Because of the domination of Western countries
The United Nations will not do justice to the Palestinian people
The symbolic UN resolution “observing Palestine” changed nothing on the ground, but it did lead to the unprecedented expansion of illegal Jewish settlements.
archival
Mahmoud Abbas once again launched an enthusiastic call for Palestine to be recognized as a full member of the United Nations.
dad
picture
In his address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas once again made an impassioned call for Palestine to be recognized as a full member of the United Nations.
This is not the first time that Abbas has demanded full membership for Palestine.
In September 2011 he demanded full recognition of Palestine, but the administration of US President Barack Obama obstructed the Palestinian demand, forcing the Palestinians to accept a “symbolic” victory in the United Nations General Assembly. In November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly issued Resolution 67/19 granting the state of Palestine Non-member observer status.
symbolic decision
And the decision proved, in many respects, to be “symbolic,” because it did not change anything on the ground. On the contrary, the Israeli occupation has become worse since that period, as a complex apartheid system has been strengthened, and given the lack of political horizon, illegal Jewish settlements have expanded over in an unprecedented manner.
In addition, much of the Palestinian land in the West Bank was actively annexed to Israel, a process that launched a slow, but systematic campaign to expel Palestinians, which was felt starting from occupied East Jerusalem, to Masafer Yatta in the hills south of Hebron.
But proponents of Abbas' diplomacy point out that the new situation has led to Palestine's acceptance of nearly 100 international agreements, organizations, and treaties.
It seems that the Palestinian strategy is based on achieving full sovereignty in the United Nations, and thus Israel will be recognized as an occupier, and there will be no mere Palestinian "terrorists" but rather a realistic state.
Israel and its allies in Washington and others in Western capitals understand this as well, and that is why they continue to mobilize and always prepare against these Palestinian efforts.
Given the dozens of times that Washington used its veto power in the UN Security Council to protect Israel, it could also use it whenever the Palestinians return to the UN with the issue of full membership with them.
Abbas' diplomacy is unpopular
But Abbas's international diplomacy appears to be lacking in national components, as this 87-year-old Palestinian leader does not appear to be appropriately popular with his own people.
One of the reasons that led to his lack of support, with the exception of the rampant corruption in the PA, is the PA's continuous "security coordination" with the Israeli occupation itself, with which Abbas appears angry during his speeches at the United Nations.
These "coordination", which Washington spends generously on, translate into daily arrests of Palestinian activists opposing the occupation and political opponents.
Even when the administration of former President Donald Trump decided to cut off all aid to the Palestinians in 2018, it set aside $60 million to fund the coordination of the PA's security forces with the Israelis, and it has continued to advance consistently.
Accordingly, the Palestinians have learned from these contradictions to lower their expectations regarding their leader's promises of full, albeit symbolic, independence.
But these contradictions did not start with Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, and certainly will not end with them.
For Palestine's relationship with the largest international institutions has been corrupted by contradictions.
Balfour Declaration
Although the Balfour Declaration of November 1917 remains the main historical frame of reference for the colonization of Palestine by the Zionist movement, UN Resolution 181 may be more important than this framework.
The significance of the Balfour Declaration stems from the fact that it was British colonialism, which was later granted the status of “Mandate” over Palestine by the League of Nations, the precursor to the current United Nations, who made the first formal written commitment to the Zionist movement to grant them Palestine.
Part of the Balfour Declaration states that “Her Majesty’s Government view with clemency the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jews.” This “endeavor” or “promise,” as many know it, would not have led to anything tangible had it not been for the fact that the allies of the Zionist movement were among the countries Colonialism, and other Western, supported him diligently in order to turn this promise into reality.
Palestine partition plan
The Zionist endeavor took 30 years to translate into a commitment from the British Foreign Secretary at the time, Arthur James Balfour, into reality.
United Nations Resolution 181 of November 1947 is the political basis for Israel's existence in the world.
Although the current borders of the State of Israel go well beyond what was allotted by the United Nations partition plan, the resolution is often used to provide the legal basis for Israel's existence, and it also rebukes Arabs for refusing to accept what they rightly considered an unfair deal.
Since that date, the Palestinians have continued to struggle in their relationship with the United Nations, a relationship governed by many contradictions.
And the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestine, Michael Lynk, wrote in his recent article regarding the partition of historic Palestine, where he said that in 1947 “the United Nations was largely a club of European states, and of settler states.” The English, and the Latin countries ruled by the elites of the descendants of the Spanish colonists.
Although the geographic and demographic composition of the United Nations has changed considerably since then, real power remains in the hands of the former colonial Western regimes, which include Britain and France, as well as the United States.
These three countries represent the majority of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and their political, military, and other forms of support for Israel remain as strong as ever.
Until the distribution of powers at the United Nations reflects the genuine democratic desires of the world's population, the Palestinians will continue to suffer in the Security Council of unfairness.
Even Abbas' fiery speeches will not change anything.
The first misstep of the United Nations
The late British diplomat Brian Arckart, who helped found the United Nations, wrote in his memoirs, "The partition of Palestine was the first major resolution of the nascent United Nations, its first major crisis, and many believe it was its first major misstep."
But will the current power model at the United Nations eventually allow this historical “misstep” to be corrected by providing the Palestinians with long-overdue justice and freedom?
It seems that the time has not come, but the geopolitical changes currently taking place could present an opportunity, if properly utilized, that could provide hope that there are alternatives to Western bias, American veto, and historical Israeli intransigence.
Ramzi Baroud, Palestinian journalist
The Palestinians have learned from the contradictions of their leader, Mahmoud Abbas, to lower their expectations regarding the promises of full, albeit symbolic, independence.
The Palestinian strategy is based on achieving full sovereignty in the United Nations, and thus Israel will be recognized as an occupier, and there will be no mere Palestinian "terrorists", but a realistic state.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news