About Us

IMRA
IMRA
IMRA

 

Subscribe

Search


...................................................................................................................................................


Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Weekly Commentary: Double cross at the UN? Security Council Resolution Indefinitely Postponed

Weekly Commentary: Double cross at the UN? Security Council Resolution
Indefinitely Postponed

Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 28 August 2014

Here's the timeline:

Immediately before and at the time that the ceasefire was announced,
Israelis were talking about a United Nations Security Council Resolution
being issued this week, with the help of the United States, that would
include a call for the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.

It was a logical extension of the 15 August Council of the European Union
statement that "All terrorist groups in Gaza must disarm".

The idea is to make it absolutely clear that disarmament is a requirement
for the Gaza Strip - not some kind of Palestinian concession to be made
sometime in the future as part of a package that includes the creation of a
sovereign Palestinian state.

Unfortunately, already the morning after the ceasefire was announced there
were news reports that the United Nations Security Council Resolution was
indefinitely postponed by Washington.

And then on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu termed
demilitarization as being a "long run goal".

[As the famous economist, Keynes, quipped, "In the long run we are all
dead".]

Let's put this in context.

#1. Hamas claims it has the right to continue building and holding rockets
and that it has the "right to resistance" to shoot them.

#2. Hamas also takes the position that all of its targets are military
targets.

#3. Most of the international verbiage against attacks relates only to
condemning attacks against civilians.

#4. Almost all the missiles being shot are produced inside the Gaza Strip
rather than smuggled in.

A UNSC Resolution that "All missiles and rockets in Gaza must be removed or
destroyed" could have been an important move in the right direction.

Relegating demilitarization to the status of "long run goal" may leave us
with a "dual use goods" import inspection and monitoring system "cat and
mouse" game with the bizarre situation that any material Hamas manages to
get through the system can be openly used to manufacture missiles since the
ceasefire does not prohibit missile manufacturing activities!!!

It is not too late.

And PM Netanyahu has another argument he can give when he lobbies with world
leaders for the UNSC Resolution: his plummeted ratings in Israel by a
public that, according to the polls, wants to take a radically stronger and
more aggressive approach than he wants to. The public opposed the
ceasefire.

Mr. Netanyahu can argue that he needs the UNSC Resolution to help avoid a
situation in the coming months that at the first violation of the
ceasefire - even by a Palestinian splinter group - the Israeli street will
leave him no choice but to launch a war to crush Hamas. Mr. Netanyahu can
even mention how he found himself already promising a harsh response to even
the slightest attack.

As the saying goes, his weakness can be his great strength.

Again - it is not too late.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA ________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il

For free regular subscription:
Subscribe at no charge: imra-subscribe@imra.org.il
Unsubscribe: imra-unsubscribe@imra.org.il

For free daily digest subscription:
Subscribe at no charge: imra-subscribe-digest@imra.org.il
Unsubscribe: imra-unsubscribe@imra.org.il

IMRA is now also on Twitter
http://twitter.com/IMRA_UPDATES

Search For An Article

....................................................................................................

Contact Us

POB 982 Kfar Sava
Tel 972-9-7604719
Fax 972-3-7255730
email:imra@netvision.net.il IMRA is now also on Twitter
http://twitter.com/IMRA_UPDATES

image004.jpg (8687 bytes)