(Daily Mail-UK) Melanie Phillips - The impending UN General Assembly vote on the declaration of a Palestinian state has little to do with the establishment of anything that bears any relation to reality. Such a state will be a Potemkin polity with no political coherence, fixed shape or legal legitimacy. The unilateral declaration is demonstrably an aggressive stunt and an act of purposeful hostility against Israel. Even if no violence occurs, this unilateral initiative rips up previous treaty undertakings made with Israel by the Palestinian Authority and obviates any possibility of a negotiated settlement of the Middle East impasse. For that reason, the Obama administration has said it will veto the proposal in the Security Council. So what will Britain do? The fact that the British government is even now - with a week to go before the General Assembly session opens - refusing to condemn this cynical stunt is deeply shocking in itself. It means the UK is contemplating supporting an initiative that tears up binding treaty obligations and thus makes a mockery of international law.
2011-09-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive