The UN settlement resolution is too little and too late

Palestinians know that they have been offered only stale crumbs from the UN Security Council's table

The United Nations Security Council vote decrying Israel's policy of settlement expansion is a welcome, but empty, gesture - all but irrelevant to the contest waged daily between Israel and Palestinians, but perfectly suited to the new fascination with entertainment as policy.
Every lead player in this manufactured drama on New York's East River has written a script that puts its role in the best light.
The international community has done nothing of substance in almost 50 years to constrain Israel's appetite for new territory in Palestinian areas conquered in June 1967.
Now once again, and with great difficulty, it has trumpeted its opposition, content to warn of the consequences of the status quo, but not to proscribe its central features, let alone to mandate a diplomatic road map for effectively addressing the issue.
Huffing and puffing of this sort is yet another sad reminder that, if, after so many decades, yet another toothless statement of concern is cause for such self-congratulation, Israeli settlers have nothing to fear.
Indeed, the only one to suffer material and immediate consequences of this vote is hapless Senegal, whose role in bringing the resolution to the table has won it an immediate Israeli decision to end its aid programme.
The ineffectiveness of the resolution
Israel has not been able to achieve the extraordinary feat of defying the international consensus against its settlement policies for decades by being complacent in the face of such international opposition, no matter how inconstant.
It has long pursued a policy based on the adage that "creating facts on the ground" - moving its citizens to conquered territory and in doing so, denying Palestinians the opportunity to create sovereignty based upon unchallenged control of territory - creates the context for diplomacy, and that everything else, including the pontifications from New York, or even Washington, while certainly a cause for concern, is hostage to this strategy.
Indeed, the UNSC vote, which fails to suggest any remedy, is scripted perfectly to match the central claim of Israel's long-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who himself learned a thing or two about international diplomacy as Israel's representative to the UN a generation ago.
The vote, and its self-evident, if notable, inclusion of East Jerusalem as occupied territory, will play well in Israel and among its many allies as yet the latest in an ignominious history of international opposition to the Jewish state, and will offer Netanyahu another politically potent arrow is his "the For the small but vocal pro-Palestinian Israeli community that punches well above its weight, if only in foreign capitals, the UNSC resolution is the best news they have heard in many years.
Like wanderers in the desert, they see the vote as an oasis - offering a tantalising hint of effective international action to force an Israeli retreat to secure and defensible borders.
Like all mirages, however, this one too is a dream that is bound to disappoint. The international community remains unwilling to save Israel from itself by imposing a diplomatic framework to negotiate an end to occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state, and, with or without the council's actions, Israeli opponents of occupation are too weak and uncertain to succeed on their own.
Stale crumbs
Palestinians know better than anyone the calamitous effectiveness of this strategy. They are at the centre of an Arab political community that, in our generation, is distinguished by its weakness in the face of external and internal challenges and the consequent undermining of state sovereignty across the region that follows as a result.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and its tired representatives have not scored a substantive diplomatic achievement since Yitzhak Rabin acknowledged them a quarter century ago.
An Israeli decision to withdraw its settlements and army from Palestinian territory - the ostensible objective of the international community - was won not by the UN, Washington, or the PLO, but by Hamas, which convinced Israel the old fashioned way - through blood and fire - that sitting in Gaza as conquerors was simply not worth the trouble.
Palestinians know that they have been offered only stale crumbs from the Security Council's table, none better than the villagers who have seen their lands and livelihoods compromised by settlement expansion.

The writer is a Middle Eastern affairs expert

The UN settlement resolution is too little and too late

Palestinians know that they have been offered only stale crumbs from the UN Security Councils table

The United Nations Security Council vote decrying Israels policy of settlement expansion is a welcome, but empty, gesture - all but irrelevant to the contest waged daily between Israel and Palestinians, but perfectly suited to the new fascination with entertainment as policy. Every lead player in this manufactured drama on New Yorks East River has written a script that puts its role in the best light. The international community has done nothing of substance in almost 50 years to constrain Israels appetite for new territory in Palestinian areas conquered in June 1967. Now once again, and with great difficulty, it has trumpeted its opposition, content to warn of the consequences of the status quo, but not to proscribe its central features, let alone to mandate a diplomatic road map for effectively addressing the issue. Huffing and puffing of this sort is yet another sad reminder that, if, after so many decades, yet another toothless statement of concern is cause for such self-congratulation, Israeli settlers have nothing to fear. Indeed, the only one to suffer material and immediate consequences of this vote is hapless Senegal, whose role in bringing the resolution to the table has won it an immediate Israeli decision to end its aid programme. The ineffectiveness of the resolution Israel has not been able to achieve the extraordinary feat of defying the international consensus against its settlement policies for decades by being complacent in the face of such international opposition, no matter how inconstant. It has long pursued a policy based on the adage that creating facts on the ground - moving its citizens to conquered territory and in doing so, denying Palestinians the opportunity to create sovereignty based upon unchallenged control of territory - creates the context for diplomacy, and that everything else, including the pontifications from New York, or even Washington, while certainly a cause for concern, is hostage to this strategy. Indeed, the UNSC vote, which fails to suggest any remedy, is scripted perfectly to match the central claim of Israels long-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who himself learned a thing or two about international diplomacy as Israels representative to the UN a generation ago. The vote, and its self-evident, if notable, inclusion of East Jerusalem as occupied territory, will play well in Israel and among its many allies as yet the latest in an ignominious history of international opposition to the Jewish state, and will offer Netanyahu another politically potent arrow is his the For the small but vocal pro-Palestinian Israeli community that punches well above its weight, if only in foreign capitals, the UNSC resolution is the best news they have heard in many years. Like wanderers in the desert, they see the vote as an oasis - offering a tantalising hint of effective international action to force an Israeli retreat to secure and defensible borders. Like all mirages, however, this one too is a dream that is bound to disappoint. The international community remains unwilling to save Israel from itself by imposing a diplomatic framework to negotiate an end to occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state, and, with or without the councils actions, Israeli opponents of occupation are too weak and uncertain to succeed on their own. Stale crumbs Palestinians know better than anyone the calamitous effectiveness of this strategy. They are at the centre of an Arab political community that, in our generation, is distinguished by its weakness in the face of external and internal challenges and the consequent undermining of state sovereignty across the region that follows as a result. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and its tired representatives have not scored a substantive diplomatic achievement since Yitzhak Rabin acknowledged them a quarter century ago. An Israeli decision to withdraw its settlements and army from Palestinian territory - the ostensible objective of the international community - was won not by the UN, Washington, or the PLO, but by Hamas, which convinced Israel the old fashioned way - through blood and fire - that sitting in Gaza as conquerors was simply not worth the trouble. Palestinians know that they have been offered only stale crumbs from the Security Councils table, none better than the villagers who have seen their lands and livelihoods compromised by settlement expansion. The writer is a Middle Easternaffairs expert