Netanyahu’s Friends Vote Against Him at the UN
The United Nations General Assembly’s « Special Political and Decolonization Committee » has adopted a series of resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict that seem to contradict this statement.
As every autumn, the 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee overwhelmingly passed eight laws condemning the « occupying power » for the treatment of Palestinians by Israel, demanding that it cease building settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights and unreservedly support UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.
A ninth resolution was also adopted, but with a much smaller margin.
« If the United States has as usual voted with Israel on all resolutions, while Canada and Australia, as usual, voted against or abstained on most of the resolutions against the colonial regime, « Other countries in which Netanyahu has invested significant diplomatic and political efforts have so far not let their ostensible friendship with Israel influence their vote at the UN, » say observers.
« Russia and China, for example, continue to side with the Palestinians with every vote, while India and Kenya have voted in favor of the nine resolutions.
Other countries with which Netanyahu claims to have established good relations, such as Argentina, Japan and the 28 member states of the European Union (EU), supported eight of the nine anti-Israel resolutions.
Hungary and Bulgaria, two central European states where Netanyahu recently went in order to « change the hypocritical and hostile attitude of the EU », as he said at the beginning of the month en route to a summit with four member states in Varna, also supported eight resolutions and abstained on the ninth. Just like the Czech Republic and Romania, two countries that have publicly envisaged (but still have not considered) moving their respective embassies to Jerusalem.
Even Germany and Austria – countries which, because of their historic responsibility owed to Jews subsequent to the Holocaust, have declared Israel’s security part of their « raison d’être » – have not broken the European consensus.
Thus, 153 countries voted in favor of a resolution expressing « grave concern at the persistent and systematic violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people by Israel, the Occupying Power, including that resulting from the excessive recourse to force and military operations causing deaths and injuries among Palestinian civilians, including children, women and peaceful protesters, as well as among journalists, medical personnel and humanitarian personnel. »
They also urged Israel to « immediately dismantle » the wall in the West Bank and end « discriminatory laws, policies and actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory that violate the human rights of the Palestinian people, including the deaths and injury of civilians, the arbitrary detention and imprisonment of civilians, the forced displacement of civilians, including the attempted forcible transfer of Bedouin communities « .
Only six countries opposed the motion: Israel, the United States, Canada, Australia, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.
Nine countries abstained: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Guatemala, Honduras, Togo and Palau.
We are still waiting for the logical consequence of these votes: sanctions.
CAPJPO-EuroPalestine
Adapted from: http://www.europalestine.com/spip.php?article14875
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