In the first serious condemnation of Israel by the international community in eight years, a U.N. Security Council resolution holds the establishment of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories illegal.
IN THE LAST WEEK OF DECEMBER, THE United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 2334 reaffirming that the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem were illegal. The United States this time did not veto the resolution. A similar resolution was vetoed by the Barack Obama administration in 2011 despite the U.S. characterising itself as “an honest peace broker” in the Israel-Palestine dispute and terming the settlements “illegal”. The U.S. has, in fact, been indirectly subsidising some of the illegal settlement activity. The Israeli army, which protects the settlers and represses Palestinians, is the recipient of the largest tranche of U.S. military aid worldwide.
This was the first serious condemnation of Israel by the international community in the past eight years. Under George W. Bush, six similar UNSC resolutions were allowed to pass. During the single term of George H.W. Bush, nine resolutions critical of Israel were passed in the UNSC. The latest UNSC resolution described the establishment of Israeli settlements as “a major obstacle” to peace and “a flagrant violation under international law” that was “dangerously imperilling the viability of a two-state solution”. The resolution also demanded that Israel “immediately and completely cease all construction activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem”. There are at present 196 illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank along with hundreds of settler outposts located on strategic points. The Jerusalem municipality recently announced that 300 more housing units would be built on the illegally occupied land.
This story is from the February 3, 2017 edition of FRONTLINE.
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This story is from the February 3, 2017 edition of FRONTLINE.
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