(Hudson Institute-New York) Alan M. Dershowitz - The Obama administration was right to cast its vote against the Security Council Resolution condemning the continuation of "all" settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as "illegal" and a "major obstacle" to "peace on the basis of the two-state solution." The vetoed resolution would include the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem and the Western Wall as "occupied Palestinian territory," even though Jordan originally captured and desecrated these Jewish holy places illegally when it attacked the new Jewish state in 1948. Israel lawfully recaptured these areas in a defensive war started by Jordan in 1967. They are not occupied territory and Israel is entitled to build as much as it wants to there. The resolution would also include heavily populated Jewish areas - such as Maale Adumim and Gilo - that the Palestinian Authority had previously agreed, in principle, would remain part of Israel in any negotiated borders of a two-state solution. Finally, it would omit activities by the Palestinians - ranging from firing rockets at civilians, inciting violence against Jews, refusal to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, refusing to sit down and negotiate, and rejecting generous offers made by Israel in 2000, 2001 and 2008 - that have been the real "obstacles" to "peace on the basis of the two-state solution." Even more important, passage of such a biased resolution would have discouraged the Palestinian Authority from coming to the negotiating table and trying to resolve their differences with Israel by compromise. Why compromise if the UN and the U.S. are prepared to give them what they want without any negotiation?
2011-02-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive