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Media Mention via Aljazeera English

US criticism of Israeli settlements is ‘meaningless’: Analysts

By Ali Harb February 17, 2023

References Tariq Kenney-Shawa

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The United States says it is “deeply dismayed” by Israeli settlement expansion plans. It also says a United Nations proposal to denounce the same settlements is “unhelpful”.

Palestinian rights advocates say the contradiction underscores President Joe Biden’s unwillingness to meaningfully counter violations that Israel’s far-right government has committed against Palestinians.

Without action, mere statements against Israeli policies are “meaningless”, said Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab Center Washington DC, a think tank.

“Israel knows it’s just an expression of dissatisfaction. Whether it’s a ‘regret’ or ‘deep concern’, whatever the diplomatic term du jour is, still the administration will not do anything practical about it to hold Israel responsible for its behaviour,” Jahshan told Al Jazeera.

US President Joe Biden is a self-proclaimed Zionist and hawkish supporter of Israel. But on Monday, his administration issued rare, unsolicited criticism of an Israeli plan to build 10,000 settlement units in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, saying Washington was “deeply troubled” by the move.

A day later, Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in rejecting the Israeli move.

“We strongly oppose these unilateral actions which will only serve to exacerbate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution,” the diplomats said in a joint statement.

On Thursday, White House spokesperson Kaine Jean-Pierre said Washington was “deeply dismayed” by the Israeli announcement.

But an hour or so later, when State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel was asked about a draft UN Security Council resolution that would call on Israel to cease settlement activity, he denounced the measure.

“The introduction of this resolution is unhelpful in supporting the conditions necessary to advance negotiations for a two-state solution,” Patel told reporters without confirming whether Washington would veto the proposal.

‘Israeli domination’

Multiple media outlets have reported that the draft resolution could be up for a vote by the 15-member body as early as Monday.

The US has used its veto power at the UN Security Council dozens of times to protect Israel from criticism over its international law violations.

“The contradiction of the Biden administration’s stated position ‘opposing’ Israel’s settlement expansion yet rejecting any attempt to hold them legally accountable is proof of their complicity in the continuation of Israeli occupation and apartheid,” said Tariq Kenney-Shawa, US policy fellow at Al-Shabaka, a Palestinian think tank.

“It’s simple — every US administration has said they oppose anything that will endanger a two-state solution, yet none have taken action to stop Israel’s illegal expansion,” Kenney-Shawa added in an email.

“This is because all the US cares about is preserving the status quo of Israeli domination — that is the heart of the issue.”

Read the Original Article

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