Why Israel Won’t Relinquish Its Settlements

“All of us would recognize that in any final resolution, there are portions of what would be considered now as occupied territory that would become part of Israel”, he said. It was doomed to conflict and failure. Their ultimate real objective is the replacement of Israel by a Palestinian state covering the entire area west of the Jordan River to the Mediterranean. The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation has urged the U.S.to refrain from steps that could create tensions in the region. Regardless of merits, the populace of each side has minimums on what they will accept, all beyond what the other side is willing to give.

Israel objected to the recent Security Council resolution in part because the measure deemed eastern Jerusalem occupied territory, including the Western Wall.

“Israel and her citizens live under the daily threat of attack from Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood”.

Netanyahu insists that outside powers can not impose a settlement on Israel and the Palestinians and has called for direct talks between the parties. The Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported that Qunbar’s mother and 12 other of his relatives will also have their Jerusalem residency status revoked.

“Congress must hold the United Nations accountable and use our leverage as its largest contributor to push for the repeal of this resolution, making it clear to the world that Congress stands unequivocally against efforts to undermine Israel”, he added. It’s a question weighing on the minds of officials in Israel, Palestine and the wider Middle East.

“For the whole of New Zealand’s two-year term on the Security Council, the Secretary-General and his Special Coordinator have expressed alarm that the forces of incitement and violence and the relentless progress of the settlement program were undermining the two-state solution”, he wrote.

Despite his pro-Israel stance, Trump has been reluctant to make commitments about a future U.S. involvement in the region.

But while the Palestinian side has welcomed the French initiative, the Israelis rejected it and refused to play any role in the meeting. He added: “We will not achieve peace without talking”.

League spokesman Hossam Zaki said the 22-state organization hopes Trump will become more aware of the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once in office, but that “the new US administration’s positions toward Palestine don’t look good”. Moreover, I sincerely hope that our local JCRC will actively communicate the dangers of this resolution and will encourage our community to stand in support of Israel.

Sunday’s conference to be attended by some 70 nations is aimed at exploring ways to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

Obama is determined to halt the settlements and impose a two-state solution against Netanyahu’s will and before Trump takes the oath of office and has any real say on the matter.

Sheldon Rabinowitz of Des Moines is a retired accountant and has been active in Israeli causes for years.