A brave position on Israel
sponsored the resolution with Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela after Egypt backed down, reportedly after pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump.
We admire this principled stand by our representatives on the world stage. Israel responded swiftly by withdrawing its ambassador to New Zealand and barring our ambassador to Israel. We learned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned Mccully personally to say that New Zealand’s co-sponsorship of the resolution amounted to nothing less than a ‘‘declaration of war’’.
Israeli publication Haaretz reported that during the ‘‘harsh’’ phone call Netanyahu told Mccully that New Zealand’s ‘‘scandalous’’ action would ‘‘rupture relations’’ between the two countries. Mccully refused to back down and has told media that Israel should not have been surprised by New Zealand’s consistent position on the Palestinian question.
Netanyahu may have been more surprised by the US position. The US has traditionally used its power to veto such resolutions. But this time it opted to abstain, leading to the first UN security council resolution in more than 30 years to criticise Israel’s settlement and occupation of the Palestinian territories. The resolution certainly contains stronger criticisms of Israel than usual. It says that Israel must ‘‘immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem’’, as Israel’s settlements have ‘‘no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation under international law’’. The typical US rhetoric has been that such settlements are ‘‘obstacles to peace’’. To call settlements illegal is a big step forward.
Netanyahu knows he has Trump’s backing and the new president’s ambassador to Israel will be lawyer David Friedman, a strong supporter of Israeli settlements and opponent of a twostate solution. Netanyahu can talk tough because he is aware he will soon have the neighbourhood bully standing behind him.
Palestinians see the resolution as a rare victory. It has also been an encouraging last act in New Zealand’s two-year term on the Security Council. And while it is a non-binding measure without sanctions, it may become influential in international law and allow other territories to impose sanctions. If Israel and Palestine’s history changes from here, remember our important part in it.