Tuesday, May 12, 2009

UN Security Council: New Arab State Urgently Needed


Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
Arutz 7

(IsraelNN.com) The United Nations Security Council issued a statement Monday calling for the creation of a new Arab state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza and the cessation of Jewish development in those same areas. Israel rejected the
The U.N. also specifically called on Israel to cease all further development of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
involvement of the Security Council in what it sees as a bilateral issue. The declaration, affirmed by 15 member states, was presented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia currently chairs the Council.

'Urgent Efforts' to Create a New Arab State
"The Council reiterates its call for renewed and urgent efforts by the parties and the international community to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, based on the vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, will live side by side in peace, within secure and recognized borders," the U.N. Security Council declared.

To that end, the Council encouraged the Quartet - the U.N., the U.S., Russia and the European Union - "to support the parties in their efforts to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East."

The Council also called for a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement, including between Israel and Syria.

In her comments to the Council, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice added: "This is a moment that should not be lost and that is why the United States and others are redoubling our efforts to achieve a lasting two-state solution."

No Jews Allowed
The U.N. also specifically called on Israel to cease all further development of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

"The time has come for Israel to fundamentally change its policies in this regard, as it has repeatedly promised to do," said U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Explaining the Arab view, he called continued Jewish development in Judea and Samaria "unacceptable unilateral actions... house demolitions, intensified settlement activity, settler violence, and oppressive movement restrictions due to permits, checkpoints, and the barrier, which are intimately connected to settlements."

Ki-moon further took the time to counsel Israel that the closure on the Hamas-run jihadist regime in Gaza "does not weaken Israel's adversaries in Gaza, but does untold damage to the fabric of civilian life." He and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner criticized Israel over the inability to get more than food and medicines into Gaza by way of Israel. However, neither leader mentioned Egypt's hermetic overland closure on Gaza from the south.

Aside from the harsh criticism of Israel, Ki-moon called for an end to "indiscriminate rocket attacks" from Gaza, calling them "deeply unacceptable" and "totally counterproductive".

Kouchner mentioned the rocket attacks as well, adding that the "window of opportunity" for an Israel-Arab diplomatic agreement "can be calculated in terms of months, not years."

Israeli Reaction
Israel boycotted the U.N. meeting.

According to a statement by Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev, "Israel does not believe that the involvement of the Security Council contributes to the political process in the Middle East. This process should be bilateral and left to the parties themselves."

The statement continued, "Furthermore, the timing of this Security Council meeting is inappropriate as the Israeli government is in the midst of conducting a policy review, prior to next week's visit by Prime Minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu to the United States."

Netanyahu is slated to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. on May 18.

The Palestinian Authority also did not participate in the Security Council meeting.

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