Israel Threatens 'Unilateral' Action Over Palestinian UN Move
"The Palestinians' threats to appeal to the UN will not affect us," said Israeli Prime Minister
Israel has threatened to take "unilateral" action over a Palestinian bid to join 15 UN agencies, including the Geneva Conventions.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made the announcement, which prompted scorn from U.S. and Israeli officials, last week.
"The Palestinians' threats to appeal to the UN will not affect us," stated Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The Palestinians have much to lose by this unilateral move. They will achieve a state only by direct negotiations, not by empty statements and not by unilateral moves."
"These will only push a peace agreement farther away and unilateral steps on their part will be met with unilateral steps on our part," the Israeli leader stated.
Critics pointed to such moves as showing the farce of the so-called peace talks.
Mike Coogan of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation previously told Common Dreams that "it says a lot about a peace process if it has supposedly been imperiled by Palestinians signing international treaties, most of which protect human rights, not by Israel's colonization and killing."
__________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Israel has threatened to take "unilateral" action over a Palestinian bid to join 15 UN agencies, including the Geneva Conventions.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made the announcement, which prompted scorn from U.S. and Israeli officials, last week.
"The Palestinians' threats to appeal to the UN will not affect us," stated Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The Palestinians have much to lose by this unilateral move. They will achieve a state only by direct negotiations, not by empty statements and not by unilateral moves."
"These will only push a peace agreement farther away and unilateral steps on their part will be met with unilateral steps on our part," the Israeli leader stated.
Critics pointed to such moves as showing the farce of the so-called peace talks.
Mike Coogan of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation previously told Common Dreams that "it says a lot about a peace process if it has supposedly been imperiled by Palestinians signing international treaties, most of which protect human rights, not by Israel's colonization and killing."
__________________
Israel has threatened to take "unilateral" action over a Palestinian bid to join 15 UN agencies, including the Geneva Conventions.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made the announcement, which prompted scorn from U.S. and Israeli officials, last week.
"The Palestinians' threats to appeal to the UN will not affect us," stated Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The Palestinians have much to lose by this unilateral move. They will achieve a state only by direct negotiations, not by empty statements and not by unilateral moves."
"These will only push a peace agreement farther away and unilateral steps on their part will be met with unilateral steps on our part," the Israeli leader stated.
Critics pointed to such moves as showing the farce of the so-called peace talks.
Mike Coogan of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation previously told Common Dreams that "it says a lot about a peace process if it has supposedly been imperiled by Palestinians signing international treaties, most of which protect human rights, not by Israel's colonization and killing."
__________________