“The Palestinians have discovered that the UN is the gift that keeps on giving,”
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, warned the world body on Thursday that it was encouraging the Palestinian Authority (PA) to run away from peace negotiations.
Speaking to the UN Security Council, Ambassador Prosor said the PA sees the UN as its “personal vending machine” and stressed that it is the PA which continuously refuses to engage in peace talks with Israel.
“In 1967, eight Arab heads of state attended a summit in Khartoum to formulate the policies of the Arab states in conflict with Israel. They emerged with their famous three ‘no’s’ – no negotiations, no recognition of Israel, and no peace. Even when it seemed impossible, Israel continued to strive for peace,” said Prosor.
While Egypt and Jordan abandoned the three no’s and reached peace agreements with Israel, he added, the PA is “chained to the past.”
“Weighed down by resentment and bound up in hatred, the Palestinian leadership refuses to abandon the rhetoric and seek reconciliation. Decades after other Arab nations sought to end our conflict, the Palestinian leadership remains committed to the three no’s. It will not negotiate, it will not recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people, and it will not make peace,” he said.
“The Palestinians are under the impression that the United Nations is their personal vending machine – they can insert grievances and dispense claims against Israel at will. Ever since the UN voted to accept the Palestinians as a non-member observer state in 2012, the Palestinians have discovered that the UN is the gift that keeps on giving. This institution gives and gives and doesn’t expect anything in return,” said Prosor.
Referring to the PA’s recent failed attempt to pass a Security Council resolution imposing a deadline for Israel to withdraw from Judea and Samaria, the Israeli Ambassador said he “would be hard-pressed to conceive of a more biased proposal. It didn’t address Israel’s long-term security needs. It didn’t demand an end to Palestinian terrorism. And it didn’t recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.”
“All it did was impose an arbitrary one year deadline that would have allowed the Palestinians to run out the clock and get a state without giving anything in return. You cannot wave a magic wand and hope that all of the critical issues such as borders, security arrangements, water allocation, and the (quote unquote) ‘claim of return’ will magically be resolved,” said Prosor.
“The proposals put forward in this Council dictate what Israel should do and the Palestinians should get. Aside from being deeply biased, you are indulging their delusions,” he warned. “Every nation that voted in favor of the Palestinian’s one-sided resolution encouraged them to continue their diplomatic triathlon – running away from negotiations, placing hurdles into the peace process, and cycling towards protracted conflict.”
He continued, addressing the PA’s request to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), “The international community endorsed a road map to peace, but the Palestinians have found every off-ramp and detour. They are looking for shortcuts and quick fixes where none exist, and in the process, politicizing another international body. It’s extremely convenient that the PalestiniansAuthority has asked that the court’s jurisdiction extend back to June 13, 2014 – the day after three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered by Palestinian terrorists.”
“By choosing to go to the ICC,” Prosor added, “the Palestinians have reinforced the message that they aren’t interested in negotiating and they aren’t willing to compromise. The international community must stop encouraging this march of folly. Tell the Palestinians that the claim of return is a nonstarter, make it clear that peace requires compromise, and insist that they return to directnegotiations.”
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s speeches of incitement “have sparked dozens of violent riots,” said Prosor.
“Palestinian terrorists have shot and stabbed our citizens and driven their cars into crowds of pedestrians. The wave of terrorism shows no sign of abating. Just a few weeks ago, Palestinian terrorists threw a firebomb at a car carrying 11-year-old Ayala Shapira.”
“The little girl suffered third-degree burns over much of her body and face and is, as we speak, fighting for her life in hospital. Does this disgusting attack on a child merit condemnation? Because I haven’t heard one – not from the Palestinian leadership and not from this Council,” he added.
“The international community must demand more from the Palestinians. Make it clear that fostering a culture of hatred is unacceptable. Make it clear that there is no impunity for intolerance. And send the message that the path to peace begins with the recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.”
Why does Israel continue to beg the Arabs to commit to something in which they clearly have no interest?
Ron Prosor’s and his government’s performance is degrading and pathetic. Jews keep chasing after a dream that has no chance of being realized.