Time to bid farewell to Washington and embrace the globe

There is no doubt that the UN Security Council (UNSC) condemnation of Israel on Dec. 23 was an important and noteworthy event. True, the UN’s main chambers — the UNSC and the UN General Assembly (UNGA) — and its various institutions, from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to the cultural agency UNESCO, have repeatedly condemned Israel’s occupation, illegal settlements and mistreatment of Palestinians.
In fact, unlike the Dec. 23 Resolution 2334, past UN condemnations were far stronger — some resolutions did not just demand an immediate halt to illegal Israeli settlement construction, but the removal of existing settlements as well.
There are up to 196 illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land, in addition to hundreds of settler outposts. These settlements host up to 600,000 Israeli settlers, who were moved there in violation of international law and, in particular, the Fourth Geneva Convention.
What makes this particular resolution important? First, the US neither vetoed the resolution nor threatened to use its veto power. Nor did it even seriously lobby, as it often does, to soften the wording in advance. Second, it is the first decisive and clear condemnation of Israel by the UNSC in nearly eight years — almost the entirety of US President Barack Obama’s terms in office.
Third, the vote took place despite extraordinary Israeli pressure on the Obama administration, the forthcoming one of Donald Trump, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Indeed, Egypt delayed the vote, before New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia and Venezuela stepped up and put the resolution to a vote a day later.
Doubtless, the UN resolution — like all others — remains rather symbolic as long as there are no practical mechanisms to ensure the enforcement of international law. Not only will Israel not respect the UN’s will, it is already accelerating its settlement activities in defiance of that will.
The Jerusalem municipality had announced that 300 housing units will be built in the illegal settlements of Ramat Shlomo, Ramot and Bit Hanina while the UNSC members were preparing for the vote on the “legal invalidity” of the Israeli settlements.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), however, is already celebrating another symbolic “victory,” which is readily being marketed to unamused Palestinians as a major step toward their freedom and independent state.
With all this in mind, there is a valuable lesson that must be registered at this moment: Without US backing, Israel — with all its might — is quite vulnerable and isolated in the international arena.
The outcome of the vote was telling: 14 UNSC members voted yes, while the US abstained. The vote was followed by a rare sight at such meetings, a sustained applause, where countries that hardly agree on much agreed wholeheartedly on the justness of Palestinian aspirations and the rejection of Israeli practices.
Think about this for a moment: The relentless efforts by Israel and the US to intimidate, coerce and bribe UN members, so as to sideline the international community from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is failing utterly. All it took was a mere US abstention from the vote to expose the still-solid international consensus regarding Israel’s illegal actions in Palestine.
In an emblematic sign of hope, the vote brings to a close 2016, which has been a harsh year for Palestinians. Hundreds were killed in clashes in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza; hundreds of homes were partly or wholly demolished and damaged; thousands of acres of land were confiscated by Israel, and countless olive trees toppled.
The next year hardly promises to be any kinder, as the new administration under Trump exhibits all the signs that suggest US support of Israel will remain steadfast, if not take an even darker turn.
The appointment of pro-settlement hard-liner David Friedman as the new US ambassador to Israel carries with it terrifying prospects. Friedman and his ilk have no regard for international law, or any respect for current US policy regarding Israel’s occupation and the illegality of the settlements (considered an “obstacle to peace” under various administrations). They are also eager to relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
All of this is quite ominous, and the freshly passed resolution should not advance the illusion that things are changing. Nonetheless there is hope. The resolution is a further affirmation that the international community is unconditionally on the side of Palestinians and, despite all the failures of the past, still advocates respect for international law.
This reminder takes place at a time when the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is moving from strength to strength, galvanizing civil societies, campuses and trade unions worldwide to take a stance against Israel’s occupation.
While the rights of Palestinians do not register in the slightest on the radar of US foreign policy interests (which sees its alliance with Israel as far more important than the needs of disjointed Arab countries), Palestinians can still forge a new strategy that is predicated on the strong support they continue to garner from the rest of the world.
Israel can be blamed for much, but Palestinians deserve much of the blame too, for their own disunity, infighting and corruption. They must not expect their efforts, however sincere, to yield freedom and liberation when they are incapable of forming a united front.
If a united Palestinian leadership does not seize the opportunity and regain the initiative in 2017, all Palestinians will suffer. It is time to move away from Washington and to embrace the rest of the world.