US backs UN Security Council statement denouncing Israeli settlements in rare move
Middle East EyeFeb 21, 2023
The UN Security Council (UNSC) on Monday unanimously approved a presidential statement strongly criticizing Israel's continued construction and expansion of settlements, a move that angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to its support from the US.
This comes after multiple reports citing diplomatic sources claimed that the Palestinian Authority had dropped pursuit of a UNSC draft resolution to condemn Israeli settlement activity following discussions with Washington.
Israel's far-right government has taken actions so abusive in the occupied West Bank that even its closest ally, the US, agreed to support this UNSC presidential statement. As its persistent settlement activities continue to disrupt peace and put the two-state solution at risk, isolating the country is a step in the right direction to try to prevent the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from reaching a breaking point.
It is disgraceful that the Biden admin. has failed to show solidarity with Israel amid yet more prejudice against the nation from the UN. By backing this one-sided statement, Washington is turning a blind eye to the Palestinian Authority's hideous pay-for-slay policy while denying the rights of Jews to live in their historic homeland. The US should have never supported this biased statement.
There's a 44% chance that Israel will recognize Palestine by 2070, according to the Metaculus prediction community.