Shot Across the Bow

220

January 12, 2017

Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 27 December 2016
by Inge Günther (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Sandra Alexander. Edited by Emily Heilker.

The Netanyahu government expects the U.S. to block unpleasant resolutions. The current Netanyahu reaction is all the more shrill.

The United Nations resolution against Israeli expansion of settlements is a bombshell of international diplomacy. The shrill reactions from Jerusalem bear witness to the fact that this overdue resolution is different from the previous warnings that the Netanyahu government has provoked. For too long, Israel viewed it as an established right that in the U.N. Security Council, Washington would deflect whatever didn’t suit Israel. This time, Barack Obama didn’t play along.

All the more irritated, Prime Minister Netanyahu pulls out all the stops, and through diplomatic means, dings the nations in the highest U.N. body. Moreover, the national right’s drive to press ahead with the building of settlements is strong, now more than ever.

For the Palestinians, it counts that the vote could make it possible to take legal steps against Israel, including a suit before the International Court of Justice. It is far from The Hague; the path can be blocked.

Also, President Trump will not easily be able to undo the resolution. Obama has set a new course toward his last days in office. Behind Netanyahu’s indignation is his fear that the resolution was not the last shot across the bow of his settlement policy.

Die Netanjahu-Regierung erwartet von den USA, unangenehme Resolutionen zu blockieren. Umso schriller ist die Reaktion von Netanjahu aktuell.

Die UN-Resolution gegen die israelische Siedlungsexpansion ist ein Paukenschlag der internationalen Diplomatie. Die schrillen Reaktionen aus Jerusalem zeugen davon, dass dieser überfällige Beschluss anders als bisherige Ermahnungen, die Netanjahu-Regierung aufgescheucht hat. Allzu lange betrachtete sie es als Gewohnheitsrecht, dass Washington im UN-Sicherheitsrat schon abbiegen würden, was ihr nicht passt. Diesmal spielte Barack Obama nicht mit.

Umso gereizter zieht Premier Benjamin Netanjahu sämtliche Register und straft die Staaten im höchsten UN-Gremium diplomatisch ab. Darüber hinaus ist der Drang unter den israelischen Nationalrechten stark, jetzt erst recht den Siedlungsbau voranzutreiben.

Für Palästinenser zählt, dass das Votum rechtliche Schritte gegen Israel bis hin zu einer Klage vor dem internationalen Gerichtshof ermöglichen könnte. Bis Den Haag ist es weit, der Weg lässt sich blockieren.

Die Resolution wird auch ein US-Präsident Donald Trump nicht so leicht rückgängig machen können. Auf seine letzten Amtstage hin hat Obama die Weichen im Nahost-Konflikt neu gestellt. Hinter Netanjahus Empörung steckt seine Angst, dass die Resolution nicht der letzte Schuss vor den Bug seiner Siedlungspolitik war.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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