9 dec 2018
Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Abul Gheit said the failure of the the US-sponsored draft resolution seeking to condemn Palestinian resistance group Hamas at the United Nations General Assembly is a goal scored in favor of the Palestinians.
Speaking in a Sunday statement, Abul Gheit said the draft resolution is devoid of balance and objectivity, adding that it makes part of an attempt to pool the wool over the world’s eye as it avoids dubbing Israel an occupying power.
The 193-member UNGA voted 87-57 in favor of the US resolution Thursday while 33 members chose to abstain, leaving Washington with a plurality vote that fell short of the two-thirds requirement to adopt the resolution.
The resolution attempted to condemn Hamas for carrying out rocket attacks against Israel and using "airborne incendiary devices" against Israelis.
Speaking in a Sunday statement, Abul Gheit said the draft resolution is devoid of balance and objectivity, adding that it makes part of an attempt to pool the wool over the world’s eye as it avoids dubbing Israel an occupying power.
The 193-member UNGA voted 87-57 in favor of the US resolution Thursday while 33 members chose to abstain, leaving Washington with a plurality vote that fell short of the two-thirds requirement to adopt the resolution.
The resolution attempted to condemn Hamas for carrying out rocket attacks against Israel and using "airborne incendiary devices" against Israelis.
8 dec 2018
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced, this week, that it will consider a lawsuit filed by Palestinian officials, over the United States administration’s violation of international law, in moving its embassy to occupied Jerusalem.
A statement from the court, based in the Dutch city of The Hague, said it would first consider whether the case was within its jurisdiction and then consider admitting the case.
Al Ray reported that the statement, issued on Monday evening, said the court had asked both countries for written justification.
The Court was granted Palestine a maximum period of time, until 15 May, 2019, to submit its written justification, and to the United States, until 15 November, of the same year.
On December 6, 2017, US president Donald Trump announced his recognition of Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel, followed by the moving of the Washington embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.
On September 29, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki announced that a lawsuit had been filed against the United States, before the International Court of Justice of the United Nations, for violating international law and moving its embassy to the occupied city of Jerusalem.
A statement from the court, based in the Dutch city of The Hague, said it would first consider whether the case was within its jurisdiction and then consider admitting the case.
Al Ray reported that the statement, issued on Monday evening, said the court had asked both countries for written justification.
The Court was granted Palestine a maximum period of time, until 15 May, 2019, to submit its written justification, and to the United States, until 15 November, of the same year.
On December 6, 2017, US president Donald Trump announced his recognition of Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel, followed by the moving of the Washington embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem.
On September 29, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki announced that a lawsuit had been filed against the United States, before the International Court of Justice of the United Nations, for violating international law and moving its embassy to the occupied city of Jerusalem.
The world must forget its commitments to rights and justice, its obligations under international law, the Quartet’s promises to establish a “viable and independent Palestinian state”. An end must be put to the repeated condemnations directed at the Israeli occupation and its constant attacks and violations, including killing peaceful demonstrators participating in the mass protests on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip and the rampant settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
For this reason, the Trump administration called for a vote on a carefully crafted draft resolution to divert attention away from the essence of the Palestinian cause and to try to blame the victim. It aims to overturn the agenda and mix up all the playing cards suddenly, in order to portray the problem as being the Palestinian people, not the occupation and its consequences.
The world was asked to vote in the General Assembly on 6 December to respond to a biased and essentially subjective question from the United States. They were forced to decide under intense pressure and orders, which some states were forced to comply with based on the wishes of the United States, and perhaps some were subject to light exploitation and promised political support or aid.
The draft resolution is formulating in a very misleading manner. It speaks superficially of condemning Hamas to avoid openly criticizing the Palestinian people and their overall resistance and it absolves the Israeli occupation of its fundamental responsibility for the situation.
It seems that this is an attempt by the American administration to avenge its bruised ego after the embarrassments it faced over an entire year. Its new move to vote is occurring to coincide with the first anniversary of Trump’s announcement recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and decision to move the American embassy to the city, something avoided by previous administrations. The Trump administration found itself alone after making this biased decision, as the world was asked to announce its position on the matter in a vote in January 2018. The Trump administration was shown to be internationally isolated in its decision towards Jerusalem. There was a vote yesterday in which the discussion was directed at a completely different arena: the Palestinian resistance’s response to the Israeli bombings and the launch of incendiary kites and balloons from the Gaza Strip.
The drafting of the US draft resolution was in a manner that focused attention on a specific part of its context, drawing the world into a debate outside the core issue. It was clear that many of the countries defending the Palestinians’ inalienable rights would be silenced or embarrassed by this unimaginative trick. Yesterday’s vote, however, led to a new disappointment for Trump’s administration, despite all the hard work they had put in over the past few days to win this round. This angered US Representative Nikki Haley, once again, and she stormed out of the room without voting on the Irish alternative.
In this critical round of voting, the world bypassed the US administration by requiring a two-thirds majority to approve its project. Moreover, 33 countries abstained from the vote while 57 countries voted against the resolution. Thus, the US-Israeli position was unable to pass a resolution favoring the occupation despite 87 countries backing it after an intensive mobilization campaign that, at first glance, seemed to be a guaranteed success.
The US draft resolution fell in the General Assembly vote, but we must immediately steer the international debate regarding the Palestinian cause back to its logical priorities, which have been manipulated to portray the violent occupation as the defeated victim. The American action in the General Assembly ignored all that was issued by this UN council in the past on the question of Palestine, even the decision issued in October 2003 condemning the Separation Wall built by the occupation authorities in the West Bank and calling for its demolition. However, this resolution, like the many other related resolutions, has remained ink on paper.
A few years ago, I met European diplomats who criticized the launching of “indiscriminate rockets” from the Gaza Strip, as was claimed at the time. I shared their concern about these “indiscriminate rockets” and asked them whether they believed the solution to the problem is to provide the Palestinians with very accurate weapons and ammunition and smart technologies such as those obtained by Israelis from Western countries. What happened in the American draft resolution that fell in the UN vote gives a different perception of the meaning of such criticism.
What happened in the international forum yesterday is that a major superpower, which gives its best weapons, ammunition and military expertise and technologies to an occupation government that commits war crimes, tried to lure the world into taking a stand against the people under occupation, as if they are supposed to hold flowers and sing about the beauty of life under Israeli bombing.
- Hossam Shaker is a researcher and author, and a consultant in media, public relations and mass communication for a number of organizations in Europe. He resides in Vienna and has an interest in analysis of European and international affairs, as well as social and media issues. His article appeared in MEMO.
For this reason, the Trump administration called for a vote on a carefully crafted draft resolution to divert attention away from the essence of the Palestinian cause and to try to blame the victim. It aims to overturn the agenda and mix up all the playing cards suddenly, in order to portray the problem as being the Palestinian people, not the occupation and its consequences.
The world was asked to vote in the General Assembly on 6 December to respond to a biased and essentially subjective question from the United States. They were forced to decide under intense pressure and orders, which some states were forced to comply with based on the wishes of the United States, and perhaps some were subject to light exploitation and promised political support or aid.
The draft resolution is formulating in a very misleading manner. It speaks superficially of condemning Hamas to avoid openly criticizing the Palestinian people and their overall resistance and it absolves the Israeli occupation of its fundamental responsibility for the situation.
It seems that this is an attempt by the American administration to avenge its bruised ego after the embarrassments it faced over an entire year. Its new move to vote is occurring to coincide with the first anniversary of Trump’s announcement recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and decision to move the American embassy to the city, something avoided by previous administrations. The Trump administration found itself alone after making this biased decision, as the world was asked to announce its position on the matter in a vote in January 2018. The Trump administration was shown to be internationally isolated in its decision towards Jerusalem. There was a vote yesterday in which the discussion was directed at a completely different arena: the Palestinian resistance’s response to the Israeli bombings and the launch of incendiary kites and balloons from the Gaza Strip.
The drafting of the US draft resolution was in a manner that focused attention on a specific part of its context, drawing the world into a debate outside the core issue. It was clear that many of the countries defending the Palestinians’ inalienable rights would be silenced or embarrassed by this unimaginative trick. Yesterday’s vote, however, led to a new disappointment for Trump’s administration, despite all the hard work they had put in over the past few days to win this round. This angered US Representative Nikki Haley, once again, and she stormed out of the room without voting on the Irish alternative.
In this critical round of voting, the world bypassed the US administration by requiring a two-thirds majority to approve its project. Moreover, 33 countries abstained from the vote while 57 countries voted against the resolution. Thus, the US-Israeli position was unable to pass a resolution favoring the occupation despite 87 countries backing it after an intensive mobilization campaign that, at first glance, seemed to be a guaranteed success.
The US draft resolution fell in the General Assembly vote, but we must immediately steer the international debate regarding the Palestinian cause back to its logical priorities, which have been manipulated to portray the violent occupation as the defeated victim. The American action in the General Assembly ignored all that was issued by this UN council in the past on the question of Palestine, even the decision issued in October 2003 condemning the Separation Wall built by the occupation authorities in the West Bank and calling for its demolition. However, this resolution, like the many other related resolutions, has remained ink on paper.
A few years ago, I met European diplomats who criticized the launching of “indiscriminate rockets” from the Gaza Strip, as was claimed at the time. I shared their concern about these “indiscriminate rockets” and asked them whether they believed the solution to the problem is to provide the Palestinians with very accurate weapons and ammunition and smart technologies such as those obtained by Israelis from Western countries. What happened in the American draft resolution that fell in the UN vote gives a different perception of the meaning of such criticism.
What happened in the international forum yesterday is that a major superpower, which gives its best weapons, ammunition and military expertise and technologies to an occupation government that commits war crimes, tried to lure the world into taking a stand against the people under occupation, as if they are supposed to hold flowers and sing about the beauty of life under Israeli bombing.
- Hossam Shaker is a researcher and author, and a consultant in media, public relations and mass communication for a number of organizations in Europe. He resides in Vienna and has an interest in analysis of European and international affairs, as well as social and media issues. His article appeared in MEMO.
7 dec 2018
After the US draft’s failure, the UNGA voted 156-6 to adopt an Irish resolution that called for "the achievement, without delay, of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East" on the basis of UN resolutions, specially the December 2016 measure.
The resolution also reaffirmed "unwavering support” for a two-state solution along “the pre-1967 borders."
Tel Aviv tried to undermine the defeat, with Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon saying that a majority vote was within reach had the vote “not been hijacked by a political move of procedure.”
Following the vote, Hamas hailed the failure of the resolution as a “slap” to US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also commended the outcome.
“The presidency thanked all the states that voted against the American draft resolution, affirming that it will not allow for the condemnation of the Palestinian national struggle,” the PA’s office said in a statement.
The resolution also reaffirmed "unwavering support” for a two-state solution along “the pre-1967 borders."
Tel Aviv tried to undermine the defeat, with Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon saying that a majority vote was within reach had the vote “not been hijacked by a political move of procedure.”
Following the vote, Hamas hailed the failure of the resolution as a “slap” to US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also commended the outcome.
“The presidency thanked all the states that voted against the American draft resolution, affirming that it will not allow for the condemnation of the Palestinian national struggle,” the PA’s office said in a statement.
6 dec 2018
Member of Hamas’s political bureau Ezzat al-Resheq has said that the international community will be undergoing a real test on Thursday when facing the US administration’s bias towards Israel, its crimes and agendas.
In press remarks on Thursday, Resheq conveyed the Palestinian people’s hope that the UN General Assembly member states would stand together against the US draft resolution calling for criminalizing the Palestinian people’s resistance of Israel.
The Hamas official described “the US draft resolution as a violation of the international law and an attempt to criminalize a legitimate right to resist the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian land by all means.”
The UN General Assembly will vote Thursday, December 06, on a US-drafted resolution condemning the Palestinian Resistance Movement of Hamas.
In press remarks on Thursday, Resheq conveyed the Palestinian people’s hope that the UN General Assembly member states would stand together against the US draft resolution calling for criminalizing the Palestinian people’s resistance of Israel.
The Hamas official described “the US draft resolution as a violation of the international law and an attempt to criminalize a legitimate right to resist the Israeli occupation on the Palestinian land by all means.”
The UN General Assembly will vote Thursday, December 06, on a US-drafted resolution condemning the Palestinian Resistance Movement of Hamas.
5 dec 2018
Hebrew media sources reported on Wednesday that the US administration is pressuring 9 Arab countries to vote in favor of a draft resolution condemning Hamas at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.
Haaretz newspaper said that Jason Greenblatt, the US Special Representative for International Negotiations, had sent requests on the matter to diplomats from Morocco, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar.
Greenblatt in his letters said that the Palestinian Authority's opposition to the US proposal is hypocritical "because it considers Hamas an enemy and imposes sanctions on it".
A source in the US administration quoted Greenblatt as writing that the countries which oppose terrorism and want stability in the region have no reason to reject the US proposal.
The US-initiated draft resolution has been amended following negotiations with some European countries with the aim of increasing the number of supporters. Items related to the Palestinian national reconciliation and the Palestinian Authority's takeover of the Gaza Strip were added.
The US administration believes that if the resolution passes, it will be the first time that the United Nations General Assembly explicitly condemns Hamas, the Israeli newspaper added.
Haaretz newspaper said that Jason Greenblatt, the US Special Representative for International Negotiations, had sent requests on the matter to diplomats from Morocco, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar.
Greenblatt in his letters said that the Palestinian Authority's opposition to the US proposal is hypocritical "because it considers Hamas an enemy and imposes sanctions on it".
A source in the US administration quoted Greenblatt as writing that the countries which oppose terrorism and want stability in the region have no reason to reject the US proposal.
The US-initiated draft resolution has been amended following negotiations with some European countries with the aim of increasing the number of supporters. Items related to the Palestinian national reconciliation and the Palestinian Authority's takeover of the Gaza Strip were added.
The US administration believes that if the resolution passes, it will be the first time that the United Nations General Assembly explicitly condemns Hamas, the Israeli newspaper added.
26 nov 2018
by Yvonne Ridley
Layla Moran, the first British Member of Parliament of Palestinian descent, has urged the UK to “step up to the plate and lead” over the issue of Palestine given that the US President “can now in no way be considered an honest broker.”
The MP launched her scathing attack on Donald Trump in the light of the UN Relief and Works Agency’s efforts to cover its budget deficit. The US was UNRWA’s biggest donor, but Trump cut its funding in September, even though the agency provides essential education, healthcare and social services for millions of Palestinian refugees.
Moran’s mother, Randa, is a Christian Palestinian from Jerusalem and the MP still has family living in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Her British father’s diplomatic career took the family all over the world. Although the 35-year-old Oxford West and Abingdon MP usually downplays her Arab heritage, she has had a busy week defending Palestine and has secured a parliamentary debate on Palestinian Statehood to be held early next year. Furthermore, she seized an opportunity on Wednesday to challenge the Foreign Office on what it was doing after Trump’s move to cancel America’s donations to UNRWA.
Minister of State for the Middle East Alastair Burt is well aware that Trump’s funding cut will have a devastating impact on the five million Palestinians who rely on UNRWA; he is also a Minister of State for the Department of International Development. “The UK has made official-level representations to the EU and World Bank over the past three months on the position of UNRWA,” he responded to Moran’s question. “We will continue to work with UNRWA and our international partners to help ensure essential services are maintained, despite the United States’ withdrawal of funding.”
Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP who won her seat in the 2017 snap general election, asked if the British government will consider hosting a donor conference to make up the shortfall in funding. “Further, will they support my Palestinian statehood Bill, which I will be introducing to the House later today?”
Burt said that the recognition of Palestine remains a matter for the UK’s judgment in the best interests of “peace and the peace process”, although there is neither in the Middle East at the moment. As far as support for UNRWA is concerned, he added: “We continue to work with other donors and urge them to step in to assist in filling the gap in funding. We have done that with other states and we are doing that with the EU and the World Bank. We will continue to do so. We have increased our contribution this year to £57.5 million to help vulnerable Palestinians in relation to health and education. We will continue to support UNRWA.” He said nothing about government support for Moran’s Bill.
The LibDem MP’s performance earned praise from the new Palestinian Ambassador in London, Dr Husam Zumlot. “I spoke with Layla this morning and I welcomed what she did,” he told MEMO. “I called her immediately. She has a brilliant career of serving Britain and represents the very best of the relationship between our two countries.” He added that the debate on statehood will create the right atmosphere for a “just peace” in the Middle East as an entry point to discussion and an incentive to peacemaking.
Zumlot was the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s main diplomat in the United States until September, when the Trump administration closed the PLO’s office in Washington as part of an effort to block moves against Israel at the International Criminal Court.
The debate on Palestinian statehood is scheduled for Friday, 8 February and came about after Moran submitted her Bill on Wednesday to have Palestine recognised as a state officially by Britain. She told the media that she hopes that Britain will change its position on such recognition.
“Since I was elected I have been dismayed at the progress the Conservative Government has made towards recognising the state of Palestine,” she said in a statement issued to Anadolu Agency. “I am in favour of a two-state solution, but until the state of Palestine is recognised, the two actors can’t come to the table as equal partners.”
She added that it is “vital” for Britain to acknowledge the role that it has played in the current situation in Israel-Palestine being what it is, not least because of the Balfour Declaration, issued 101 years ago this month. “Whilst I appreciate that the UK recognising the state of Palestine alone won’t be a solution, doing it would go some way to reigniting the spark of hope that has gone out in the heart of Palestinians across the world.”
In 2012, the UN General Assembly granted Palestine the status of a non-member observer state. To date it has been recognised by 137 of the 193 countries in the world which are UN members.
Moran’s arrival as Britain’s first MP of Palestinian heritage raised eyebrows after she overturned a Conservative majority of almost 10,000 votes to win her Oxford seat by a narrow margin of 816 votes. When asked about her ethnicity she said at the time: “My Palestinian background has made me interested at a global level. Politics was always at the dinner table, it primed me to engage.”
She speaks four languages as well as English — French, Arabic, Spanish and Greek — and is not the only one in her family to enjoy a high profile. Her great-grandfather, Wasif Jawhariyyeh, was a celebrated writer who wrote extensive memoirs about Palestinian life under Ottoman and British rule, before fleeing Palestine after the State of Israel was created.
Just as she hopes that Britain will step up and take a lead on Palestine, activists seeking justice for the Palestinians hope that Layla Moran’s background will take on more significance in her political life. Not least, they say, so that she adopts a leading role in civil society campaigns to right the significant wrongs precipitated by Balfour and successive British governments since 1917. Her debate on Palestinian statehood will be a great place to start.
~Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine
Layla Moran, the first British Member of Parliament of Palestinian descent, has urged the UK to “step up to the plate and lead” over the issue of Palestine given that the US President “can now in no way be considered an honest broker.”
The MP launched her scathing attack on Donald Trump in the light of the UN Relief and Works Agency’s efforts to cover its budget deficit. The US was UNRWA’s biggest donor, but Trump cut its funding in September, even though the agency provides essential education, healthcare and social services for millions of Palestinian refugees.
Moran’s mother, Randa, is a Christian Palestinian from Jerusalem and the MP still has family living in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Her British father’s diplomatic career took the family all over the world. Although the 35-year-old Oxford West and Abingdon MP usually downplays her Arab heritage, she has had a busy week defending Palestine and has secured a parliamentary debate on Palestinian Statehood to be held early next year. Furthermore, she seized an opportunity on Wednesday to challenge the Foreign Office on what it was doing after Trump’s move to cancel America’s donations to UNRWA.
Minister of State for the Middle East Alastair Burt is well aware that Trump’s funding cut will have a devastating impact on the five million Palestinians who rely on UNRWA; he is also a Minister of State for the Department of International Development. “The UK has made official-level representations to the EU and World Bank over the past three months on the position of UNRWA,” he responded to Moran’s question. “We will continue to work with UNRWA and our international partners to help ensure essential services are maintained, despite the United States’ withdrawal of funding.”
Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP who won her seat in the 2017 snap general election, asked if the British government will consider hosting a donor conference to make up the shortfall in funding. “Further, will they support my Palestinian statehood Bill, which I will be introducing to the House later today?”
Burt said that the recognition of Palestine remains a matter for the UK’s judgment in the best interests of “peace and the peace process”, although there is neither in the Middle East at the moment. As far as support for UNRWA is concerned, he added: “We continue to work with other donors and urge them to step in to assist in filling the gap in funding. We have done that with other states and we are doing that with the EU and the World Bank. We will continue to do so. We have increased our contribution this year to £57.5 million to help vulnerable Palestinians in relation to health and education. We will continue to support UNRWA.” He said nothing about government support for Moran’s Bill.
The LibDem MP’s performance earned praise from the new Palestinian Ambassador in London, Dr Husam Zumlot. “I spoke with Layla this morning and I welcomed what she did,” he told MEMO. “I called her immediately. She has a brilliant career of serving Britain and represents the very best of the relationship between our two countries.” He added that the debate on statehood will create the right atmosphere for a “just peace” in the Middle East as an entry point to discussion and an incentive to peacemaking.
Zumlot was the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s main diplomat in the United States until September, when the Trump administration closed the PLO’s office in Washington as part of an effort to block moves against Israel at the International Criminal Court.
The debate on Palestinian statehood is scheduled for Friday, 8 February and came about after Moran submitted her Bill on Wednesday to have Palestine recognised as a state officially by Britain. She told the media that she hopes that Britain will change its position on such recognition.
“Since I was elected I have been dismayed at the progress the Conservative Government has made towards recognising the state of Palestine,” she said in a statement issued to Anadolu Agency. “I am in favour of a two-state solution, but until the state of Palestine is recognised, the two actors can’t come to the table as equal partners.”
She added that it is “vital” for Britain to acknowledge the role that it has played in the current situation in Israel-Palestine being what it is, not least because of the Balfour Declaration, issued 101 years ago this month. “Whilst I appreciate that the UK recognising the state of Palestine alone won’t be a solution, doing it would go some way to reigniting the spark of hope that has gone out in the heart of Palestinians across the world.”
In 2012, the UN General Assembly granted Palestine the status of a non-member observer state. To date it has been recognised by 137 of the 193 countries in the world which are UN members.
Moran’s arrival as Britain’s first MP of Palestinian heritage raised eyebrows after she overturned a Conservative majority of almost 10,000 votes to win her Oxford seat by a narrow margin of 816 votes. When asked about her ethnicity she said at the time: “My Palestinian background has made me interested at a global level. Politics was always at the dinner table, it primed me to engage.”
She speaks four languages as well as English — French, Arabic, Spanish and Greek — and is not the only one in her family to enjoy a high profile. Her great-grandfather, Wasif Jawhariyyeh, was a celebrated writer who wrote extensive memoirs about Palestinian life under Ottoman and British rule, before fleeing Palestine after the State of Israel was created.
Just as she hopes that Britain will step up and take a lead on Palestine, activists seeking justice for the Palestinians hope that Layla Moran’s background will take on more significance in her political life. Not least, they say, so that she adopts a leading role in civil society campaigns to right the significant wrongs precipitated by Balfour and successive British governments since 1917. Her debate on Palestinian statehood will be a great place to start.
~Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine
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