United States ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, seems to have categorised Palestinians as the greatest enemy of her country. Indeed, Haley is on a mission, that appears independent from the chaotic foreign policy of her boss, President Donald Trump. While Trump’s policies regarding Israel and Palestine greatly favour the former, it is also marred with inconsistencies and lack of clarity. Haley, on the other hand, is anything but unclear.
Unlike previous United Nations ambassadors who strongly backed Israel, Haley refrains from any coded language or any attempt, however poor, to appear balanced. Last March, she told a crowd of 18,000 supporters at the Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference, that this is a new era for US-Israel relations. “I wear heels. It’s not for a fashion statement,” she told a seemingly intoxicated crowd that rejoiced and cheered to her every declaration. “It’s because if I see something wrong, we’re going to kick ’em every single time.”
She has remained committed to that promise. Her main cause is hardly her country’s sinking reputation and weakened international position, but going to extreme lengths to defend Israel. More recently, she has spent much time fighting Palestinian and Arab efforts to designate the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied city of Al Khalil (Hebron) an endangered site to be included on the World Heritage in Danger list. Not only is Al Khalil under Israeli military occupation, but the site is also a constant target for Jewish extremists. In February 1994, a Jewish-American extremist opened fire, killing dozens of Palestinian Muslim worshipers there.
Another item on her anti-Palestinian list is to block any appointment of a Palestinian official to a senior role at the United Nations because Washington “does not recognise Palestine” as a state, thereby completely disregarding the fact that majority of UN members recognise Palestine as a state. When Haley speaks about Israel, her language is resolute, consistent and convey a clear plan of action, rendering her anti-Palestinian rhetoric and efforts extremely dangerous. A prime consequence is that she is evoking further bitterness and hatred in an already volatile conflict, regardless of the possible disastrous consequences.
Aware of the unique opportunity she invites, the right-wing Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has quickly cultivated Haley’s unconditional support by shamelessly undermining the United Nations, lest there’s any attempt at criticising the Israeli occupation. To the delight of the Israeli government, Haley has even questioned past decisions of her own country, condemning UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which strongly criticised Israel’s illegal colonies. In its final days in office, the administration of former US president Barack Obama did not vote for, but did not veto the resolution either, thereby setting a precedent that has not been witnessed in many years. According to Haley, the US abstention was like the “entire country felt a kick in the gut”.
For Israel, this action was a direct violation of a tradition, a legacy in fact, that has extended for many years, most notably during the term of John Negroponte, US ambassador to the UN, during George H.W. Bush’s term in office as US president. What became known as the ‘Negroponte doctrine’ was a declared US policy that Washington will oppose any resolution that criticises Israel without also condemning Palestinians. This doctrine and ensuring its subsequent implementation allowed the US to sideline the UN as an ‘irrelevant’ institution, thus ensuring the complete control of the US over managing the Arab world and Middle East region, particularly the situation in Palestine.
However, under Trump, even the US-led and self-tailored ‘peace process’ indicates a moral and political crisis which the Haley rhetoric began, going beyond Negroponte’s silencing of criticism of Israel at the UN, to removing the UN entirely – and international law - from being a factor in resolving the conflict.
In a talk at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council which consists of 47 member countries, Haley declared that her country is ‘reviewing its participation’ in the Council altogether. She claimed that Israel is the “only country permanently on the body’s calendar” - an inaccurate statement that is often uttered by Israel with little basis in truth.
But considering that Israel has recently ‘celebrated’ 50 years of Palestinian occupation, Haley should not be surprised that Israel is also an item on the agenda, as should any country that has occupied and oppressed another for so long.
Following her speech in which she derided and threatened UN member states, she visited Israel to further emphasise her country’s insistence on challenging the international community on behalf of Israel.
Along with Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, Haley toured the Israeli border with Gaza, sympathising with Israeli communities — while nearly two million Palestinians in Gaza languish in captivity for over a decade in a tiny region, with no respite, and with shut borders.
Speaking in occupied Jerusalem on June 7, Haley took on the UN “bullies”, who have “bullied” Israel for too long. By agreeing to live in Israel’s pseudo-reality, where bullies complain of being bullied, the US is moving further away from any international consensus on human rights and international law. Inspired and empowered by Haley’s blank cheque, Israeli leaders are now moving forward to physically remove the UN from Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
Last May, Israeli Culture and Sports Minister, Miri Regev, made a formal demand to the Israeli cabinet to shut down the UN headquarters in occupied Jerusalem — an act aimed at punishing Unesco for reiterating the international position on the status of Israel’s illegal occupation of East Jerusalem.
In early June, Netanyahu himself called on Haley to shut down United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the UN body responsible for the welfare of five million Palestinian refugees. According to Netanyahu, UNRWA ‘perpetuates’ refugee problems.
This is all an outcome of the Haley doctrine. Her arrival at the UN has ignited a US-Israeli hate fest, not only targeting UN member states, but also international law and everything that the UN has stood for over the decades.
The US has blindly supported Israel at the UN throughout the years, but Haley’s position is totally supportive of Israel, with no regard whatsoever for her country’s allies, or the possible repercussions of dismissing the only international body that still serves as a platform for international engagement and conflict resolution.
However, with a huge leadership vacuum and no law to guide the international community in resolving a 70-year-old conflict, Haley’s cowboy tactics are likely to do much harm to an already bleeding region.
Dr Ramzy Baroud is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story.
