‘UN resolution against Israeli settlements pointless’

The United Nations Security Council’s recent resolution against Israel’s illegal settlement constructions in the occupied Palestinian territories has drawn sharp reactions from Tel Aviv. In a gesture of defiance, the Israeli regime has put back on track proposed legislation to award legal status to some 4,000 settler units built on private Palestinian property in the occupied West Bank. Press TV has spoken to Catherine Shakdam, director of Shafaqna Institute for Middle Eastern Studies, as well as Carol Gould, investigative journalist, to discuss how this resolution might affect Israel’s expansionist agenda.

Shakdam believes that the UNSC resolution is “pointless” and is not going to change anything because the world does not have the courage to act when it comes to Israel.

“Nothing is going to happen,” she stated, because “the world does not know where to begin and it would be very difficult for Western powers to rationalize the kind of big flip-flopping and realize that Tel Aviv is a grand war criminal.” 

The analyst also branded the resolution as a “political move,” arguing that maybe US President Barack wanted to do something before the end of his term in return for the many times he was insulted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he came to Congress.

Shakdam described the United Nations as an “irrelevant institution” which neither serves the people nor defends the principles based on which it was founded. Rather, it only “pays lip service to the likes of Saudi Arabia and Zionism.”

She went on to say the UN has continued to “excuse” and “whitewash” the crimes that Tel Aviv and Riyadh have committed for the past decades, but have, nonetheless, claimed “victimhood” all along.

The analyst further argued the United States and Israel continue to invoke “exceptionalism” in today’s world.

“So when everything goes up to plan, then everything is fine and fair. But when they are being criticized or even challenged on the illegalities and war crimes that they are committing, and human rights violations and countless other crimes, then everything is wrong and something needs to be done. And then suddenly the United Nations means nothing at all,” she said.

Shakdam also mentioned that due to Washington’s support for Tel Aviv, the world is under the impression that Israel has some form of legitimacy and therefore all countries must remain silent in the face of its crimes against Palestinians.

“Enough already with trying to justify those crimes that the Israelis are committing in the name of weird legitimacy that they are claiming for themselves,” she said, arguing that Israel represents “a blueprint for what fascism looks like in the world today.”

Shakdam further asserted that “the very premise of Israel is based on occupation” and that “it is the most sectarian, racist entity on the face of the earth which was made in the blood of Palestinians.”

According to the analyst, what Israel is trying to do is “to discipline an entire people and claim that they never existed.”

She concluded by saying that Palestinians need to reach out to the international community, because they have a right to a state just like any other nation and there is no reason to deny them their “land, history, tradition and faith.”

Meanwhile, the other panelist on Press TV’s program, Carol Gould, stated called the UNSC resolution something of a “turning point” and a “watershed event” which has upset and created “quite a stir” among many Israelis.

“What is interesting about [Resolution] 2234 is that many important countries, like the United Kingdom, have voted to support this resolution. In fact, it was unanimous,” she noted.

She is of the opinion that the resolution is about “personalities and politics,” meaning it has more to do with Obama’s history of tremendous dislike for Netanyahu and Netanyahu’s dislike for Obama.

The analyst predicted that US President-elect Donald Trump is not going to enforce such a resolution, because he is certainly a “staunch supporter” of Israel and will not oppose the building of more settlements.

Gould also criticized the United Nations for being “completely useless” and doing nothing about the conflict in Syria, the war in Yemen, the violence and turmoil in Libya, Iraq, Pakistan and the troubles in Turkey, but getting so exercised about the Israeli settlements instead.

“There is a great deal to discuss and settle on this issue. But we are not talking about the gigantic strife and bloodshed and killing and murder in the hundreds of thousands, and millions of people being displaced, like what is happening next door in Syria,” she said in conclusion.

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