Obama sweeps “inconvenient” UN resolutions
regarding occupied Jerusalem under the carpet
By By Stuart Littlewood
Rerdress, July 29, 2008
Stuart Littlewood calls on Senator Barack Obama “to stop trying
to reframe the situation in the Holy Land by sweeping inconvenient
UN resolutions under the carpet, and end the arms supply and other
huge subsidies" to the Middle East's greatest terrorist regime,
Israel.
Excuse me,
who is this new kid called Obama, who was unknown outside the US
five minutes ago but now barges
into the Holy Land announcing that
it's OK for Israel to grab the hallowed City of Jerusalem and turn
it into the permanent headquarters of the Zionist regime?
Jerusalem "will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain
undivided," he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC).
Realizing his gaffe, he moderated the tone slightly by telling
CNN: "Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to
negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of
those negotiations... And I think that it is smart for us to work
through a system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary
religious sites in Old Jerusalem, but that Israel has a legitimate
claim on that city."
A legitimate claim? How does he figure that? The Old City belongs
to Palestinian East Jerusalem, which should tell Mr Obama something.
The trouble with Obama and many other Americans is that they know
diddly-squat. Worse, this one has “adviser” Dennis Ross whispering
in his ear. Ross was the architect of the failed US-inspired Middle
East peace process. Ross co-founded the AIPAC-sponsored Washington
Institute for Near East Policy. He was also part of Paul Wolfowitz's
Policy Planning team at the US State Department, which included
people like Scooter Libby. So, it was obvious to everyone where he
was coming from.
Obama, like others labouring under the yoke of the “unbreakable
bond” with Israel, talks of negotiations. What is there to
negotiate? The UN decided it all long ago.
UN Resolution 181 of
1947, dealing with the Partition that Israel accepted,
declares that "the City of Jerusalem shall be established as
a corpus separatum under a special international regime and
shall be administered by the United Nations. The Trusteeship
Council shall be designated to discharge the
responsibilities of the Administering Authority on behalf of
the United Nations. The City of Jerusalem shall include the
present municipality of Jerusalem plus the surrounding
villages and towns, the most eastern of which shall be Abu
Dis; the most southern, Bethlehem; the most western, 'Ein
Karim (including also the built-up area of Motsa); and the
most northern Shu'fat..."
Resolution 242 (1967) by the Security
Council and therefore fully binding...
1. Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles
requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in
the Middle East which should include the application of both
the following principles:
(i) Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories
occupied in the recent conflict;
(ii) Termination of all claims or states of belligerency
and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty,
territorial integrity and political independence of every
State in the area and their right to live in peace within
secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts
of force;
2. Affirms further the necessity
(a) For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through
international waterways in the area;
(b) For achieving a just settlement of the refugee
problem;
(c) For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and
political independence of every State in the area, through
measures including the establishment of demilitarized zones.
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Israel quibbles over interpretation of the wording – they would
wouldn't they? – but it's crystal clear to everyone else.
Security Council Resolution
338 (1973) calls on the parties concerned to start
immediately the implementation of Security Council
Resolution 242 (1967) in all of its parts.
Security Council Resolution 446
(1979) "determines that the policy and practices of Israel
in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other
Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity
and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a
comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East...
Calls once more upon Israel, as the occupying Power, to
abide scrupulously by the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, to
rescind its previous measures and to desist from taking any
action which would result in changing the legal status and
geographical nature and materially affecting the demographic
composition of the Arab territories occupied since 1967,
including Jerusalem, and, in particular, not to transfer
parts of its own civilian population into the occupied Arab
territories. |
So there you have it, Mr Obama. The UN has set it out. We're
simply waiting for implementation. The longer the wait the uglier
the unrest can become. The rocketing of Sderot, for example, can be
traced to America's failure to implement.
I hear you are the US Democrats' presidential candidate presumptive,
Mr Obama. Congratulations. It goes without saying that you need
Israel lobby funds to fuel your bid for ultimate power in the
world's most stupidly expensive electoral system, but do please try
not to make daft promises.
The best thing any new US president can do is quit meddling, stop
trying to reframe the situation in the Holy Land by
sweeping inconvenient UN resolutions under the carpet, and end the
arms supply and other huge subsidies to the region's greatest
terrorist regime.
By the way, Mr Obama, did you enjoy your stay at Jerusalem's King
David Hotel? When you checked in, were you aware that it used to
be the British headquarters and the Irgun terror gang blew it up in
1946, murdering 91 people? The Irgun, which declared war on the
British mandate government while we were still fighting Nazi
Germany, was commanded by wanted terrorist Menachem Begin, who later
became Isreal's prime minister.
I trust you slept well.
One last thing: you said in Berlin: "When you, the German people,
tore down that wall – a wall that divided East and West; freedom and
tyranny; fear and hope – walls came tumbling down around the world."
On your next visit would you mind, please, persuading your steadfast
friend Israel to tear down its Separation Wall, as instructed by the
International Court of Justice... you know, the wall that divides
Palestinian communities from each other and from freedom and hope,
prevents farmers reaching their land... the wall that has little to
do with security and everything to do with permanently annexing
more territory and strategic water resources?
*Stuart Littlewood is
author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight
of the Palestinians under occupation. For further information
please visit
www.radiofreepalestine.co.uk
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