the Security Council does nothing to stop the slaughter of half a million people in Syria.”
He also described his apartheid and racist regime as “the one true democracy in the Middle East.”
The premier launched a scathing attack on outgoing US president Barack Obama for not using the veto power against the resolution.
"The Obama administration not only failed to protect Israel against this gang-up at the UN, it colluded with it behind the scenes," he said.
"Israel looks forward to working with president-elect Trump and with all our friends in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to negate the harmful effects of this absurd resolution," he added.
Defying pressure from right-winger Trump and furious lobbying by Israel, the Obama administration refused to use its veto power on Friday and allowed the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction.
The administration’s decision not to veto the measure reflected its accumulated frustration over Israel’s persistence in expanding settlements.
Its vote abstention also broke a longstanding policy of shielding Israel from action at the UN that described the settlements as illegal.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the adoption of a new United Nations Security Council resolution (co-sponsored by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, and Venezuela) regarding Israel’s illegal colonial settlements, which are seen as undermining peace in the region and the possibility of a two-state solution:
“This is an important juncture for all concerned. The vote tonight in the United Nations sends a clear and firm signal to Israel, the occupying power, that its illegal actions and grave violations of international law and inalienable Palestinian rights are neither accepted nor tolerated. The message of the vote tonight is unmistakable.
“The world is united in defense of international law and Palestinian rights; the world will not stand idly by while Israel takes willful and calculated steps to denigrate the law and undermine Palestinian rights and chances for peace.
“It is now the responsibility of international community, including the Security Council, to implement the letter and spirit of this resolution and assume their responsibilities, individually and collectively, to ensure Israel’s compliance and respect for international law.
“Palestine would like to thank all Security Council members, particularly the co-sponsors of the resolution Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela as well as other States that played an important role in the adoption of this resolution. Palestine also welcomes the position of the United States Administration, which supported the international consensus and ensured the adoption of the resolution.
“Finally, Palestine reiterates its unwavering commitment to pursue the fulfillment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and respect of their human rights through all available peaceful and legal means and our readiness to engage with any genuine effort aiming at ending this injustice.
“Despite the unbearable pressures and the cruel reality our people endure, we will continue to have faith in the values and principles enshrined in international law.
“Our commitment to these values and principles is solid and unwavering and we appreciate the principled support of states who share these values.”
“This is an important juncture for all concerned. The vote tonight in the United Nations sends a clear and firm signal to Israel, the occupying power, that its illegal actions and grave violations of international law and inalienable Palestinian rights are neither accepted nor tolerated. The message of the vote tonight is unmistakable.
“The world is united in defense of international law and Palestinian rights; the world will not stand idly by while Israel takes willful and calculated steps to denigrate the law and undermine Palestinian rights and chances for peace.
“It is now the responsibility of international community, including the Security Council, to implement the letter and spirit of this resolution and assume their responsibilities, individually and collectively, to ensure Israel’s compliance and respect for international law.
“Palestine would like to thank all Security Council members, particularly the co-sponsors of the resolution Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela as well as other States that played an important role in the adoption of this resolution. Palestine also welcomes the position of the United States Administration, which supported the international consensus and ensured the adoption of the resolution.
“Finally, Palestine reiterates its unwavering commitment to pursue the fulfillment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and respect of their human rights through all available peaceful and legal means and our readiness to engage with any genuine effort aiming at ending this injustice.
“Despite the unbearable pressures and the cruel reality our people endure, we will continue to have faith in the values and principles enshrined in international law.
“Our commitment to these values and principles is solid and unwavering and we appreciate the principled support of states who share these values.”
The UN Security Council has voted in favor of a resolution demanding an immediate halt to Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories with the US remarkably abstaining.
The resolution was put forward at the 15-member council for a vote on Friday by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal one day after Egypt delayed it and then withdrew it under pressure from Israel and US president-elect Donald Trump.
The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, raised her hand to abstain in the chamber when the resolution was put to a vote.
The resolution was adopted with 14 votes in favor and there was enthusiastic applause in the chamber following the vote.
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump had called on the outgoing US administration to veto the measure.
"This is a day of victory for international law, a victory for civilized language and negotiation and a total rejection of extremist forces in Israel," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters news agency yesterday.
"The international community has told the people of Israel that the way to security and peace is not going to be done through occupation ... but rather through peace, ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state to live side by side with the state of Israel on the 1967 borderline," Erekat said.
For his part, US secretary of state John Kerry said in a statement following the vote that "the United States acted with one primary objective in mind, to preserve the possibility of the two-state solution, which every US administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians."
The resolution angered Netanyahu who threatened to flout it. "Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms," a statement from his office said.
As for Trump, he threatened in a tweet: "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th."
The US abstention was the biggest admonition in recent history to Israel, enabling the Security Council to denounce its ongoing settlement construction on Palestinian lands as a "flagrant violation" of the international law.
The resolution said Israel's settlements on Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including east Jerusalem, have "no legal validity.”
It demanded an immediate halt to "all Israeli settlement activities", affirming this "is essential for salvaging the two-state solution.”
Egyptian president Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi had backtracked on the move to condemn Israel's settlement policy on Thursday after receiving phone calls from Netanyahu and Trump.
Trump is likely to be the staunchest supporter of Israel’s aggressive and colonialist policies in American history. He appointed a hardline pro-Israel ambassador and vowed to move his embassy from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli settlements are seen as a major stumbling block to peace efforts as they are built on land that has to be part of the Palestinian people’s future state.
The UN maintains that settlements are illegal, and its officials have reported a surge in settlement construction over the past months.
The resolution was put forward at the 15-member council for a vote on Friday by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal one day after Egypt delayed it and then withdrew it under pressure from Israel and US president-elect Donald Trump.
The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, raised her hand to abstain in the chamber when the resolution was put to a vote.
The resolution was adopted with 14 votes in favor and there was enthusiastic applause in the chamber following the vote.
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump had called on the outgoing US administration to veto the measure.
"This is a day of victory for international law, a victory for civilized language and negotiation and a total rejection of extremist forces in Israel," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters news agency yesterday.
"The international community has told the people of Israel that the way to security and peace is not going to be done through occupation ... but rather through peace, ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state to live side by side with the state of Israel on the 1967 borderline," Erekat said.
For his part, US secretary of state John Kerry said in a statement following the vote that "the United States acted with one primary objective in mind, to preserve the possibility of the two-state solution, which every US administration for decades has agreed is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians."
The resolution angered Netanyahu who threatened to flout it. "Israel rejects this shameful anti-Israel resolution at the UN and will not abide by its terms," a statement from his office said.
As for Trump, he threatened in a tweet: "As to the UN, things will be different after Jan 20th."
The US abstention was the biggest admonition in recent history to Israel, enabling the Security Council to denounce its ongoing settlement construction on Palestinian lands as a "flagrant violation" of the international law.
The resolution said Israel's settlements on Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including east Jerusalem, have "no legal validity.”
It demanded an immediate halt to "all Israeli settlement activities", affirming this "is essential for salvaging the two-state solution.”
Egyptian president Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi had backtracked on the move to condemn Israel's settlement policy on Thursday after receiving phone calls from Netanyahu and Trump.
Trump is likely to be the staunchest supporter of Israel’s aggressive and colonialist policies in American history. He appointed a hardline pro-Israel ambassador and vowed to move his embassy from Tel Aviv to Occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli settlements are seen as a major stumbling block to peace efforts as they are built on land that has to be part of the Palestinian people’s future state.
The UN maintains that settlements are illegal, and its officials have reported a surge in settlement construction over the past months.
23 dec 2016
A few hours after Egypt delayed a UN Security Council vote on a resolution demanding a halt to settlement activities, Israel declared its intention to expedite the construction of over 300 housing units in east Jerusalem settlements.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Thursday, the Israeli district planning and building committee will speed up a plan to build 192 housing units in Ramat Shlomo settlement, 136 others in Ramot settlement, and eight in Beit Hanina.
The UN Security Council on Thursday suspended a vote on a draft resolution demanding Israel to halt its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories at the request of Egypt.
Reuters quoted diplomats at the UN as saying that Egypt justified its request for the delay to allow time for consultations with other Arab countries, but no new time or date for the vote was scheduled.
According to these diplomats, Egypt had put forward the resolution on Wednesday evening with the intent of having it put to a vote on Thursday, but following heavy Israeli and US pressure on Egypt's president Abdul-Fattah al-Sissi, the vote was shelved.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Thursday, the Israeli district planning and building committee will speed up a plan to build 192 housing units in Ramat Shlomo settlement, 136 others in Ramot settlement, and eight in Beit Hanina.
The UN Security Council on Thursday suspended a vote on a draft resolution demanding Israel to halt its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories at the request of Egypt.
Reuters quoted diplomats at the UN as saying that Egypt justified its request for the delay to allow time for consultations with other Arab countries, but no new time or date for the vote was scheduled.
According to these diplomats, Egypt had put forward the resolution on Wednesday evening with the intent of having it put to a vote on Thursday, but following heavy Israeli and US pressure on Egypt's president Abdul-Fattah al-Sissi, the vote was shelved.
Four countries reportedly issued Egypt with an ultimatum, threatening to bring forward a UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to Israel’s illegal settlement activity if Cairo does not reintroduce the draft.
In a note, New Zealand, Venezuela, Malaysia and Senegal gave Egypt until the end of Thursday to clarify how it intended to proceed, Reuters reported.
“In the event that Egypt decides that it cannot proceed to call for vote on 23 December or does not provide a response by the deadline, those delegations reserve the right to table the draft … and proceed to put it to vote ASAP,” the note read, according to the report.
Egypt announced that it was taking the resolution off the table in a surprise move Thursday, after Israelis lobbied frantically for it to be shelved following indications that the US would not exercise its veto over the resolution and allow it to pass.
Diplomats and officials indicated that Egypt came under heavy pressure from officials in Israel as well as US President-elect Donald Trump, apparently drafted by high-level officials in Jerusalem into leaning on Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
“The proposal for other delegations to take the lead… would also help Egypt by relieving it of the burden of carrying this draft alone,” the note further read.
A meeting was planned for Friday morning for diplomats to discuss how to proceed.
The draft resolution demands that Israel stop settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and declares that all existing settlements “have no legal validity” and are “a flagrant violation” of international law.
After Egypt pulled the resolution, Arab ambassadors held an emergency meeting at the United Nations to press Egypt to move ahead with a vote but an Arab League committee decided after meeting in Cairo to continue talks on the fate of the motion.
A senior Security Council diplomat earlier suggested that the motion could be buried indefinitely.
“There was a window of opportunity. Whether that window is still there is really not clear,” said a Western diplomat.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN praised the move to delay the vote, but expressed worries it could come back up.
After efforts to lobby Washington to change its mind failed, furious Israeli officials reportedly threatened to reach out to Trump and eventually did, leading the incoming US president to issue a statement echoing an earlier one made by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling on the US to veto the resolution.
Trump also spoke to Sissi about the resolution, an official in Cairo said, and the Egyptian president seemed to support the contention that passing a resolution like this just before Trump took office could tie his hands.
“The presidents agreed on the importance of affording the new US administration the full chance to deal with all dimensions of the Palestinian case with a view of achieving a full and final settlement,” presidency spokesman Alaa Yousef claimed, according to Reuters.
In a note, New Zealand, Venezuela, Malaysia and Senegal gave Egypt until the end of Thursday to clarify how it intended to proceed, Reuters reported.
“In the event that Egypt decides that it cannot proceed to call for vote on 23 December or does not provide a response by the deadline, those delegations reserve the right to table the draft … and proceed to put it to vote ASAP,” the note read, according to the report.
Egypt announced that it was taking the resolution off the table in a surprise move Thursday, after Israelis lobbied frantically for it to be shelved following indications that the US would not exercise its veto over the resolution and allow it to pass.
Diplomats and officials indicated that Egypt came under heavy pressure from officials in Israel as well as US President-elect Donald Trump, apparently drafted by high-level officials in Jerusalem into leaning on Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
“The proposal for other delegations to take the lead… would also help Egypt by relieving it of the burden of carrying this draft alone,” the note further read.
A meeting was planned for Friday morning for diplomats to discuss how to proceed.
The draft resolution demands that Israel stop settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and declares that all existing settlements “have no legal validity” and are “a flagrant violation” of international law.
After Egypt pulled the resolution, Arab ambassadors held an emergency meeting at the United Nations to press Egypt to move ahead with a vote but an Arab League committee decided after meeting in Cairo to continue talks on the fate of the motion.
A senior Security Council diplomat earlier suggested that the motion could be buried indefinitely.
“There was a window of opportunity. Whether that window is still there is really not clear,” said a Western diplomat.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN praised the move to delay the vote, but expressed worries it could come back up.
After efforts to lobby Washington to change its mind failed, furious Israeli officials reportedly threatened to reach out to Trump and eventually did, leading the incoming US president to issue a statement echoing an earlier one made by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling on the US to veto the resolution.
Trump also spoke to Sissi about the resolution, an official in Cairo said, and the Egyptian president seemed to support the contention that passing a resolution like this just before Trump took office could tie his hands.
“The presidents agreed on the importance of affording the new US administration the full chance to deal with all dimensions of the Palestinian case with a view of achieving a full and final settlement,” presidency spokesman Alaa Yousef claimed, according to Reuters.
Hours before it was expected to take place, the UN Security Council on Thursday suspended a vote on a draft resolution demanding Israel to halt its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories at the request of Egypt.
Reuters quoted diplomats at the UN as saying that Egypt justified its request for the delay to allow time for consultations with other Arab countries, but no new time or date for the vote was scheduled.
According to these diplomats, Egypt had put forward the resolution on Wednesday evening with the intent of having it put to a vote on Thursday, but following heavy Israeli and US pressure on Egypt's president Abdul-Fattah al-Sissi, the vote was shelved.
"Every member of the Security Council was ready to vote at 3 pm," a Western diplomat told Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity. "Egypt has delayed the vote following an intense Israeli lobbying campaign against them."
For his part, the Spanish president of the Security Council Fodé Seck told al-Jazeera channel reporter that the decision to postpone the vote was “deeply unfortunate.”
In addition, US diplomats who are still working for the current administration at the UN did not comment as to whether they would have voted for the resolution.
Earlier, the draft resolution had prompted Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to phone US president-elect Donald Trump asking for his intervention.
Netanyahu also called on the outgoing US administration to use its veto power at the Security Council to block it.
For his part, Trump, who campaigned on a promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, said in a statement that Washington should veto the resolution.
Reuters quoted diplomats at the UN as saying that Egypt justified its request for the delay to allow time for consultations with other Arab countries, but no new time or date for the vote was scheduled.
According to these diplomats, Egypt had put forward the resolution on Wednesday evening with the intent of having it put to a vote on Thursday, but following heavy Israeli and US pressure on Egypt's president Abdul-Fattah al-Sissi, the vote was shelved.
"Every member of the Security Council was ready to vote at 3 pm," a Western diplomat told Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity. "Egypt has delayed the vote following an intense Israeli lobbying campaign against them."
For his part, the Spanish president of the Security Council Fodé Seck told al-Jazeera channel reporter that the decision to postpone the vote was “deeply unfortunate.”
In addition, US diplomats who are still working for the current administration at the UN did not comment as to whether they would have voted for the resolution.
Earlier, the draft resolution had prompted Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to phone US president-elect Donald Trump asking for his intervention.
Netanyahu also called on the outgoing US administration to use its veto power at the Security Council to block it.
For his part, Trump, who campaigned on a promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, said in a statement that Washington should veto the resolution.
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