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Palestinians granted a seat in the UN General Assembly [1]

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Date: 2024-09-16

In May, the UN General Assembly granted the Palestinian delegation new rights and privileges, and on September 10th, the Palestinian delegation took a seat among member states in the General Assembly. An overwhelming majority of the Assembly voted to grant Palestine full membership, but the US vetoed it.

A United Nations resolution in support of Palestinian membership passed with overwhelming support on Friday, and granted new privileges to the Palestinian Authority in its current capacity as a non-member observer state. The resolution won a resounding majority of 143 votes in favor. Twenty five abstained, and nine nations voted against the text: Czechia, Hungary, Argentina, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Israel and the United States.

The General Assembly granted the delegation certain new rights in a resolution, which still excluded it from being able to vote or be a member of the Security Council. Starting with the 79th General Assembly session, which began Tuesday, the Palestinians can submit proposals and amendments, and sit among member states.

In typical Orwellian fashion, the Israeli ambassador to the UN claimed that granting Palestinians any rights at the UN was a reward for terrorism.

That’s a bit ironic, considering it has been Israel, not the UN, that has financed Hamas since its inception. Erdan represents a government whose Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was convicted by an Israeli court of promoting racism and supporting a terrorist organization. A government that has armed, enabled, and protected what the head of Israel’s Shin-Bet called Jewish terrorists.

Israel thinks that rather than advancing the inalienable rights of the Palestinians guaranteed by international law and the UN charter, the UN should be passing resolutions backing ethnic cleansing, apartheid, illegal occupation, and Israeli terrorism.

The ICJ declares the occupation illegal

Delivering the court's findings, ICJ President Nawaf Salam said it had found that "Israel's... continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal." "The State of Israel is under the obligation to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible," he said. He said Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 did not bring Israel's occupation of that area to an end because it still exercises effective control over it. The court also said Israel should evacuate all of its settlers from the West Bank and East Jerusalem and pay reparations to Palestinians for damages caused by the occupation.

Netanyahu’s response?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that the Jewish people cannot be considered occupiers in their historic homeland, in response to a decision by the World Court saying Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are a breach of international law. “No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, just as the legality of Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be contested,” Netanyahu said.

That says it all. The US says that the question of a Palestinian state must be settled in a negotiation. Well, the negotiation is over. Bibi has made it crystal clear that everything from the river to the sea will be a Jewish Supremacist state, and there will never be a Palestinian state. For Netanyahu, that is non-negotiable. It’s in the Likud party’s charter, so replacing Netanyahu won’t change that.

The US has granted a veto to Palestinian human rights and their right to self-determination to someone who has stated the Palestinians will never have either. Can we stop pretending now that the US is for a two-state solution or that it supports the rights of Palestinians? Watching US spokespeople say that we believe a two-state solution is the only path to peace (while all our actions guarantee it will never happen) is as painful to watch as it is absurd.

Netanyahu and Putin, who are both facing prosecution for genocide, have been threatening international court justices. Netanyahu is pushing for his AIPAC-funded flunkies in the US Congress to threaten and intimidate South Africa to force it to withdraw its case. The US, which lectures the world about the rule of law and an International rules-based order, engaging in undermining and strong-arming justices? The US applauded the ICJ for its findings on Russia, and then when the ICJ applied the exact same rules to Israel, the US threatened sanctions. I can’t think of a better way to drive the entire Global South into the arms of China and Russia and make life impossible for our Arab allies.

European allies move to recognize a Palestinian state

It is evident to anyone paying attention that Israel will never agree to accede to the Palestinian right to self-determination. Recognizing that reality, many of our European allies who have long supported Israel have moved to recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally. If a two-state solution can’t be done with Israel’s cooperation, then it needs to be done over its objections. Spain, Ireland, and Norway agreed to recognize Palestine in May, and Slovenia followed soon after. They joined nine other European countries and a large majority of UN member states that already recognize Palestine.

‘Spanish government spokesperson Pilar Alegria announced that the cabinet had “adopted an important decision to recognise a Palestinian state”, which had “one objective: to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace”. The Spanish prime minister called the move “a matter of historical justice”. “The only route towards establishing peace is the establishment of a Palestinian state, living side by side with the state of Israel,” he said. “The state of Palestine must be viable with the West Bank and Gaza connected by a corridor and with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

These countries are not abandoning Israel. They are simply recognizing that the only path to a secure and safe Israel is a two-state solution and full rights to Palestinians. It’s a recognition that Netanyahu is leading Israel down the path to its destruction.

President Biden should take note. On paper, the President has a great plan that could lead to peace and prosperity for both peoples and the region. Unfortunately, Biden isn’t supporting the Biden plan; he is supporting the Netanyahu plan.

How can I say that?

Actions speak louder than words. Every dollar, bullet, and bomb that Biden sends Netanyahu goes to implementing Netanyahu’s plan and sabotaging Biden’s plan. So, the US invests $$$ billions in Netanyahu’s plan while Biden’s plan collects dust on a shelf. With every dollar Biden supplies to Netanyahu, Biden’s plan looks less and less viable. Yet the President continues to enable Netanyahu to act with impunity. That is the path to disaster for Israel and for the US.

You can’t support Israel and support Netanyahu.

The tragedy is that President Biden’s plan is a viable blueprint for the region's peace, security, and prosperity. If only our actions in the UN, our funding, redlines, and policies were focused on making the Biden plan a reality and strengthening the international rules-based order we claim to support.

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