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The UN's World of the Absurd

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Amb. Alan Baker - Only in the world of the absurd can 143 states parrot their support for what they blindly proclaim to be a "two-state solution" without really understanding what they are talking about out. Only in the world of the absurd can the majority of the international community deliberately ignore the openly declared genocidal intentions of Iran, Hamas, and the Palestine Liberation Organization in their efforts to eliminate the Jewish state and kill all Jews, while at the same time upgrading the Palestinian representation in the UN. The bottom line is that the UN General Assembly vote on May 10 to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority in the UN does not grant the Palestinians statehood or UN membership. The UN General Assembly has neither authority nor jurisdiction to establish states and grant membership status without Security Council sanction. The General Assembly resolution determines that "the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the UN in accordance with Article 4 of the UN Charter." But Article 4 requires that UN membership be open to "all other peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter." Do the states voting in favor of this resolution genuinely believe that the Palestinians could be a "peace-loving state"? International law requires the fulfillment of universally accepted criteria for statehood, including control of a defined population and territory and enforcement of the rule of law, none of which the Palestinian Authority has ever fulfilled. This is in addition to the Charter requirement of being a peace-loving state. No element of Palestinian political existence - neither Hamas, the PLO, or the Palestinian Authority - can seriously claim to fulfill such criteria. Like all General Assembly resolutions, the resolution is not binding, does not represent international law, and only reflects the political views of those states that supported it. The Palestinian delegation remains an observer, wherever they may be seated. Moreover, in the context of the Palestinian obligations set out in the Oslo Accords, this attempted change of status constitutes a serious and fundamental violation of the agreed obligation not to change the status of the territories pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations. The message emanating from this resolution is that the international community is not just ignoring Palestinian terror against a fellow UN member state; it is encouraging it. The writer, Director of the Institute for Diplomatic Affairs at the Jerusalem Center, served as Legal Adviser and Deputy Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2024-05-16 00:00:00
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