Could Arab Spring Force US Hand On Palestinian Statehood At The UN?

Palestinian leaders say they will not halt their drive for full membership in the United Nations, despite facing a likely United States veto of such move.

“We know what the position of the United States of America is, they say it openly and they say it in closed meetings.” Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Authority envoy to the world body, told a briefing today after addressing the Security Council.“The decision is to ultimately acquire membership at the United Nations. We know that it requires passing through the Security Council, and we know what the position of the United States of America is.”

The Obama administration has promised to oppose and even veto any attempt to give Palestine full membership at the UN.

“They can obstruct our effort through the Security Council now, but will that position remain the same for ever? I think that remains to be seen.”

 He also raised the idea a mass movement by Palestinians in the style of the Arab Spring movements in Cairo and elsewhere might force the hand of the US.

“What would be the argument of anyone, anyone in the Security Council of stopping in the path of the Palestinian people of acquiring their legitimate right of being a full member of the UN? We are not there yet but are marching in that direction. “

Mansour said that by continuing to expand settlements and refusing to recognize pre-1967 borders as the basis for the new Palestinian state, the Israeli government was displaying an “extremely right wing and anti-peace agenda” and called on Security Council members to exert more pressure on Tel Aviv.

Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor contested these views, arguing that even the most basic conditions for Palestinian statehood did not exist.

“On behalf of whom will you present a resolution in September? Mr. Abbas? or Hamas?” Posor asked the Palestinian representative, alluding to the divide between Palestinian leadership in Gaza and the West Bank. “Will it be on behalf of both the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terrorist organization?”  

Robert Serry, Special UN coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process briefed Council Members earlier in the day about the ongoing situation in the Occupied Territories.

Serry told Council members the Palestinian Authority’s institutions in the West Bank had made unprecedented progress on issues like economic growth and security and were now sufficiently ready to assume all the responsibilities brought on by statehood.

But Serry also said tensions between Gaza and Israel have increased in the past month. Since June 23rd, armed militant groups have fired 18 rockets into Israel, while the Israeli military has carried out 3 land incursion and 16 air strikes in Gaza, killing one civilian and injuring 14 others.

The UN Coordinator for Middle East Peace Process condemned the rocket attacks as  “unacceptable” and called on Palestinian militant groups in Gaza to stop indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas.

Serry also said he was alarmed over the Israeli governments “negative actions” in Gaza and the West Bank, where he says the demolition Palestinian structures, often water and sanitation services, are at their highest rate in five years.

While Gaza is experiencing a small economic recovery, unemployment remains at 31%. Serry says growth is mainly driven by donor aid and an increase in consumer good imports brought on last year after Israel revised its blockade guidelines.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza still remains bleak, with 54 % of the population being “food insecure” and over one third of the population living in poverty.

US Vetoes Security Council Resolution On Israeli Settlements

The Obama administration Friday made its first use of its veto at the UN Security council, blocking a resolution condemning Israeli settlements.

The United States was the lone UN Security Council member to veto the resolution that identified Israeli settlements as illegal and called for an end to further construction in the Occupied Territories. 

US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said her country believed a Security Council resolution would further complicate negotiations between parties, but insisted the US veto was in no way a sign of support for Israeli settlements.

“Continued settlement activity violates Israel’s international commitments, devastates trust between the parties and threatens the prospects of peace. “ Rice told the Security Council,  “Every potential action must be measured against one overriding standard; will it move the parties closer to negotiation and an agreement. Unfortunately this draft resolution risks hardening the position of both sides. It could encourage the parties to stay out of negotiation, and if and when they did resume, to return to the Security Council whenever they reach an impasse.”

Media reports through out the week indicated Rice had been working to convince Palestinian and Arab leaders not to introduce the resolution, offering instead to issue a Security Council Presidential statement and further promises of diplomatic pressure on Israel as alternatives.

“In recent days, we offered a constructive alternative course forward, that we believe would have allowed the council to act unanimously to support the pursuit of peace. We regret that this effort was not successful”

Negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials broke down in again in September, after the Israeli government refused to extend a freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank

Middle East Peace Deal Politically Impossible At Moment Says UN Human Rights Rapporteur

Israeli government policies on settlements and forced evictions contradict the international community’s framework for the peace process and will likely prevent any consensus on a two state solution,says Richard Falk, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human right in the Palestinian Territories.

  “The basis of international negotiations seems increasingly problematic as a solution because it would require the substantial reversal of the settlement process. The political realities in Israel and among the settler population make that a non viable possibility. “ Falk told reporters at a press conference in New York today.

 Israeli officials maintain that settlement issue should be part of final status negotiations and not prevent the continuation of peace talks.

 The Middle East Quartet, a group of US, British, Russian and UN diplomats tasked with advancing the peace process, has repeatedly called on Israel to stop all settlement activity while specifying that the end of a moratorium on settlements would not justify the end of negotiations.

 Falk, who presented his last report as Special Rapporteur to the General Assembly on Wednesday, says the accelerated expansion in East Jerusalem and the end of the Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank are contradictory to the condition of withdrawal in Security Council resolution 242 on the Occupied Territories and a violation of international law.

 A Princeton professor and long time international law expert before being appointed to in his post by the Human Rights Council in 2008, Falk believes civil society groups in both countries will need to continue boycott and divestment initiatives and increase their efforts at challenging the legal aspects of the occupation.

 US officials have in the past opposed measures at pressuring Israel through boycotts or divestment as counter productive and criticized the Special Rapporteur’s mandate for being biased and overly focused on Israeli responsibility, failing to consider Hamas role in the Gaza humanitarian situation. 

 On Friday, Falk argued that the limited mandate and context of his report had no bearing on the charges against Israel or his assessment of humanitarian law situation in Gaza, West Bank or East Jerusalem.”The larger context is helpful in understanding the interaction, but it isn’t helpful in excusing Israeli behavior.”

Authors: Use Social Media To Gain Insight On Palestine

By Samira Sadeque

Authors of a recent report, Palestinian Pulse: What Policymakers Can Learn From Palestinian Social Media, Jonathan Schanzer and Mark Dubowitz questioned the success of the Obama administration’s efforts for peace progress in Palestine based on infromation being made available by the governemnt.

“Are we at a place where the sentiment on the ground is conducive for peace?” Schanzer asked, pointing out that history shows peace attempts made by American governments have been misled and misinformed.

“We have had many men and women trying to find a resolution to this conflict,” said Dubowitz as he agreed to Schanzer’s testament to repeated failures in attempting to reach peace in the region. Dubowitz, who is also the Executive Director of Foundation for Defense of Democracies, credited these failures to an over reliance on Palestinian polls for information and “misleading promises” made by Palestinian leaders. 

The authors touted social media as a more efficient and accurate means of finding out the true sentiments of the people saying that it is free of any outside influence or manipulation and the anonymity of opinions give more room for people to bring up really controversial issues.

On the other hand, Matt Levit, Senior Fellow and Director of The Washington Institute’s Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, questioned the validity of statements put online, since a majority of content is published by a younger generation.

“In the age of social media we need to have a better understanding of how people convey online,” Levit said. “To what extent what we are reading is bravado, how much of a conclusion we can draw, I question.”

Netenyahu, Abbas Agree To Meet Again In Two Weeks

UPDATE - 5:00pm - Both heads of state, Prime Minister Netenyahu and President Abbas, agreed today to meet for another round of talks in mid-September, according to U.S. President Barack Obama’s special Mideast peace envoy, George Mitchell. The meeting will take place in the Middle East, though an exact location has not yet been specified.

WASHINGTON - After two years of silence, direct negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders begin today.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet at the State Department, presided over by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to begin discussions of compromise and long-lasting peace.

A major factor in these negotiations is the expanded settlement of Israel in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  There is currently a moratorium on the settlement expansion that played a major role in building the trust for advancing Thursday’s peace talks. The moratorium, however, is scheduled to expire September 26 and if it is not extended, peace talks between Israel and Palestine will take a heavy blow.

President Barack Obama met with the two leaders yesterday, along with the leaders from Jordan and Egypt, to emphasize that this is an opportunity that must be seized. Despite lingering skepticism, Obama said he believes both countries are looking to achieve a peaceful resolution.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas are two leaders who I believe want peace [and] both sides have indicated that these negotiations can be completed within one year,” Obama said in an address following meetings with both Netanyahu and Abbas. “Now is the time for leaders of courage and vision to deliver the peace that their people deserve.”