Israeli settlement expansion 'impedes peace': UNSC

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The United Nations Security Council expressed on Monday its "dismay" with the Israeli occupation's government's plans to legalize settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. The UNSC issued a statement warning that these measures "impede peace".

"The Security Council reiterates that continuing Israeli settlement activities are dangerously imperiling the viability of the two-State solution," the Council said in a statement supported by all 15 members but which does not have the binding force of a resolution that was being mulled last week.

The Israeli occupation was quick to criticize the declaration, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed it denied the "historic rights" of the Jewish people.

"The UN Security Council has issued a one-sided statement which denies the rights of Jews to live in our historic homeland," Netanyahu's office claimed in an official statement.

Furthermore, the occupation's premier's office said the statement "fails to mention the Palestinian terror attacks" that took place over the past few weeks in reference to the resistance operations that were conducted against illegal Israeli settlers in various places all over occupied Palestine. 

The UNSC declaration should "never have been made, and the United States should never have joined it."

The draft resolution that was being mulled, reportedly proposed by the United Arab Emirates, had called on the Israeli occupation to "immediately and completely cease" settlement activities in occupied Palestinian areas.

The draft, condemning "all attempts at annexation, including decisions and measures by Israel regarding settlements, including settlement outposts" had been dropped, AFP diplomatic sources said Monday, saying it would be replaced by the new statement issued by the president of the UNSC.

Furthermore, the draft resolution reiterated the demand that the occupation "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory."

The United States opposed the resolution and shot it down with its UNSC veto, with the White House saying it was "deeply dismayed" by the plans.

UN diplomats said that in order to avoid having to use its veto to block the resolution, Washington has encouraged Palestine and its allies in the UNSC to consider drafting "a more symbolic" joint statement condemning the Israeli cabinet's announcements.

At the same time, Washington denounced a recent Israeli security cabinet announcement regarding the legalization of nine illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The UNSC "strongly opposes all unilateral measures that impede peace, including, inter alia, Israeli construction and expansion of settlements, confiscation of Palestinians' land, and the 'legalization' of settlement outposts, demolition of Palestinians' homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians," the statement read.

Palestine's envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, stressed the fact that it was a unanimous stance by the Security Council.

"We have a united front," he said. "To isolate one side is a step in the right direction. We are fast approaching a breaking point that no one should care to explore."

He concluded that the message needed to be "translated into a time-bound action plan at concerted effort by the UN and its member states to set us on a different path. One that leads to freedom, justice, and peace."

The Biden administration is trying to avoid a diplomatic crisis with the UNSC over Israeli plans for settlement expansion, in light of a recent draft resolution that would demand "Israel" to "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory.

According to multiple diplomats familiar with the situation, the US was successful in delaying the resolution proposed by the Palestinians and their supporters.

The Security Council would likely accept a weaker presidential statement similar to the resolution on Monday, according to the diplomats, rather than a resolution. That said, Presidential statements have become part of the council's record but are not legally binding because they require the support of all 15 council nations.

The UN diplomats said Palestine has rejected the US proposal and is pushing for the draft resolution to be brought to a vote on Monday, noting that talks on the resolution are ongoing, but the text and the timing for the vote could change, as per The Times of Israel.

What would a veto on settlements mean?

During the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, President Joe Biden would face political difficulties if the resolution on settlements is vetoed. 

According to diplomats, the efforts against the draft resolution included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Sullivan's deputy Brett McGurk, Middle East top diplomat Barbara Leaf, and special envoy for Palestinian affairs Hady Amr.

Moreover, the Palestinian push for a resolution comes as the new Israeli extremists' government reaffirmed its commitment to building new settlements in the West Bank, which is further exacerbating the situation in Palestine, as the extremist occupation seems to be bent on changing the status quo in the occupied territories, pushing Palestinians to further defend themselves against Israeli aggression.

It is noteworthy that in December 2016, the UNSC passed a resolution against the Israeli occupation's settlements expansion, 14 out of the council's 15 members voted in favor, while the US, under then-President Barack Obama, abstained.