Will the US stop the UN from forcing Israel to withdraw from Jerusalem? US Secretary of State Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Illustrative. Photo Courtesy of US State Department.
Israel and the Palestinians are embroiled in another conflict, but this one is being fought with discussions, ink and paper. The Palestinians are working for United Nations Security Council resolution that would demand Israel withdraw from territory to create a Palestinian state within two years. They are now discussing in earnest the proposal with major European nations—including the UK, France and Germany—according to Haaretz. The UK and France are both veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, as is the United States.
Israel, meanwhile is working on it’s own diplomatic angles, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu going to Rome on Monday to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry, as well as Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. In comments released by his office, Netanyahu said he would tell the leaders that a UN decision forcing Israel to withdraw to the 1967 lines claimed by the Palestinians would bring terrorists into the center of Israel.
Said Netanyahu of such a UN-mandated withdrawal, “This will lead to Islamic extremists to the suburbs of Tel Aviv and to the heart of Jerusalem. We will not allow this. We will strongly and responsibly rebuff this. Let there be no doubt, this will be rejected.”
The 1967 lines would buy 10 viagra place Biblical Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, under Palestinian control. In addition, it would give the Palestinians the Biblical heartland region known as Judea and Samaria—also known as the “West Bank”—which includes historic sites such as Bethlehem and the burial place of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israel has repeatedly called for direct peace negotiations with the Palestinians, but the Palestinians are not currently interested in such talks.
Haaretz interviewed Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour, who said the French have their own proposal for the UN, but that the Europeans and the Palestinians still have disagreements over the content. Mansour told Haaretz that the matters in dispute are important, but did not specify what they are.
He made it clear they want the UN to determine eventual Palestinian borders before the Israeli elections in March, putting the entire UN push on a limited timeframe.
That puts pressure on Israel to shore up their diplomatic defenses. Netanyahu made it clear that this is a fight linked to the battle with terrorism and that he would say that to Kerry and Renzi.
“I will tell them that Israel, to a large degree, stands as a solitary island against the waves of Islamic extremism that are washing over the entire Middle East,” said Netanyahu. “Until now we have successfully withstood and repelled these attacks and now we also stand against the possibility of a diplomatic assault.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, December 14, 2014)