'US will have hard time standing alone in UN'

[bemildred]

Israeli state officials estimated Wednesday that the US decision to postpone a European initiative to set parameters for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians will involve a price to be paid by Benjamin Netanyahu. "The prime minister will be forced to outline his plans in a clear manner," one state official said.

Israel has been working to prevent UN support in a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, however efforts to block endorsement have thus far failed. State officials now believe such efforts are futile, particularly in regards to the General Assembly.

An Israeli official said: "Obama wants a Palestinian state and although the US is not interested in a unilateral declaration, it would be hard for it to stand alone in the General Assembly and vote against it."

In fact, many state officials believe Israel has failed on the UN front. "The fact that the Americans stopped the Quartet's plan only proves how deeply we depend on them," one official said. "But this hold-up will not change matters in the General Assembly and this is a trend we cannot change."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4056142,00.html

[shaayecanaan]

1. Well, this certainly seems to vindicate the Palestinians' unilateral policy...

The Palestinians are continuing with their push in the UN, and the Israelis will be forced to make concessions as a consequence. Nothing particularly surprising about that, its how international relations works.

[bemildred]

2. It's interesting considering the source.

Especially combined with "Bibi is thinking about withdrawing from the West Bank", which I also posted from JTA, and it coincides with my view of the situation. But it doesn't amount to anything factual yet.

[Shaktimaan]

4. Does it?

I am extremely ambivalent about this whole process. The UN has a history of brokering treaties dependent on UN involvement in maintaining often tenuous cease-fires only to offer minimal support once it comes to actual enforcement. Their MO seems to consist of making demands of Israel in exchange for a promise of enforcing amnesty only to evaporate under the threat of engagement.

Lebanon is a great example of this. For the last cease-fire to have any meaning someone was going to have to enforce the clause forbidding Hezbollah from re-arming. Provisions for an expanded UN force in southern Lebanon were made with a clear mandate to enforce that rule. In the end the expanded force opted to do nothing in preventing Hezbollah's re-arming yet it is Israel who is then criticized in the UN for their reasonable response, ie: breaking the cease-fire's terms by performing reconnaissance overflights in Lebanon's territory.

In the event that the UN makes unilateral recommendations that Israel actually follows, any resulting terrorism or violence will be left to Israel alone to deal with. The only commentary they can expect from the UN would be a critique of responses on their part.

The UN may have certain goals for the resolution of the I/P conflict but Israelis have no illusions as to UN concern for their interests. Any regard the UN has for resolving this crisis is solely politically motivated. The Arab League's famous lack of concern for Palestinian refugees speaks for itself here.

There is an old saw about how no one will be able to broker peace between two warring groups if the broker himself desires peace more than anyone else. I think this applies just as well to the UN as it does to Obama. Barring a freely negotiated arrangement that all sides are able to live with any unilaterally posited agreement will amount to little more than egotistical posturing.

[shaayecanaan]

5. Completely different situation...

Israel didn't leave Lebanon because of anything that the UN did or didn't do. They left because Hezbollah gave them a blood nose and neither party was willing to fight any more. It certainly wasn't a peace agreement and I don't think either party agreed to the ceasefire out of generosity or a peace loving nature.

[azurnoir]

3. I disagree it was not too hard for the US to 'stand alone'

in UNSC and be the lone veto of the resolution against the settlements and it will be even less hard to do so in the UNGA not to mention I read last week that Germany's Merkle had promised Bibi that Germany too would oppose the declaration of Palestinian statehood