A Republican and a Democrat from the House Armed Services Committee introduced a resolution on Monday calling on the Obama administration to continue the twenty-plus-year American policy of vetoing any United Nations Security Council resolution that unilaterally tries to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict instead of encouraging bilateral negotiations.
The resolution, which was introduced by by Reps. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) and Gwen Graham (D-Fla.), pointed out that President Barack Obama said in 2011 that “peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations,” and noted that UN has consistently treated Israel unfairly. 41 out of 48 UN Human Rights Council resolutions in the past two years criticizing a specific country have been targeted at Israel.
Given all this, the resolution continued, the United States should “continue to uphold its practice of vetoing any United Nations Security Council resolution that inserts the Council into the peace process, unilaterally recognizes a Palestinian state, makes declarations concerning Israeli controlled territories, or dictates terms and a timeline for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.”
“Tensions and hostility can only decrease when actions of mutual recognition and trust are taken by both sides,” Lamborn said in a statement. “The Palestinian Authority’s ploy of using United Nations’ bodies as a condemnation method and end-around Israel are unconstructive. They do not further the goals of peace.
“The United States and Israel share the same goal of wanting a lasting peace in the Middle East,” Graham said in a statement. “We believe to reach that goal there must be direct, bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.”
A letter signed by over 90 percent of the House was sent to President Barack Obama last week, asking him to veto an attempt by the Security Council to impose terms of a peace deal on Israel.
The Obama administration stated in December 2014 that it opposed UN-imposed peace plans, the last time a major push of this nature occurred.
There are many complicating factors in creating a mechanism by which the Palestinians can unilaterally declare statehood. The Palestinian Authority only controls the West Bank, not Gaza, which is ruled by the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hamas. PA President Mahmoud Abbas is in the eleventh year of a four-year term as president, and created a new court last week that would allow him to further consolidate his hold on power. This came on the heels of revelations in the leaked “Panama Papers” that Abbas took control of an independent business development agency, giving his son an opportunity to benefit personally from the Palestinian economy. These developments call into question whether Abbas has created the institutions necessary for effective independent governance.
[Photo: Congressman Doug Lamborn / YouTube ]