High stakes diplomacy. This morning, under pressure from Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Egyptian government put off a vote in the United Nations Security Council on a draft anti-settlement resolution scheduled for today at 3 o’clock.
There was speculation that the United States was planning not to veto that resolution, a historic step.
Western Diplomats: Netanyahu pressured the Egyptians & made them postpone the vote until another Arab league meeting convenes
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) December 22, 2016
Egypt circulated a draft of the resolution last night. Reuters reported:
The resolution would demand Israel “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem”.
Some outlets reported that the U.S. planned not to veto the resolution. Ayman Mohyeldin:
Several sources to
@NBCNews@mitchellreports: Obama Admin was going to ABSTAIN from UN vote condemning Israel before Egypt delayed the vote
Jewish Insider reported that Kerry had told a Palestinian delegation visiting this month that the U.S. would not veto a resolution against the settlements.
These reports gave the Israelis a great deal of consternation. The Israeli ambassador to the U.N. applied pressure today:
We expect our greatest ally not to allow this one-sided and anti-Israel resolution to be adopted by the Council.
And in the middle-of-the-night last night (3:28 in Jerusalem) Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted the same urgent call on the U.S.
The US should veto the anti-Israel resolution at the UN Security Council on Thursday.
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) December 22, 2016
Echoing the PM, this morning Donald Trump posted a statement on Facebook urging the US government to veto the resolution as an “imposition of terms” on Israel:
The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed…
This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis.
Secretary of State John Kerry was due to give a speech on the Middle East this morning, but postponed it, evidently because the vote has been postponed.
Israeli journalist Yossi Melman tweeted that Israel offered intelligence information on terror groups in Egypt in exchange for the withdrawal.
Israeli officials told Haaretz that the U.S. had not decided how it was going to vote on the resolution; and feared that Kerry was about to announce a major policy shift.
The Obama administration is evidently writhing in its last weeks. Two days ago, the State Department characterized the settlements as “illegal,” which is something of a departure. It was a response to statements made by Trump’s choice for UN ambassador, settler champion David Friedman.
Abstaining from the resolution would reverse one of President Obama’s greatest disgraces in the eyes of progressives and European peace processors: when he vetoed a resolution condemning settlements in the Security Council in 2011. Just two years after he had told “the Muslim world” in Cairo that the settlements must end.
Reuters quotes the French as being open to the Egyptian resolution.
In Beirut, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told reporters that Paris was looking at the text of the resolution with great interest.
“The continuation of settlements is completely weakening the situation on the ground and creating a lot of tension,” he said. “It is taking away the prospect of a two-state solution. So this could reaffirm our disagreement with this policy.”
Thanks to Adam Horowitz and Dorgham Abusalim.
Great stuff. But how will Nikki Haley vote? I honestly don’t know – I suspect she pledged fealty to Trump (she instituted anti-BDS legislation in NC) but on the other hand she’s a decent gal so she may have second thoughts. This is getting very interesting! Don’t censor me Mondoweiss!
This is a no brainer IMHO. The Israeli Zionists in power led by the do whatever / say whatever to stay in power Yahoo are locked into a right wing cul de sac after embracing the Racist Settler agenda so they have to be seen to be aggressively opposing the UN Security Council vote and doing whatever is necessary to keep the US on board. All the while pretending to themselves that the status quo ” only through direct negotiations ” farce will just carry on indefinitely particularly when Trump takes the stage. All self delusion and all leading ( with the speed gathering ) to a pro tem one Apartheid state and then reality may finally dawn. The second passports will be retrieved from the sock drawer and the reverse Aliyah shuffle will begin in earnest.
Deferred until when? The Dems might shaft Israel. Trump won’t.
This is linked to Lapid and Anthony Lowenstein. In Hebrew it all makes sense. Israel wants peace. It’s much harder to explain IRL. The cognitive dissonance is overwhelming. Lowenstein may not even speak Hebrew.
FLASH: OBAMA TO SLAMDUNK BIBI AND TRUMP
‘Obama Admin was going to ABSTAIN from UN vote condemning Israel before Egypt delayed the vote’
Oh yeah, the Kahanist Israeli/Kahanist Israeli Lobby Tag Team is GOING DOWN –
3 Existential Events (seen as such by Israel itself) for the collapse of Israel Apartheid – The Iran Nuclear Deal (CHECK), UN Sec Co Res against Israel (IN THE MAIL!) and the successfully advancing ICC cases(CHECK).
The time is RIPE RIPE RIPE for the UN Sec Co Res!
2 of these Existential Events by themselves are ‘existential’- the ICC and the fresh UN Sec Co Resolution against Israel.
Alan Dershowitz finally lost his ‘case for Israel’ and kissed the Apartheid goodbye just a week ago, due to the UN Sec Co Res and the ICC being triggered by the Palestine Annexation Law
We’ll be hitting the 3/3 Existential Events for the dismantling of the Apartheid – it’s the PERFECT TSUNAMI
Times have radically changed but Netanyahu and Danon still think they are the INVISIBLE MEN! – that the Palestine Annexation Law and all the partying and gamefixing with Trump was INVISIBLE to Obama and everyone else. HO HO HO, Merry Christmas, Bibi, Santa Claus has got something in his stocking for you alright!
Bibi Bennett and all the Settlers have been singing and dancing about the Settlement building parties they’re going to have, taking the Golan, the Palestine Annexation Law, and how much they LOVE Settling Palestine all week. They’ve been saying the FIX IS IN with President Trump …… er……whoops – well, yes, there is that little problem that the REAL American president was WHITE HOT even before Bibi started making side deals with Trump before Obama is even out of office, essentially bypassing the last couple months of his Presidency.
Tsk tsk, Donald. You just removed any qualms Obama every might have had about SLAMDUNKING you too, and since you’re BEGGING FOR IT – can you feel it coming, baby, I sure can!
Trump’s presidency just got flattened before it even started.
On Day 1 of his administration he is going to look at an Apartheid in a state of dissolution and an Israeli Lobby/Jewish Lobby/Neocons in CHAOS. There IS no Israel Lobby of 1P1V1S, Mr Trump
Obama is going to tear Netanyahu AND TRUMP a new one – and it’s on it’s way
Now for the Existential Crises for Wolf Blitzer, Andrea Mitchell, Chris Matthews, Dan Abrams, Joe Scarborough, Chuck Todd and the REST of our enablers of the Apartheid and the Lobby – I haven’t seen any reporting yet but the Ameican Media has done a VAST DISSERVICE to the American public for decades now – they have been IN ON THE LIE and IN ON THE FIX – they OWE IT TO US to start making up for it and actually start reporting on Israel and the Israel Lobby extensively now – starting with these UN Sec Co Res votes and manuevers – including the unseemliness of Donald weighing in AGAINST HIS SITTING PRESIDENT
Obama is a Transformational American president regarding Jewish power in America – it is time to no longer defer to Jewish power when reporting news, and to look at it critically rather than pretend it doesn’t exist
The Big Lie is going to be torn to shreds over this – everybody can make it happen, too. Go for it! This UN Sec Co Resolution and Bibi and Trump’s involvement in it is going to break thru … question authority and question the heck out of Jewish power in America and Israel
No more Kahanist Clean Break-wars and no more being forbidden and tabooed from even talking about it from the Powers that Are, soon to be the Powers that Were
All we got to fear is fear itself and OBAMA ain’t afraid anymore. Nobody should ever be afraid of these guys again.