Stuart Littlewood calls on Senator Barack Obama “to stop trying to reframe the situation in the Holy Land by sweeping inconvenient UN resolutions under the carpet, and end the arms supply and other huge subsidies" to the Middle East's greatest terrorist regime, Israel.
Excuse me, who is this new kid called Obama, who was unknown outside the US five minutes ago but now barges into the Holy Land announcing that it's OK for Israel to grab the hallowed City of Jerusalem and turn it into the permanent headquarters of the Zionist regime?
Jerusalem "will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided," he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
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Realizing his gaffe, he moderated the tone slightly by telling CNN: "Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations... And I think that it is smart for us to work through a system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary religious sites in Old Jerusalem, but that Israel has a legitimate claim on that city."
A legitimate claim? How does he figure that? The Old City belongs to Palestinian East Jerusalem, which should tell Mr Obama something.
The trouble with Obama and many other Americans is that they know diddly-squat. Worse, this one has “adviser” Dennis Ross whispering in his ear. Ross was the architect of the failed US-inspired Middle East peace process. Ross co-founded the AIPAC-sponsored Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He was also part of Paul Wolfowitz's Policy Planning team at the US State Department, which included people like Scooter Libby. So, it was obvious to everyone where he was coming from.
Obama, like others labouring under the yoke of the “unbreakable bond” with Israel, talks of negotiations. What is there to negotiate? The UN decided it all long ago.
UN Resolution 181 of 1947, dealing with the Partition that Israel accepted, declares that "the City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations. The Trusteeship Council shall be designated to discharge the responsibilities of the Administering Authority on behalf of the United Nations. The City of Jerusalem shall include the present municipality of Jerusalem plus the surrounding villages and towns, the most eastern of which shall be Abu Dis; the most southern, Bethlehem; the most western, 'Ein Karim (including also the built-up area of Motsa); and the most northern Shu'fat..." (i) Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict; (ii) Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force; 2. Affirms further the necessity (a) For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area; (b) For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem; (c) For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political independence of every State in the area, through measures including the establishment of demilitarized zones. |
Israel quibbles over interpretation of the wording – they would wouldn't they? – but it's crystal clear to everyone else.
| Security Council Resolution 338 (1973) calls on the parties concerned to start immediately the implementation of Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) in all of its parts. Security Council Resolution 446 (1979) "determines that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East... Calls once more upon Israel, as the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, to rescind its previous measures and to desist from taking any action which would result in changing the legal status and geographical nature and materially affecting the demographic composition of the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and, in particular, not to transfer parts of its own civilian population into the occupied Arab territories." |
So there you have it, Mr Obama. The UN has set it out. We're simply waiting for implementation. The longer the wait the uglier the unrest can become. The rocketing of Sderot, for example, can be traced to America's failure to implement.
I hear you are the US Democrats' presidential candidate presumptive, Mr Obama. Congratulations. It goes without saying that you need Israel lobby funds to fuel your bid for ultimate power in the world's most stupidly expensive electoral system, but do please try not to make daft promises.
The best thing any new US president can do is quit meddling, stop trying to reframe the situation in the Holy Land by sweeping inconvenient UN resolutions under the carpet, and end the arms supply and other huge subsidies to the region's greatest terrorist regime.
By the way, Mr Obama, did you enjoy your stay at Jerusalem's King David Hotel? When you checked in, were you aware that it used to be the British headquarters and the Irgun terror gang blew it up in 1946, murdering 91 people? The Irgun, which declared war on the British mandate government while we were still fighting Nazi Germany, was commanded by wanted terrorist Menachem Begin, who later became Isreal's prime minister.
I trust you slept well.
One last thing: you said in Berlin: "When you, the German people, tore down that wall – a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope – walls came tumbling down around the world." On your next visit would you mind, please, persuading your steadfast friend Israel to tear down its Separation Wall, as instructed by the International Court of Justice... you know, the wall that divides Palestinian communities from each other and from freedom and hope, prevents farmers reaching their land... the wall that has little to do with security and everything to do with permanently annexing more territory and strategic water resources?
*Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation. For further information please visit www.radiofreepalestine.co.uk
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