UNGA Jerusalem Vote
Q#1 : More than 100 countries defied President Donald
Trump on Thursday and voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly
resolution calling for the United States to withdraw its decision to recognize
Jerusalem (al-Quds) as Israel’s capital. What’s your take on this?
The vote is a political
success for the Palestinians, and as importantly, for the rule of rule of
law. It was clear that a majority
number of countries would support the UNGA Resolution rejecting Trump’s recognition
of Jerusalem (al-Quds) as Israel’s capital. The United Nations considers East
Jerusalem to be occupied Palestinian territory. Aside from threats by the Trump
administration, prior to the UNGA vote Trump officials stated that they could
not envision any situation under which
the Western Wall would not be part of Israel.
The Western Wall (or the
Wailing Wall) is situated in occupied East Jerusalem. Since 1967, the majority of nations and
organization refused to recognize Israel’s ‘ownership’ of East Jerusalem. This is why the UNGA vote was also a vote for
international law.
Q #2: Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to
countries that voted in favor. His warning did appear to have some impact with
nine countries voting against the resolution and 35 abstaining. A total of 128
countries voted for the resolution. In your opinion, which courtiers abstained
from the vote? What’s your take about Trump’s threats?
I personally believe that the
world owes Trump a great deal of gratitude for openly revealing what the US had
been doing for decades in secret. For
example, in 2005, Newt Gingrich spoke at the American Enterprise Institute
(AEI), a pro-Israeli think tank that heavily influenced George W. Bush decisions
(When George W.
Bush visited and spoke at AEI on 15 February 2007, he stated: “I admire AEI a
lot – I’m sure you know that. After all,
I have been consistently borrowing some of your best people. More than 20 AEI
scholars have worked in my administration.”
In
his 2005 AEI speech, Gingrich discussed “AN EXAMPLE OF A
U.N. REFORM SCORECARD” ways in which the US should influence votes at the
UNGA. Saying that “Israel is a country that manifests the values that the
U.N. should defend and embrace, not condemn.”
Gingrich then stated clearly ““A key first test for a concerted effort
by the U.S. to win U.N. votes should be an upcoming vote in the [GA Assembly]
concerning the abolishment of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable
Rights of the Palestinian People and of the Division of Palestinian
Rights.” “This should be not just a
matter of high importance of U.S. Ambassadors around the world, but also of
every member of Congress, who can play an influential role with foreign
Ambassadors assigned to Washington or with high-ranking foreign government
officials whom they know. Members of Congress should take every opportunity to
relay the message to these foreign representatives that we are paying attention
to their vote, that their vote matters, and that we will remember how they
vote.” He further suggested that the United States should promote
the ‘naming of names’.
So the bullying and threats is
not new. What is refreshing new is the
fact that Trump has brought it out in the open. And became very transparent with this recent
UNGA vote is who was actually bought, including those who abstained. Those who abstained in fact refused to rule
out violation of international law. In
other words, their actions indicate that when it comes to international law,
they support money and power.
It is therefore vital that
these countries go get called out. That
we should “name names”, especially since some of these countries have
hypocritically called out states for ‘violation of international law’.
The votes against and those
countries that abstained are an unpleasant reminder of George W. Bush’s
“coalition of the willing” – 46 countries that contributed to the illegal
invasion of Iraq, although most of these countries’ contribution was in name
only – as with the UNGA vote. The 7
countries that voted against (plus Israel and the United States) are virtually
insignificant, poor countries with little bearing on the international
stage. Of the 35 abstentions , Those
that abstained, only a few have political leverage, but they must all be named.
These countries are:
Antigua-Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Benin, Bhutan,
Bosnia-Herzegovinian, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea,
Fiji, Haiti, Hungary, Jamaica, Kiribati, Latvia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico,
Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, South
Sudan, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu. They should all be shamed.
Q #3: What might the future hold about the situation in the occupied territories?
To some extent, Trump’s threats pushed many countries to
vote in favor of Palestine and international law if for naught else but to save
face. But although many countries did
vote against Trump’s decision, they will continue to do business with Israeli
entities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. My only hope is that the world will finally
open its eyes to the real threat that faces them. As humans we are only as
strong as the weakest link in the chain. If we allow people and countries to be destroyed without an attempt to
but a stop it, then truly we set ourselves up for being the next victim.
Additionally, Israel only thrives when it plays the
victim card. The world has been forced
to recognize Israel and the United States as aggressors. I have little doubt
that we will witness false flags and every effort will be made to provoke the
Palestinians in order to portray them as violent and Israel as ‘innocent
victims’.
