US Faces Isolation on Security Council Over Settlements

A surge in settler violence and increased construction and plans for Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem have again placed the Obama administration in a tough spot at the UN Security Council, where some of its closest allies Tuesday strongly condemned recent Israeli policies and settlement activities.

While American officials have repeatedly said they oppose Israeli settlement expansion as illegitimate and counter-productive to the peace process, the US administration used its first and only Security Council veto back in February to oppose a resolution condemning Israeli settlement expansion in a 14-1 vote. 

US support for Israel is a sensitive political issue for this administration.Republican opponents have already criticized the White House for its strained relationship with the Netanyahu government, and less than a year away from an election, the administration likely won’t change its position, should the issue once again come before the Security Council as was suggested by some countries Tuesday. 

Calls for Security Council involvement in the conflict come at a time when the US is trying to convince other Council members to support resolutions and sanctions targeting the regimes in Syria and Iran. A US veto to block another lopsided vote against settlements could further damage American standing in the Arab world and hurt administration’s efforts at the United Nations.

In a briefing on the latest developments Tuesday, UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco called Israeli actions a violation of its obligations under the international community’s roadmap for peace.

Taranco said there had been an alarming increase in settlement construction in East Jerusalem, the cities of Shilo, Efrat and Beitar Illit and that after a long period of restraint, Israeli authorities had resumed in December the demolition of Palestinian residential structure in Jerusalem.

Taranco also briefed the Council members on renewed reports of settler violence, which he says have become a systematic occurrence and often take place in the context of anticipated government action against illegal settlement construction. He said that over the past month, mosques in the West Bank, Hebron, West Jerusalem and near Ramallah have been fire bombed and desecrated and that six Palestinians including two children had been injured in other attacks by settlers.

Security Council diplomats issued statements on behalf of larger diplomatic groups and individually after the briefing,  with IBSA ( India, Brazil, South Africa), the Non Aligned Movement (Group of 120 countries) ,  the four European Council members ( France, UK, Portugal, Germany) as well as Russia, each condemning the surge in settler construction and violence against Palestinian civilians. 

 The American delegation at the United Nations did not issue a statement.. 

Speaking on behalf on the four European Council members, British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said France, Portugal, Germany and the UK where “dismayed” by the negative developments on the ground, which he said had a devastating effect on the peace process. Lyall Grant urged the Israeli government to reverse course on settlement activity, including in East Jerusalem.

“We believe that Israel’s security and the realization of the Palestinians right to statehood  are not opposing goals. On the contrary, they are mutually reinforcing objectives but they will not be achieved while settlement building and settler violence continues.”

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow was also increasingly concerned and frustrated by recent developments, which he said clearly raised human right concerns but also put in question the feasibility of the two state solution. 

“If you look at the map, you start wondering how, even theoretically, two states can be set up in Gaza and West Bank given this new reality.”

Churkin said his country would favor the Security Council using its leverage on the issue of settlements in hopes to encourage real negotiations.

“You can hear people these days say in other contexts: “The international community must act, the security council must act.” he said. “ Why doesn’t it apply to the Israeli-Palestinian track of our diplomatic and political effort? We think it can be done in a way which is not harming Israeli security and interests at all.”

Russia has of late been sharply criticized by US and European governments for blocking a Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on the Syrian government for its crackdown against protesters, although last week Moscow proposed its own draft resolution on Syria which has since been welcomed by European diplomats as a good starting point for negotiations.

Churkin said Israel’s large political coalition make any discussions about possible concessions a complicated for the Israeli government, and that the country’s leadership may need a “gentle prod” from the international community or Security Council to uphold its international obligations.

Both the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) and IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) statements called on Council members to speak out against violations of international law and uphold Security Council resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

 Brazilian Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti said ending settlement expansion wasn’t a concession “but an obligation as per various resolution per international law”.

 The Brazilian Ambassador said Security Council involvement was required to settle the conflict.

 “The IBSA countries believe the Security Council has an irreplaceable role to play in the peace process, mainly by condemning violence and calling for a complete halt to settlement activity, calling for the implementation of its own resolutions..”

In his report today assistant secretary-general for political affairs Taranco, also detailed the deteriorating security situation in Gaza and Southern Israel. 

Taranco said Israeli forces carried out 13 airstrikes and 9 incursions in Gaza over the past month, resulting in the death of eight Palestinian militants and injuring 24 civilians. 

He said Palestinian militants responded by firing 45 projectiles into Israel after one of the IDF strikes killed two Islamic jihad militants and injured 10 civilians. Israeli officials say the two Jihadist were preparing an attack. He said there was no reported injuries or damage in Israel from the rocket fire from Gaza.

 In the West Bank IDF forces carried out 237 operations,154 civilians injured including 6 children. The operations also resulted in the arrest of over 200 people.

Israeli Soldier Returns Home

After more than five years in Hamas captivity, Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit arrived home Tuesday. 

In a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, Schalit was exchanged for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.

The swap will be performed in a series of delicate stages. 477 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were released Tuesday morning and an additional 550 prisoners will be released in two months.

Schalit, 25, was moved from Gaza into Egypt where Israeli medical personnel examined him.

Subsequently, Schalit was taken to a military base in Tel Nof, Israel where he was greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and embraced by his mother, father, grandfather, sister and brother.

After being welcomed home by more than 200 supporters and activists in his doorway, Schalit entered his home in Mitzpe Hila, a town in Northern Israel near the Lebanese border.

Medical examinations showed that Schalit was malnourished, pale and limping but otherwise in reasonable health. His mental health is still unknown.

Aid To Palestinians Still Falls Short, Says UN Chief

John Ging, Director of Operations for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza spoke with reporters today about the latest update in regards to food and supply aid to Palestinian refugees.

“There are a number of materials that still remain on the banned list,” Ging said. “The water situation is a crisis, 90 percent is unfit for human consumption. And the ten of thousands of homes damaged and destroyed during Operation Cast Lead (December 2008) are still not built.” 

Ging said most of the goods coming in are consumer goods. UNRWA is meeting only 7 percent of its needs in construction and non-consumer materials needed. 

“On the security side, the good news is that rocket fire has not been directed at operations. Which is good. But we must condemn all the rockets that are fired and target Israel,” he added. 

The UN General Assembly preceded the briefing with statements from world leaders balking at the current state of Palestinian rights in the Gaza Strip. Ging said that in reality there is a possibility to get goods across the Gaza strip but the UN is now looking to survey the impact on the population. Still , he said 80 percent of the population continues to be aid dependent. And he underscored the business sector is 95 percent “dormant” and the commercial imports and exports industry has not been fully developed. 

Ging also said education falls short as many schools have yet to be built or rebuilt and many children are still denied access to basic education. He underscored that Palestinians need to get off aid dependency and the UN plans to to boost programs for economic independence throughout the region. 

“We have a huge amount of progress to make. The plight of the people is still desperate. We are still at the bottom of the latter, but we have now turned that corner and are going in the right direction.”

There are currently 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza, of which 800,000 are children. 

Israel Will Conduct "Credible Investigation;" BP To Pay Gov't $69 Mil, Says Gibbs

By Miles Wolf Tamboli - Talk Radio News Service

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs delivered remarks Thursday afternoon on Israeli-Palestinian relations, the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, and immigration reform.

Gibbs was questioned on the heated and controversial conflict between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian supporters on the Gaza flotilla Monday. He addressed the death of the pro-Palestinian American citizen who was killed in the attack.

"We have called for... a full and credible investigation so that we have all the facts about what happened; that is tremendously important."

However, Gibbs later conceded that, "It's an Israeli investigation ... that could include international participation," leaving some questioning the accountability of the report.

When asked about the government's response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf, Gibbs assured reporters that the Federal government will, "hold BP responsible throughout this process."

"The Federal government will, at some point today, send...a bill for 69 million dollars of expenses incurred up to this point to BP," Gibbs said.

Gibbs expressed the President's position that states' individual handling of immigration law has been the result of a lack of action on the part of the Federal government to reform its own laws, but stated that he doesn't think the nation can, "deal with comprehensive immigration reform and the circumstances around the border without dealing with Arizona."

The Press Secretary touted Senator John McCain (R-AZ) as being "instrumental" in bringing immigration reform into the spotlight and stated that he doubts the U.S. can develop comprehensive immigration reform legislation without McCain "doing what he did" in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Investigation Of Flotilla Raid Is Neccessary Says Expert

By Sarah Mamula- Talk Radio News Service

Shibley Telhami, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, commented on the recent events of the Gaza-bound flotilla, claiming that not enough is known about what he calls, "a disaster," and urges an investigation into Israel's actions.

"For all intents and purposes, all we know is that there were civilians and that they were in international waters," Telhami said. "I think we should have an investigation to find out what exactly happened, who was behind it, and what transpired on board."

Despite the lack of concrete information surrounding the Israeli commando raid, Telhami firmly believes aggressive action was the wrong approach.

"Regardless of the circumstances, confronting a civilian boat in a manner that could lead to the death of civilians is wrong. I think that clearly what transpired here is very hard to explain on the part of the Israelis."

The expert went on to speak about the importance of the United States' diplomatic role in this "immediate crisis," but also emphasized that an alternative to the Gaza blockade must be found.

"Everyone in the international community has been calling for more goods to go into Gaza. Even the U.S. says the blockade is not sustainable the way it is now," Telhami said.