For two years, the vast majority of the 193-member states of the United Nations effectively gave Palestine de facto statehood by upgrading its UN status to “non-member” state from “entity”. For Palestinians, it was a victory that was a long time coming, given the decades of illegal occupation of their land by Israel. But despite the overwhelming support of member nations, Palestine will remain without UN Security Council endorsement as long as the Zionist lobby holds sway over American lawmakers and the US chokehold on a veto.
On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stood on the podium before the General Assembly and reminded them that it is indeed time to end that occupation now, restoring his people to their just status as free, unfettered and unhindered by the crimes committed against them by the illegal Israeli forces of occupation.
And within the next two to three years, Palestine and its friends at the UN will be hoping for a Security Council resolution to set the ground work for a long-lasting and just peace.
The events of the summer, where Israeli military aggression killed at least 2,100 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip — the third such large-scale assault there in the past seven years — clearly shows the need for a long-term deal. That deal, however, must be verifiable and must include monitoring elements by international observers, backed by a mandate that can hold Israel to account.
Let’s have no illusions here: The task before Palestinians is immense. While the General Assembly at large has support for the Palestinian people, getting that deal past the Security Council is the real challenge. And as long as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rabble of right-wingers hold power in the Knesset, there is little hope of achieving anything. So far, as soon as it makes any concession, the government in Tel Aviv announces more colonies on occupied land.
A lasting peace is wishful thinking as long as warmongers like Netanyahu have their say.
