Benny Avni takes you behind the scenes of the maneuvers going on that the UN between the Palestinian Authority and the US State Department:
Presidents of both parties have long understood that Israel can’t get a fair shake at the United Nations, that Washington alone must steer any international attempts at peacemaking with the Palestinians.
Past UN ambassadors — John Negroponte, John Bolton, Richard Holbrooke — have publicly expressed red lines regarding Israel-related resolutions. Violate these lines, and America would use its veto.
But our current UN ambassador, Samantha Power, has yet to speak publicly about the various ideas for resolutions — even though these could change the entire Israeli-Palestinian political landscape. And Kerry is now negotiating proposed UN texts as if it were a vital world issue.
This is not the behavior of a superpower. It’s the tactic of minor players whose only power derives from being UN members (or, here, a “UN observer” with too many fans).
Kerry may think that by showing good faith, he’ll get the Palestinians to back off. They won’t: They’ll only demand deeper UN involvement in their dealings with Israel.
Do you get the feeling the American people are being set up by the White House for an unprecedented sellout of Israel?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member