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US policy on Israel under fire at UNSC
The United States’ most recent pro-Israel move to legitimize illegal settlements in Palestine came under fire from members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Indonesia’s permanent representative to the UN said on Wednesday
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span>The United States’ most recent pro-Israel move to legitimize illegal settlements in Palestine came under fire from members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Indonesia’s permanent representative to the UN said on Wednesday.
In a security council meeting on the issue of Palestine in New York, Jakarta took the lead in canvassing support from other council members to reject US efforts to obliterate any semblance of a lasting peace deal between Israel and Palestine.
"Indonesia firmly rejects the US statement regarding Israel's illegal settlement policy, which is a de facto form of annexation of the Palestinian territories, and would hinder peace based on a two-state solution," Indonesian Ambassador to the UN Dian Triansyah Djani said in a statement received on Thursday.
Indonesia also urged Israel to stop the violence along the Gaza Strip, which has claimed countless Palestinian lives. "Indonesia condemns the killing of Palestinian civilians, and asks for a full investigation of Israel's actions," Triansyah said.
Indonesia, among the few council member states to offer support to the Palestinian cause, has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
The settlements issue has been one of the most contentious issues in the decades-old Mideast conflict. More than 600,000 Israelis live in illegally erected settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, alongside more than 3 million Palestinians.
Most of the international community see the settlements as illegal, a view Israel has long disputed. However, Israel received Monday the backing of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said Washington believed the building of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory was “not inconsistent with international law”, sparking sharp criticism from many countries.
Like many other pro-Israeli moves made by the Donald Trump administration, the most recent announcement looks to appeal to America’s evangelical Christians, an important part of Trump’s political base as he seeks reelection in 2020.
The policy change is seen as a win for the right wing establishment in Israel, whose incumbent leader is likely to face graft charges ahead of a possible third election this year.
According to a statement from Indonesia’s Mission to the UN, Indonesia urged the council’s current president, the United Kingdom, to issue a statement on reaffirming the illegal status of Israeli settlements.
It also lobbied for the issuance of a joint statement of the 10 nonpermanent members of the security council to call upon Israel to stop all illegal settlement development activities that are contrary to international law and many UNSC resolutions, including Resolution 2334 (2016), which affirmed that the settlements lack legal validity.
Passed near the end of Barack Obama’s time in office in 2016, the US’ permanent representative to the UN allowed the security council to pass a resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation” of international law.
Israel’s representative to the UN, Danny Danon, said the resolution was an outcome of political motives that had prolonged the conflict, according to the UN website.
The European members of the UNSC — Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and Poland, all of whom have diplomatic relations with Israel — reiterated their support for the resolution and their position toward the legality of the occupation, although without any mention of Washington.
"Our position on Israeli settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, is clear and remains unchanged," the five countries said in a joint statement.
British Ambassador to the UN Karen Pierce was quoted by Reuters as saying: “All settlement activity is illegal under international law and it erodes the viability of the two-state solution and the prospects for a lasting peace".
Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Cherith Norman Chalet reiterated the new American position but also said Washington “remains committed to the cause of peace, and Monday’s announcement does not alter this fact".
In the same forum, the chief Palestinian delegate at the UN, Riyad Mansour, said the US decision would not bring legitimacy to Israel’s continued colonization of Palestinian land.
“This will only impact […] the legitimacy of the United States, or what is left of it,” he said.
