Breaking with UN Security Council peers, US declines to condemn Israeli settler violence in West Bank

HAMILTON, Canada

Breaking from most UN Security Council members on Tuesday, the US declined to condemn illegal Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank and also opposed briefings on Resolution 2334, which concerns Israel’s growing illegal settlements in the West Bank.

US envoy Jennifer Locetta, State Department alternative representative for special political affairs, accused the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) of affiliation with the Hamas group, claiming that "it rejects any reasonable standards for accountability for the vetting of its staff or partners."

"Colleagues, we have been clear: the United States opposes these quarterly briefings on UNSCR 2334, as they only distract from pressing threats to international peace and security," she added.

Locetta claimed that Resolution 2803 – passed last month to endorse the October Gaza peace plan agreed to by Israel and Hamas – not Resolution 2334, "charts the path towards a stable, safe, and prosperous Middle East,” adding: “We are working with partners to stand up the (planned) International Stabilization Force and train fully vetted Palestinian Police, not rehashing decades of failed policies. This council should recognize and end its outsized focus on an outdated resolution."

She reiterated that "the United States remains focused on keeping Israel secure and Gaza and the West Bank stable. President (Donald) Trump has been perfectly clear that the United States expects the violence in the West Bank to end, and that the United States will not allow the annexation of the West Bank."

‘Peace is nowhere near’

At the meeting, Slovenia's UN envoy Samuel Zbogar decried how "crippling annexation is taking hold in the West Bank" and strongly condemned the recent “forced entry of Israeli authorities into the UNRWA compound in East Jerusalem, the seizure of property and the removal of the UN flag.”

"We simply should do more to prevent history from repeating itself. For now, peace is nowhere near," he said.

France’s UN Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont echoed these sentiments, saying: "We reiterate our condemnation of the expansion of settlements and our opposition to any form of annexation of the West Bank, whether it's partial, total or de facto."

He also stressed that "the persistent threats against the work of UNRWA are unacceptable, in particular the rate of its facilities in East Jerusalem, in violation of the status of UN facilities."

Algeria's UN envoy Amar Bendjama also denounced the lack of compliance with Resolution 2334 and criticized the international community's failure to act.

"In the next few days, 100 Palestinian homes are planned to be demolished. This is not an anomaly. It is not a deviation. It is the routine of occupation, an occupation administered with precision and sustained by our silence," he said.

Russia’s deputy UN envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy said "the long-anticipated ceasefire in Gaza did not usher in alleviation of the plight of the residents of the West Bank, where, in addition to frequent military raids, the Israelis launched a military operation in Tubas and Jenin."

Calling for implementation of a two-state solution, Polyanskiy also stressed the need for Israel to release the Palestinian Authority's withheld tax revenues.

‘Unilateral actions in violation of the law must cease immediately’

China's UN Ambassador Fu Cong urged Israel to cease its illegal settlement activities and said: "The situation in the West Bank must not be overlooked."

"Unilateral actions in violation of international law must cease immediately," he added.

Denmark's UN Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen warned that settlement expansion "threatens the territorial integrity of a future Palestinian state," demanding an end to all illegal settlement activity and settler violence.

Pakistan's Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said the "Israeli occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory must end," calling for Israel to "enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination."

"All settlement activity must cease immediately," he said, adding that attempts to alter the demographic character of the occupied Palestinian territories are "illegal and must be reversed."

Guyana's UN Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett echoed similar concerns and condemned Israel's actions against the UNRWA in East Jerusalem as "a flagrant violation of international law."

"This council must take active steps to protect the civilian population in the occupied West Bank and to halt the mounting violence," she said.