A Crisis In U.S.-Palestinian Ties
Unlike the United States' harmless verbal attacks against Israel, its hostile actions against the Palestinians comprise a strategic threat, spawning an ever-low point in their relationship.
By Aaron Magid | Jan. 20, 2015 | 1:53 PM
JERICHO, WEST BANK – In a widely publicized column, The Atlantic columnist Jeffery Goldberg wrote in October “The Crisis in U.S.-Israeli Relations is Officially Here.” Most notably, an unnamed senior Obama Administration official described Netanyahu as a “chickenshit.” Yet, the events of the past weeks at the United Nations Security Council and growing U.S. threats of cutting aid after the Palestinians signed papers to join the International Criminal Court in The Hague demonstrate that U.S.-Israeli relations remain relatively strong while U.S.-Palestinian ties may have sunk to their lowest levels.
U.S.-Palestinian friction was not always the norm. As recently as the summer of 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for taking political risks in resuming bilateral negotiations with Israel. Kerry also announced a $4 billion investment plan to improve the Palestinian economy.
Only this past month did ties suffer dramatically. First came the Palestinian resolution for statehood at the United Nations Security Council. Since the summer’s Gaza War, this was the Palestinian’s most critical diplomatic initiative. Washington adamantly opposed it.
In an interview at his Jericho office, Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat expressed frustration with the U.S. position. “They refused to work with us on the UNSC draft,” Erekat told me. Refuting accusations that the Palestinians had adopted too hardline a resolution, Erekat said Kerry remained unwilling to consider – and committed to vetoing – any UNSC draft, no matter who wrote it, the French, Arabs or other.
The U.S. did everything in its power to pressure other UNSC members to reject the measure. Kerry made 13 calls to foreign ministers and leaders of UNSC member states to persuade them not to support the Palestinian proposal. Most significantly, Kerry personally spoke with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who later surprisingly abstained in the key swing vote. Netanyahu had also asked the president of Nigeria (as well as that of Rwanda) not to support the resolution, but it is likely that the United States' pressure – as a superpower – exerted greater influence than that of Israel.
more...
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.638077
