Britain and France are urging the UN Security Council to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, while New Zealand has begun drafting a resolution on the issue. This was prompted by the US saying it may “reassess” its position on the stalled talks.
France and New Zealand have stressed that it is imperative to act
now, given that the Israeli elections are over and there is a
current lull in the US before the presidential election campaign
heats up.
“We have been working on a text that might serve the purpose
of getting negotiations started,” said New Zealand’s UN
Ambassador Jim McLay, adding that the country is ready to wait
and see how the French initiative for a resolution will turn out.
France announced last month that it wanted to begin talks about
drafting “parameters” for ending the conflict in the
Middle East, with the hopes of bringing the US onboard, which has
repeatedly sided with Israel in the past.
“It’s the responsibility of this council to adopt a
consensual and balanced resolution that sets the parameters of a
final status and a timeline for the negotiations,” French UN
Ambassador Francois Delattre said at a Security Council meeting.
The timing of the initiative is due to the US stating that it
might “reassess” its Middle Eastern policies after
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly said he was
against Palestinian statehood during elections last month.
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The Palestinians are seeking an independent state in Gaza, the
West Bank and East Jerusalem. They also want to reclaim
sovereignty of the lands captured by Israel in 1967.
The UK has expressed support for “setting out the parameters
for a peaceful and negotiated solution,” according to
Britain’s UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant. “But this will
require proper consultation to achieve the full backing of the
council,” he added.
The US voted “No” to a Palestinian-drafted resolution in
December, which called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from
the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and the establishment
of the Palestinian state by the end of 2017.
Even though the timing of these calls have been praised due to
possible American diplomacy shift, a new Washington Post-ABC News
poll released at the end of March showed American support for a
two-state solution in the Middle East is at a 20-year low.
READ MORE: US support for two-state solution at
20-year low – report
Israeli and American representatives also ended up missing the UN Human Rights Council session on the
Palestinian territories on Monday, which was dedicated to looking
at the Gaza conflict that killed 2,200 people in 50 days in 2014.
UN asked to protect Iraq heritage from jihadists
Meanwhile, Germany and Iraq called on UN member-states on Tuesday
to increase the protection of Iraqi cultural sites, which
jihadist groups are threatening to destroy.
The two countries are scheduled to present their draft resolution
that calls on all perpetrators to be prosecuted and encourage
countries to step up the monitoring of stolen goods to prevent
the illegal trade.
READ MORE: Appalling ISIS video shows ancient
Assyrian city of Nimrud being razed to ground
“Iraq is a cradle of our common civilization. We cannot leave
it to face this challenge alone,” Germany’s deputy
ambassador Heiko Thomas told the General Assembly. “The
international community must do all it can to put an end to these
war crimes,” he said.
Iraqi Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim added that the destruction
was “not only tantamount to war crimes and an irreplaceable
loss to humanity, but also a vile attack on the efforts of the
Iraqi government to achieve reconciliation and social cohesion
between all Iraqis.”
The level of destruction of Iraq’s artifacts has shocked the
international community, after several videos came to light
showing Islamic State members destroying historical items at the
Mosul museum and in the ancient cities of Hatra and Nimrud.
READ MORE: Artifact destruction by ISIS is act of
‘heritage terror’ – Islamic art professor
A vote on the resolution is expected to take place in May.