Israel Matzav

UN grants non-member state status to non-existent state of 'Palestine'

The United Nations on Thursday granted non-member state status to the non-existent state of 'Palestine.' The vote was 138-9 with 41 abstentions.

"We did not come here seeking to delegitimize a state established years ago, and that is Israel; rather we came to affirm the legitimacy of the state that must now achieve its independence, and that is Palestine," he said.

"We did not come here to add further complications to the peace process, which Israel’s policies have thrown into the intensive care unit; rather we came to launch a final serious attempt to achieve peace," he said. "Our endeavor is not aimed at terminating what remains of the negotiations process, which has lost its objective and credibility, but rather aimed at trying to breathe new life into the negotiations and at setting a solid foundation for it based on the terms of reference of the relevant international resolutions in order for the negotiations to succeed."

Abbas said that the Palestinians will accept no less than "the independence of the State of Palestine, with east Jerusalem as its capital, on all the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, to live in peace and security alongside the State of Israel, and a solution for the refugee issue on the basis of resolution 194."

Well, it doesn't sound like there's going to be a 'Palestinian state' anytime soon. That unelected putz isn't going to dictate terms to us.

Abbas said nothing about immediately resuming negotiations with Israel without preconditions, though he did pledge to "act responsibly and positively in our next steps, and we will to work to strengthen cooperation with the countries and peoples of the world for the sake of a just peace."

Well, of course he didn't. Why should he when the duplicitous Europeans will vote with him anyway?

Among the few states that voted against the move, were the US, Canada, the Czech Republic, Micronesia, and the Solomon Islands.

The resolution was presented to the General Assembly by the representative of Sudan, who called this a victory for the "values of truth."

Staunch European allies such as Germany and the Netherlands, who opposed Palestinian admission into UNESCO last year as a state, were among those who this time only abstained. And other friendly countries, such as Italy, voted for the move.

The vote took place on the annual "Observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Senior diplomatic officials voiced deep disappointment at the EU vote.  Up until a few days ago, when France declared that it would support the move, senior officials held out hope that the EU might abstain as a bloc, something that would have deprived the Palestinian Authority of a moral victory.

One senior official said that the recent fighting in Gaza tipped the European scales, with the Europeans worrying that if PA Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would not gain some kind of diplomatic victory, he would loses all stature and authority.

"Had the vote taken place before the Gaza operation, the EU would have voted differently," one official said.

 Yeah. All we had to do was to let a few more Jews get murdered and the Euroweenies would vote differently....

The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement after Abbas' speech, saying that by going to the UN the Palestinians have "violated agreements with Israel, and Israel will act accordingly." Israel has made clear in recent days that it would free Israel of its obligations under the Oslo accord since Jerusalem views the move as a blatant violation of the underlying principle of those agreements: that all outstanding issues be resolved through negotiations, not through unilateral actions.

Israel's immediate reaction is expected to be the deduction from tax transfers it makes to the PA each moth of some NIS 800 million the PA owes to the Israel Electric Corporation.  Further steps are expected if the Palestinians use this new status and try to join other UN bodies or, as a result of their enhanced status, attempt to haul Israel or Israelis before the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court on war crime charges.

Well, I hope our government will at least do something. So far. it doesn't look good on that front either.

What could go wrong?

Labels: European hypocrisy, Palestinian state RIGHT NOW syndrome, United Nations Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, United Nations General Assembly

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:31 AM