The major danger of the Jordan backed Abbas UN resolution is that it might be supported. If so, in one simple move Mahmoud Abbas will have proved he has been totally corrupted by the funds he and the Palestinian Authority receive from the US (assuming that is that you think even more proof if necessary). The resolution totally abandons much that the Palestinians should defend. It will allow Israel to continue building illegal settlements, to continue to imprison innocent men, women and children, to continue to shoot Gaza fishermen, to continue to defy the Gaza cease fire and to continue its policy of apartheid. The possibility of submitting a case to the Hague case for Israel’s war crimes will have been abandoned.
Abbas of course does not present things that way.
If the Arab-Palestinian project submitted to the Security council does not pass, we will be forced to take the necessary political and legal decisions.
if it fails, we will no longer deal with the Israeli government.
Empty threats, drivel, a repetition of previous empty threats. Abbas will continue to do Israel’s bidding because that it the only way he can stay in power. And to him, the money and notoriety that such power brings is his sole reason for existence. He may once have supported the Palestinian cause, but he no longer does.
Coca-Cola
Hamas and others have already commented on how the UN resolution will simply act to give Israel more time to continue with its anti-Palestinian policy. I shall comment on that later. First though it is worth having a quick look at the Coca-Cola investment in Gaza. In case you have missed it, Coca-Cola are building a factory in Gaza. Well, that’s good I hear you say. An income for Gaza.
Well no, the true winners will be Israel and to a lesser extent, the PA.
For starters, such plants inevitably consume large quantities of drinking water. In areas where drinking water supply is limited, such plants inevitably deprive the locals of that commodity.
There is of course a dire shortage of water in Gaza, as the article Coca-cola’s Investment in Gaza published by Middle East Monitor points out. Israel will simply sell some to Coca-Cola.
Where will the sugar come from? Where will the power come from?
And why will the taxes associated with the project go the the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and not to Hamas which is the legally elected governing body of Gaza? The EU has said quite clearly that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, and has never been proved to be one.
This is yet another deal cooked up between supporters of Abbas and supporters of Israel. It is markedly pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian. And it has been agreed to by Abbas at the same time that he threatens that if his UN resolution does not succeed he will no longer deal with Israel.
Israel War Crimes
Abbas has supported Israel by blocking any possibility of Israel having to face war crime charges in the Hague before. In 2009, The Electronic Intifada ran an article titled: Abbas helps Israel bury its crimes in Gaza. The article began:
Just when it seemed that the Ramallah Palestinian Authority (PA) and its leader Mahmoud Abbas could not sink any lower in their complicity with Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and the murderous blockade of Gaza, Ramallah has dealt a further stunning blow to the Palestinian people.
On that occasion, Abbas abandoned a resolution that requested the Human Rights Council to forward Judge Richard Goldstein’s report on war crimes in Gaza to the UN Security Council.
And now Abbas continues to refuse to ratify the Rome Statute. Until he does, the International Court cannot begin to consider whether Israel committed war crimes in Gaza a few months ago. There is absolutley no doubt that they did. But Abbas will not let the case start, let alone proceed.
UN Resolution
The current version of the UN Resolution may be found here. What is clear really at first glance is that the wording is extraordinarily vague. One of the latest changes is this:
a just settlement of other outstanding issues, including water and prisoners
What on earth is that supposed to mean?
And this is, according to Hamas, even worse:
a just resolution of the status of Jerusalem as the capital of the two States which fulfils the legitimate aspirations of both parties and protects freedom of worship
What Happens Next?
We have to wait and see. The resolution may actually be put to a vote, or it may not. The US may veto it or they may choose not to. If they do use the veto, Abbas will of course make a lot of noise and do very little.
If they do not use the veto, the damage to the Palestinian cause will be even greater.
https://petergarciawebb.com/2014-12-30/abbas-un-resolution-abandons-palestinian-cause