UNSC Resolution 2334 was Planned by Kerry, Rice, and Erekat

UNSC Resolution 2334 was Planned by Kerry, Rice, and Erekat

By: jamesbaxley

 

The passing of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 with 14 votes, which condemns Israeli settlement construction, has caused Israeli and U.S. relations to falter. This is even in lieu of the Obama administration’s defense aid agreement for $38 billion over 10 years.

THE U.N.

The Times of Israel reports that an Egyptian paper, Al-Youm Al-Sabea, published what it claims are "the transcripts of meetings between top U.S. and Palestinian officials which seems to corroborate Israeli accusations that the Obama administration was behind last week’s UN Security Council resolution, and hints that the Palestinians had already seen the plan [John] Kerry presented to the UN, which Israel believes is the first step to the Obama administration trying to impose a 'peace solution' on Israel."

The Times goes on, "at the same time, a report in an Israeli daily Tuesday night pointed to Britain helping draft the resolution and high drama in the hours leading up to the vote, as Jerusalem tried to convince New Zealand to bury the Security Council measure."

United States Secretary of State John Kerry, in December told top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, that the U.S. "was prepared to cooperate with the Palestinians at the Security council," Israel’s Channel 1 TV said, quoting the Egyptian Al-Youm Al-Sabea newspaper.

White House National Security Council official Ned Price described such a meeting as a “total fabrication.” Price stands by his denial despite public documents highlighting the powwow between [John] Kerry and senior Palestinian diplomat Saeb Erekat in December.

A White House official says that “We’ve been entirely clear that this was an Egyptian resolution,” and that the effort “did not originate with the White House.”

The claims that a meeting between Kerry, Erekat, and White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice are not correct have been disputed by multiple sources such as Jonathan Schanzer.

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU

Schanzer, a Middle East expert and vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, explains that he spoke with U.S. officials in September. The U.S. official admitted that “a U.N. measure of some shape or form was actively considered.”  Schanzer continues, “We know that this administration was at a minimum helping to shape a final resolution at the U.N. and had been working on this for months.” 

“The fact is, the administration has been flagged as being an active participant in this U.N. resolution,” Schanzer said. “Now they wish to try to spin this as inconsequential. This was an attempt by the administration to lead from behind, as they have done countless times in the past and which has failed countless times in the past.”

In the article in Haaretz, “Leaked Document: U.S. Colluded With Palestinians 10 Days Before UN Settlements Vote” is authentic, the document, leaked to an Egyptian website, confirms some of the claims voiced in Israel against Obama since the U.N. vote against the settlements last week. 

United States Secretary of State John Kerry and White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice told a Palestinian delegation in Washington 10 days before the UNSC passed a resolution against Israeli settlements that the U.S. would not impose a veto on such a resolution if its wording was balanced, according to a document released by an Egyptian news site.

The document released by the Egyptian website appears to be a summary of the meeting between the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and senior Palestinian diplomat Saeb Erekat. If the document is authentic, it was probably leaked by officials in the Egyptian government.

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY

The State Department denied the contents of the document. State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner responded to the report and denied the contents of the document. Toner said that Kerry did not discuss the American position regarding the Security Council resolution in his meeting with Erekat and the Palestinian delegation.

If the document is authentic, then it would justify Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism against President Barack Obama, “From the information that we have, we have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated on the wording and demanded that it be passed,” Netanyahu said at his weekly cabinet meeting on Christmas Day.

In his remarks Sunday, Netanyahu also acknowledged that the U.S. and Israel have long disagreed regarding settlement policy, but said they had until now refrained from taking their disagreements to the Security Council.

“As I told [U.S. Secretary of State] John Kerry on Thursday, friends don’t take friends to the Security Council,” Netanyahu said.