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UN out of touch with reality
The United Nations Security Council passed a bizarre resolution this week, describing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as "irreversible" and backing the "determined efforts" by both Israel and Palestine in George W. Bush's Annapolis process to conclude a peace treaty.
- By Francis Matthew, Editor at Large
- Published: 23:27 December 17, 2008
- Image Credit: Illustration by Nino Jose Heredia/Gulf News
The United Nations Security Council passed a bizarre resolution this week, describing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as "irreversible" and backing the "determined efforts" by both Israel and Palestine in George W. Bush's Annapolis process to conclude a peace treaty.
This resolution showed the United Nations as completely out of touch with reality, as Israel gets ready to move even further to the right, and the blockade in Gaza gets ever more ferocious. A peace process has never seemed less likely.
Of course it is essential to support efforts for peace in Palestine, however heartbreaking that task has been over the decades, but such support should not be blind, and must take notice of what is happening on the ground.
No peace process is irreversible if any one of the combatants does not want it. A peace process can easily be ripped up by one side or the other, and all the resolutions around the world from as many superpowers want to sign up to the resolution will not stop extremist Israelis and Palestinians from fighting each other.
It is also a waste that the first UN resolution on Middle East peace for five years should be based on the ludicrous Annapolis Process. All involved in the process (outside Bush's immediate coterie) have acknowledged that it has run out of steam. The UN resolution is simply a sign off from the UN to an outgoing US president, and should be taken as no more than a hope that a peace process can restart in 2009.
But the new year is going to be very tough. Firstly, the Israeli elections look like favouring the right wing Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu who has dismissed the peace process. Secondly, the Palestinians face the challenge of Mahmoud Abbas' term of president coming to an end in January.
He has said that he will schedule new elections in the Palestinian territories "very soon", though it is uncertain if Hamas would allow the vote to happen in Gaza. Thirdly, the Palestinians are split between Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank, and there is little sign of any reconciliation between them.
Looking ahead to 2009, Abbas has seen the writing on the wall as Likud continues to perform well in the run up to the February elections, and he has gone to Washington this week to put down a marker to remind Obama's incoming administration that there is a peace process, which should be the basis of moving forward.
Abbas is getting ready to deal with a new Israeli administration that will want to have nothing to do with any peace process, and he wants the US administration as an ally in dealing with a Netanyahu government that will betray the peace process. He will talk with Bush tomorrow to ensure "there is no return to square one once there is a new government in Israel," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Major problems
The UN Security Council should not waste its time tying itself to Bush's Annanpolis process. It should start to look ahead, as should all leaders and countries interested in peace in Palestine. It is important that the major problems are identified and plans are made to deal with them, rather than ignore them.
The first one is the debilitating split between Fatah and Hamas. Egypt has been dong very good work in trying to find a way to reconcile these two important strands of Palestinian political life. Both need to be part of the way forward, and both need to acknowledge how than might return to working together. Arab nations and others need to work on this, and they can take heart from how close Hamas has come in the past to adopting a policy of withholding recognition of Israel yet at the same time being willing to work with it for peace.
Second is how to handle continuing Israeli expansionism. Colonies are still being built, walls are still going up, and rather than offering any hint of retreat to achieve peace, Israel is deepening its grip on the Occupied Territories. On this issue, the responsibility lies with the American administration to remind their ally that they are doing more to destroy peace then anything else.
Thirdly is the deep and continuing violence throughout the territories. Israeli forces use savage violence routinely and expect to be allowed to get away with it. And there are also attacks from Palestinians which allow the Israelis to claim that terrorism still exists. The ceasefire is important to maintain, and it is important that Israel also maintains its ceasefire. All parties need to work to restructure and reinforce a ceasefire
Fourthly, is the immediate horror of the blockade of Gaza, which is forcing an entire population into total degradation. A whole city is running out of food, has very little power, and is falling into barbaric subjugation. It is imperative that there is a major international effort to stop the outrage of Israel's blockade, and try to return Gaze to some normality.
Your comments
The world is going out of control. I think the so-called educated and peace-loving people are the main cause for violence. Their supremacy and hypercriticism has made this world a worse place to live in. The biggest question lies with anyone who talks about peace but keeps quiet when there is injustice happening around. The Gaza issue is serious and while we are all distraught about it, not much action is being taken. We need to stand up and defend our rights for our fellow citizens who cannot defend themselves. If this can happen in Gaza, then it could happen anywhere.
Syed Noor Al Deen Ahmad
Bangalore,India
Posted: December 18, 2008, 09:48
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