The UN Security Council Speaks Out: And Says Nothing

From UN News Centre:

SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS ON ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS TO FULFIL OBLIGATIONS FOR TWO-STATE PEACE

New York, Dec 16 2008 4:10PM
The United Nations Security Council today called on Israel and the Palestinians to fulfil their obligations under the so-called Roadmap peace plan seeking a two-State solution to the Middle East conflict, and to refrain from any steps that could undermine confidence or prejudice the outcome of negotiations.

“Lasting peace can only be based on an enduring commitment to mutual recognition, freedom from violence, incitement, and terror, and the two-State solution, building upon previous agreements and obligations,” according to the joint Russian-United States resolution, <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/sc9539.doc.htm">adopted by 14 of the Council’s 15 members with only Libya abstaining.

Mutual recognition is a good thing. It's clear that Israel recognizes the PA--is the converse true? Apparently not. Joel Mowbray noted back in March in an article about the many troubling statements made by Abbas:

Most concerning to Congress, however, was a statement that at first blush might seem relatively innocuous. Discussing the question of whether or not Hamas must recognize Israel, Mr. Abbas explained, I don't demand that the Hamas movement recognize Israel. I only demanded of the [Palestinian] national unity government that would work opposite Israel in recognition of it.

This comment raised eyebrows because it shifted the common understanding of what it means to recognize the Jewish state. Most understand recognition to be fairly straightforward: The acknowledgement of the right of Israel to exist peacefully as a Jewish state neighboring a Palestinian one. Mr. Abbas, however, now defines recognition as acknowledging in a literal sense that an entity named Israel is the country at the other end of the negotiating table.

Does the UN know about this?
Do they care?

Freedom from violence is another good thing. Before Abbas was kicked out of Gaza, he was not doing such a good job preventing those very same Kassam rockets being fired daily at Israel. I guess it's a good thing he was kicked out. But what about if he gets a state without the IDF to prop him up? While we're at it, what happens when Abbas leaves office?

It called on all States and international organizations to contribute to an atmosphere conducive to negotiations and “to support the Palestinian government that is committed to the Quartet principles and the Arab Peace Initiative and respects the commitments of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.”

The Quartet – the UN, European Union, Russia and US – is championing the Roadmap, which calls for two States, Israel and Palestine, to live side by side in peace. The Arab Peace Initiative, adopted in March 2002 on the principle of land for peace, calls for Israel to withdraw from all Arab lands occupied since 1967, recognize an independent Palestinian State and provide a just solution for Palestinian refugees, in return for which Arab countries would recognize Israel, end their conflict and normalize relations.

The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority is committed to the Quartet principles while Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2006, does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.

Today’s resolution noted the importance of the 2002 Initiative and urged “an intensification of diplomatic efforts to foster in parallel with progress in the bilateral process mutual recognition and peaceful coexistence between all States in the region in the context of achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”

It also called on all States and international organizations to assist in the development of the Palestinian economy, to maximize the resources available to the Palestinian Authority, and to contribute to the Palestinian institution-building programme in preparation for statehood.

“We know we still face many hurdles,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3619">told the Council at the start of today’s session, voicing regret that the two sides had not reached agreement by the hoped-for target of the end of this year. “But a serious process is underway. We must ensure that what has been started is seen all the way through to its conclusion.”

Yesterday Mr. Ban hosted a high-level Quartet meeting in which the four partners called for an intensification of the negotiations, urging both sides to take the necessary steps to reach peace.

Then there is incitement. Back to Mowbray:

In an interview with Jordanian newspaper Al-Dastur last week, Mr. Abbas spoke with pride of violence he had waged in his past, suggested that terrorism could start anew in the future, and essentially backed away from repeated statements that he recognizes Israel's right to exist. A top congressional appropriator, Foreign Operations Chairman Nita Lowey, said flatly, President Abbas' recent statements cast doubt on his willingness to take the steps necessary for peace with Israel.

How about when terrorist leader George Habash died and Abbas ordered all flags at half-mast and 3 days of mourning?

And about that freedom from terror? From last year:

A wing of the Fatah organization, headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, stated Thursday that it has begun an escalation in attacks on Israeli towns in the Negev. The terrorist group already claimed it was behind a barrage of rockets from Gaza that struck Sderot and its environs earlier in the day.
Brigades spokesmen called upon the residents of the city of Sderot to leave their homes.

Fatah, through its Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades arm, said that the Thursday rocket fire was part of an planned series of hundreds of rocket attacks the group has dubbed "Gaza Autumn." In their announcement of the operation, Brigades spokesmen called upon the residents of the city of Sderot to leave their homes and warned that Fatah will continue to bombard Israeli communities in the Negev.

The UN has also apparently gone beyond the Quartet:

It called on all States and international organizations to contribute to an atmosphere conducive to negotiations and “to support the Palestinian government that is committed to the Quartet principles and the Arab Peace Initiative and respects the commitments of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.”

The Arab Peace Initiative, suggested and pushed by Saudi Arabia, insists on going back to the 1967 borders and a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees--which means they expect something.. Why is the UN glomming the Initiative onto The Roadmap? Or need I ask. There was no mention of the Arab Peace Initiative in yesterday's meeting of the Quartet, but then again, they did meet with the Arab League afterwards. Nice to see they saw eye to eye.

The UN Security Council went further:

It also called on all States and international organizations to assist in the development of the Palestinian economy, to maximize the resources available to the Palestinian Authority, and to contribute to the Palestinian institution-building programme in preparation for statehood.

Wouldn't it be something if the UN would call for funds for Israel? You know, for technology to protect Sderot or maybe for rebuilding buildings destroyed by Palestinian terrorism or simply for the Israeli victims and their families.

But the key statement comes from Ban-Ki Moon:

“But a serious process is underway. We must ensure that what has been started is seen all the way through to its conclusion.”

This parallels the statement made by the Quartet the day before:

A quartet statement said the US-brokered bilateral process launched a year ago in Annapolis, Maryland "is irreversible and these negotiations should be intensified in order to put an end to the conflict and to establish as soon as possible the state of Israel, living side by side in peace and security with Israel."

Like I wrote yesterday, Looks Like Olmert Wins In The End

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

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