- On February 18, as expected, Washington vetoed a UN Security
Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements as illegal under international
law. The vote: 14 yes, America the sole no, isolating the US and Israel
on this long festering issue. The measure had nearly 120 co-sponsors.
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- In a post-vote briefing, ambassador Susan Rice outrageously
lied, saying:
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- "....as the United States has said on many, many
occasions for many years, we reject in the strongest terms the legitimacy
of continued settlement activity."
-
- Unsaid was that America, for many decades, funded Israel
generously to build them, a process continuing grievously under Obama,
besides outlandish amounts of military aid, support for Israel's occupation,
and partnering in all its aggressive wars.
-
- In a February 18 press release, Americans for Peace Now
(APN) expressed "disappointment," APN's President and CEO Debra
DeLee, saying:
-
- "President Barack Obama missed a key opportunity
today to demonstrate US leadership on peace. America's failure to hold
both sides accountable for their actions is a contributing factor to the
state of" today's moribund peace process because Washington and Israel
won't tolerate it.
-
- Nor do they support Palestinian sovereignty, ending occupation,
the right of return, and long denied democratic freedoms. Instead they
enforce imperial harshness against millions of oppressed Palestinians,
exploited and brutalized for decades. February 18 offered more evidence
how.
-
- On February 19, Al Jazeera said Washington's decision
"is certain to anger Arab countries and Palestinian supporters around
the world. Correspondent Cal Perry said the decision isn't:
-
- "going down well in the occupied West Bank. People
are wondering when some action is going to be taken. People here are tired
of a lack of a peace process. They are tired that the two sides are not
talking. They are tired that they continue to hear, especially by (Obama)
that human dignity cannot be denied" when he does it egregiously and
repeatedly.
-
- For decades, Washington used its veto power abusively
to prevent any measures hostile to Israel from passing. By doing so, it
arrogantly ignores the will of most other nations, at times nearly all
of them, except for Israel and a few supporters. As a result, an angry
UK observer once used a baseball analogy, saying: "Only the USA could
have a World Series and not invite the rest of the world."
-
- Even worse is Israel's response to UN resolutions, mostly
General Assembly ones. With full US support, it ignored or flaunted dozens
of them condemning or censuring its actions, deploring it for committing
them, or demanding, calling on or urging Tel Aviv to end them. It continues
doing so with impunity, including daily oppression, mass arrests, torture,
killings, targeted assassinations, regular incursions into civilian communities,
aggressive wars, and relentless settlement expansions.
-
- On February 19, Haaretz Service headlined, "Palestinians
plan 'Day of Rage" to protest US veto on UN settlement resolution,"
citing Ma'an News Agency saying:
-
- Palestinian head of general intelligence, Tawfik Tirawi,
said it's planned for Friday, February 25, calling the veto "blackmail,"
revealing America's true face and intent to subvert regional peace and
flout Palestinian interests. "(T)hey are liars," he said, "who
pretend to support democracy and peace. Far from it." Nonetheless,
"(t)his will not affect our steadfastness and insistence on our rights."
He also said "there will be no negotiations with settlements."
-
- Before the vote, Washington tried pressuring Abbas to
withdraw the resolution. An anonymous senior Palestinian official said,
during an hour-long phone call, Obama made veiled threats of "repercussions"
for refusing, saying:
-
- "Obama threatened on Thursday night to take measures
against the Palestinian Authority if it insists on going to the Security
Council to condemn Israeli settlement activity, and demand that it be stopped.
There will be repercussions for Palestinian-American relations if you continue
your attempts to go to the Security Council and ignore our requests in
this matter, especially as we suggested other alternatives."
-
- Speaking for Hamas in Gaza, Fawzi Barhoun said:
-
- "This confirms the total support by the American
administration for the arbitrary police of the occupation government. It
should push the PA to adopt a strategy of unity....and take a national
decision to end all forms of negotiations with the (Israel) occupation."
Washington is "completely biased towards the occupation and this confirms
the failure of betting on a peace settlement" America doesn't want,
never did, and won't tolerate as observers following the process know.
-
- Withhold kudos for Abass/Fayyad and other top PA officials,
figures serving Israeli/Washington, not Palestinian interests for years.
Their resolve comes now as a face-saving measure only after Al Jazeera's
late January Palestine Papers release, exposing PA peace negotiations treachery.
A previous article explained, accessed through the following link:
-
- http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2011/01/palestine-papers-revealed_25.html
-
- The documents showed Palestinian negotiators were duplicitous
traitors, bargaining away Palestinian rights for their own self-interest.
Abass and appointed prime minister Salam Fayyad were principally responsible.
Abass' treachery way predates his presidency. At least from when he was
chief Oslo negotiator for agreeing to Israeli demands, effectively capitulating
for nothing in return. All major issues were left unresolved, including
settlement population growth that more than doubled since 1993 and keeps
expanding on stolen Palestinian land.
-
- On February 19, the International Middle East Media Center
said 300,000 Israeli settlers occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem
since 1993. "Currently, over 500,000 live in settlements constructed
on Palestinian land occupied by Israel since 1967. The other 4.5 million
Israelis live on land that was confiscated from Palestinians in 1948"
to create the state of Israel.
-
- They lost everything: their homeland, freedom, and chance
to live peacefully because Israel and its Washington paymaster won't tolerate
it - not then, not now, not ever unless forced.
-
- Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com
and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the
Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays
at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
-
- http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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