Israel has rejected a proposal by France to send international observers to monitor the situation near the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem). Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday for the second time slammed France’s draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to deploy monitors to the area, which has been witnessing deadly clashes for weeks. “Israel cannot accept the French draft resolution at the UNSC,” Netanyahu said. Paris submitted its proposal on the matter in a draft resolution to the UNSC on October 16, during an emergency meeting over the escalation of violence in occupied Palestinian territories. Netanyahu first slammed the draft resolution on October 17, as “absurd,” saying it was seeking the “internationalization of the holy places in the Middle East.” Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, also criticized the idea, saying Tel Aviv believed the deployment of international observers to the site would not help the situation. While violent incidents have become a routine in Jerusalem and other Israeli held Palestinian territories, the Jewish State is following a stubborn policy to crush the protestors with force. Its rejection of the proposal of deployment of UN Observers reflects some commonality with India, because New Delhi also does not allow the UN Observers on its side of the LoC in Kashmir. The categorical defiance of the UN Resolution is a proof that Israel is least bothered about the voice of international community because it has the strong backing of the United States. Benjamin Netanyahu is so certain of the strong backing of Jewish lobby in the US, that he addressed the Congress despite opposition from the White House and no representatives of the Obama administration attended his address. Later on the pressure of pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Obama had to call Netanyahu to belatedly congratulate him on his electoral victory. So least bothered by the UN resolution or any pressure of the international community, dozens of Palestinians are being detained by Israel in what they describe as a wave of “preventive arrests” that reflects Israel’s attempts to quell Palestinian resistance against its excessive use of force and the extra judicial killings of Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. With Israeli defiance of the UN resolution and even the counselling of the Obama Administration, there is every possibility of an all out confrontation between Israeli forces and the Palestinians.
pk.shafaqna.com
