UN Security Council voices ‘dismay’ over Israeli settlements | Israel-Palestine conflict News

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) expressed “deep concern and dismay” over Israeli settlement activity in an alternative statement. draft resolution that would clearly condemn Israeli policies.

The UNSC president’s statement – adopted by all 15 members of the council, including the United States, on Monday – also underscores what it calls “the obligation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to waive and confront terrorism”.

“The Security Council reiterates that the continuation of Israeli settlement activities dangerously threatens the viability of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders,” the council said. .

The symbolic measure comes in response to the Israeli government’s decision earlier this month to allow thousands of units to settle in the occupied area. west coast and retroactively legalize illegal settlement outposts.

“We are delighted that there has been a very strong unified message from the Security Council against [Israel’s] Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s special envoy to the United Nations, told reporters on Monday.

#Israeli #Palestine | France welcomes the adoption of the Security Council President’s Statement on the Middle East.

The people of Israel and Palestine enjoy freedom, security, prosperity, justice and dignity. pic.twitter.com/MilZ1clQuu

— La France à l’ONU (@franceonu) February 20, 2023

Last week, the United Nations Security Council appeared to have voted on a draft resolution calling for an end to Israeli settlement expansion.

However, reports by several US and Israeli news agencies, citing diplomatic sources, said the PA had agreed to give up pursuing the vote amid pressure from the government. The U.S. governmentincluding promises of financial support.

As part of the deal, sources say Israel will temporarily suspend notifications of new settlement units and the demolition of Palestinian homes.

Reuters news agency on Monday reported that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which drafted the resolution along with PA officials, had informed the UNSC that the resolution and vote would be scrapped.

The resolution will require Israeli “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

Israel captured the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, in 1967. Since then, it has built settlements for hundreds of thousands of Israelis on occupied lands that Palestinians aspire to become. part of their future state.

International law prohibits the occupying powers from transferring their civilians into the occupied territories. A United Nations expert previously referred to Israeli settlements as “War Crimes“.

The Security Council statement on Monday called on all parties to “observe calm and restraint, and refrain from provocative actions, incitement and incitement”.

It also calls for “full respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians”.

“The Security Council reaffirms the right of all nations to live in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders, and emphasizes that both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to equal measure of freedom, security, prosperity, justice and dignity,” the statement read. , echoing the language used by US President Joe Biden and his top aides regular recruitment.

Israel dismissed the claim as “one-sided”, particularly criticizing Washington for backing it.

“The declaration should never have been made and the United States should never have participated in it,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said the UNSC should explicitly condemn the settlements.

“While it is helpful for the United Nations Security Council to criticize Israel’s human rights abuses against the Palestinians, today’s statement, downplayed under pressure from the United States and #Israel, far from the total condemnation the dire situation deserves,” Charbonneau wrote in a tweet.

At the UN Security Council on Monday, US envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield was clear about US opposition to Israeli settlement activity but did not condemn Israeli policy.

“These unilateral measures exacerbate tensions; they damage trust between the parties,” she said of the Israeli settlement announcement. “They undermine the prospect of a negotiated two-state solution. The United States does not support these actions, stop it completely.”

In his own statement to the council on Monday, Mansour, the special envoy for Palestine, warned that the situation could soon “reach a point of no return”.

“Every action we take now matters. Every word we utter is important. Every decision we put off is important,” he said.

Israel, accused of imposing a system of racism by leading human rights organizations such as Amnesty Internationalreceives at least $3.8 billion in U.S. aid annually.