Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has basically told the United Nations General Assembly to pound salt over Israel’s occupation of the alleged Palestinian territories in the weat bank.
Palestinians welcomed a vote by the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday to request an opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal implications of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
The UN vote poses a challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took office this week as head of a government that prioritizes settlement expansion and includes parties that want to annex the West Bank land on which they are built.
“The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land, nor are they occupiers in our eternal capital Jerusalem, and no United Nations resolution can distort that historical truth,” Netanyahu said in a video message, adding that the “despicable decision would not bind Israel.”
The Palestinians seek a state in the occupied West Bank, along with Gaza and East Jerusalem. Most countries consider Israel’s settlements there to be illegal, but Israel disputes this, citing historical and Biblical ties to the land.
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ), based in The Hague and also known as the World Court, is the highest United Nations court dealing with international disputes. Its decisions are binding, but the ICJ has no authority to enforce them.
Netanyahu promised to bolster settlements
The United Nations General Assembly requested an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal implications of Israel’s “occupation, settlement, and annexation… including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem.”
Members of Netanyahu’s new government have promised to bolster settlements with development plans, budgets, and the approval of dozens of illegal outposts.
The cabinet includes newly created posts and restructured roles that give some of those powers to pro-settler coalition partners, with the ultimate goal of extending Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank.
Netanyahu, on the other hand, has made no indication of any imminent plans to annex the settlements, a move that would likely sour relations with both Western and Arab allies.
The Palestinians welcomed the United Nations vote, in which 87 members voted in favor of adopting the request, while Israel, the United States, and 24 other members voted against it, and 53 abstained.
“The time has come for Israel to be a state subject to the rule of law and to be held accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the West Bank.
According to Basem Naim, a Hamas official, it is “an important step toward confining and isolating the state of occupation (Israel).”
Top Biden aide set to visit Israel
On Friday that US President Joe Biden said he intends to send National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to Jerusalem next month for meetings with senior members of the new Israeli government.
The new Israeli government, which took office on Thursday, is the most right-wing in Israeli history, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party signing coalition agreements that included pledges to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank, legalize dozens of wildcat outposts, and pass legislation that would allow businesses to refuse service to certain customers based on their religious conscience.
In its agreement with the far-right Religious Zionism party, Likud also agreed in principle to annex large parts of the West Bank, but the agreement includes a clause giving Netanyahu an effective veto, which he is likely to maintain as he seeks a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia.
The coalition’s plans have caused concern in Washington,with the Biden administration being most concerned with preserving the prospects for a two-state solution by preventing further Israeli expansion in the West Bank.
The official stated that no dates have been set for Sullivan’s visit and that other details are still being worked out, but that he is expected to meet with Netanyahu, his National Security Council chairman Tzachi Hanegbi, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, whom the premier has reportedly appointed as his point man for relations with the Biden administration.
According to the Times of Isreal, Sullivan’s visit could pave the way for Netanyahu to visit Washington in February.
Biden fears Israel’s far right cabinet
Meanwhile, Biden congratulated Netanyahu on the formation of a government on Thursday, saying he looks forward to working with him to advance Israel’s regional integration, promote peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and address the threat posed by Iran.
“The United States will continue to support the two-state solution and oppose policies that jeopardize its viability or contradict our mutual interests and values,” Biden added, expressing a policy that will likely clash with the new West Bank government’s plans.
The Biden administration has not stated whether it will collaborate with some of Netanyahu’s most far-right cabinet members, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Deputy Minister Avi Maoz.
Blinken warned Israel earlier this month against annexation, settlement expansion, and evictions of Palestinians, but added that Washington was willing to work with the new government and would judge it based on its policies, not its personalities.
Israel has cited several reasons for keeping the West Bank within its borders: a claim based on historic rights to this as a homeland as claimed in the Balfour Declaration of 1917; internal and external security concerns; and the area’s deep symbolic value for Jews.
Source: Reuters, Times of Isreal, VOR News
