More Pressure On Netanyahu: UN Security Council Throws In Its Two Cents

With Netanyahu's visit to Washington coming up, there is no subtlety on what topic the world wants discussed:

The U.N. Security Council sent a strong message to Israel on Monday that the international community is demanding "urgent efforts" to create a separate Palestinian state and achieve an overall Mideast peace settlement.

The council statement was approved by all 15 members a week before Israel's new hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has refused to endorse the two-state solution, holds his first meeting in Washington with President Barack Obama.

Claiming that Netanyahu rejects the two-state solution is of course not true, but since he advocates a 3-track approach addressing economic and security concerns in addition to political ones--rather than blindly accepting the ambiguous 'two-state solution', such a cautious approach must of course be labeled rejectionist. And of course, since the vote was unanimous, that means--unsurprisingly--that the US was on board on this:

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, speaking at a ministerial meeting of the council as a member of Obama's Cabinet, underscored the president's determination to vigorously pursue "a comprehensive peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors" in the months ahead.

Russia, the beacon of democracy, of course chimed in:

...Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia, which holds the council presidency this month and organized Monday's meeting, stressed the importance of a rapid resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and of international involvement in the process, a view echoed by Rice and council members.

Only one small problem:

The council reiterated its call for "renewed and urgent efforts by the parties and the international community " to reach a Mideast peace agreement "based on the vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, will live side by side in peace," according to its statement.

What we have is a vision not based on fact--no one asks, let alone answers, questions such as

s there an exit strategy? Is the American military going to be involved. What will the cost be to U.S. taxpayers? Do we expect the Palestinian state to be a democracy? If this goes wrong, who will pick up the pieces.

Of course, based on past experience, the term 'democracy' is purely a reference to the election, not to the form of the government afterwards. And with all the talk of requiring Hamas to recognize Israel, reject violence, and recognize past agreements--no one seems to care that Abbas and the Palestinian Authority do not fulfill any of these requirements either.

Rushing ahead to create a second Palestinian state has taken on a life of its own, and none of the advocates seem to think about--or care about--the consequences.

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