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Israel-Palestinian conflict: UN warns Trump over two-state reversal

by Rajdeep April 5, 2024

written by Rajdeep

The UN chief has warned Donald Trump against abandoning the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying there is “no alternative”.

It comes after Mr Trump went against decades of US policy, saying he would back whatever formula led to peace.

Palestinians reacted with alarm to the possibility that the US could drop support for Palestinian statehood.

The last round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks broke down in 2014.

Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, President Trump promised to deliver a “great” peace deal.

But he said both sides must compromise.

“So I’m looking at two states and one state,” he said. “And I like the one that both parties like.”

‘Substance, not labels’

Following the news conference, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged the international community to do everything it could to bring about a two-state solution.

He said there was no other option for resolving the conflict.

What is the two-state solution?

A “two-state solution” to the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is the declared goal of their leaders and the international community.

It is the shorthand for a final settlement that would see the creation of an independent state of Palestine within pre-1967 ceasefire lines in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, living peacefully alongside Israel.

The UN, the Arab League, the European Union, Russia and, until now, the US routinely restate their commitment to the concept.

When he was asked about a two-state solution on Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu said he wanted to focus on “substance” and not “labels”.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, said he remained committed to the goal.

He also seized on President Trump’s comments urging Mr Netanyahu to “hold back on settlements for a little bit”.

Since Mr Trump took office last month, Israel has approved thousands of new homes in West Bank and East Jerusalem, land claimed by the Palestinians for a future state.

The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Alternative concepts to a two-state solution:

Unitary, bi-national state: A single country of Israel and the occupied territories, with equal rights for Israel and Palestinians. Advocated for years by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) but opposed by many Israeli Jews, who say absorbing a large Arab population would mean national suicide
“State-minus”: Favoured by Benjamin Netanyahu, offering Palestinians enhanced self-rule without full statehood, with a permanent Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley. Rejected by Palestinians as unacceptable.
Confederation: Sometimes referred to as the “three-state solution” comprising an Israeli and/or Palestinian confederation with Jordan, the majority of whose population is Palestinian. Floated as an idea down the years but has never taken root as an option favoured by any of the parties.
Unilateral withdrawal: Also known as “constructive unilateralism”. Envisages an Israeli pull-back on its terms from parts of the West Bank, setting its own borders and separating itself from the bulk of the Palestinian population. Assumes failure of peace process and has no support among international community.

The Israeli government is hoping for better relations with the White House after eight years of friction with the former Obama administration.

At Wednesday’s news conference, neither leader committed explicitly to back a future independent Palestine, a longstanding bedrock of US policy.

A Palestinian holds the Palestinian flag during a protest in the West Bank village of Twani, near Hebron, 10 February 2017. — Image captionThe idea of creating an independent Palestinian state that co-exists with Israel has underpinned Middle East peace policy for decades

It was the US and Israeli leaders’ first face-to-face meeting since Mr Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election.

But France, which in January organised a multi-national conference which reaffirmed support for a two-state solution alone, seemed unimpressed with the apparent change in direction.

Its ambassador to the UN, Francois Delattre, told reporters “our commitment to the two-state solution is stronger than ever”, according to AFP news agency.

Regional media reaction: Refreshing or reckless?

In pro-Netanyahu Israeli daily Yisrael Hayom, Boaz Bismuth welcomes a “more refreshing era” in Washington, saying Mr Trump’s comments show he is “good for the Jews.”

But Barack Ravid – in left-of-centre Ha’aretz – accuses Mr Trump of acting “recklessly” in apparently conflating the one state and two-state plans.

Shimon Schiffer – in centrist Yedioth Aharonoth – makes a similar point, saying Trump adopted the “tone of someone for whom it is not really important whether he orders a portion or half a portion of falafel.”

For the pro-Fatah Palestinian newspaper al-Quds, Mr Trump has shown he is close to Israel’s position, and that the two-state solution has “withered”.

In Gaza’s Hamas-run Filastin daily, Fayez Abu-Shammala says it is “wonderful” that the White House has shown its “real position” rather than acting as “an enemy pretending to be a friend”. He adds that the “time for resistance has come”.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s choice for America’s next ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, faces a rocky confirmation hearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, the Associated Press reports.

The right-winger is a strong critic of the two-state solution, supports Jewish settlement building and moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

David Friedman in Jerusalem, Oct 2016 — Image captionDavid Friedman advised Mr Trump during his election campaign

Five former US ambassadors to Israel have written a letter to committee members declaring him unqualified because of his “extreme, radical positions”, AP says.

Asked on Wednesday about his campaign promise of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, Mr Trump said: “I’d love to see that happen.”

“And we’re looking at it very, very strongly. We’re looking at it with a great care, a great care, believe me. And we’ll see what happens.”

The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their promised future state – but Israel claims the entire city as its undivided capital.

[Source:- BBC]

April 5, 2024 0 comment

Internet

UN council says blocking Internet access violates human rights

by Rajdeep April 4, 2024

written by Rajdeep

SWITZERLAND UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

The United Nations Human Rights Council is taking aim at countries that block access to the Internet as a means to supress free expression.

The resolution passed by the 47-member council last week “condemns unequivocally measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online in violation of international human rights law and calls on all states to refrain from and cease such measures.”

Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia were among a handful of authoritarian regimes that asked the UN to strike that passage from the digital rights decree. South Africa and India also called for its removal.

The non-binding resolution also asks nations to harness the power of the Internet to empower women and persons with disabilities, as well as promote literacy and achieve sustainability goals.

Internet blackouts are well-documented across China and the Middle East. The Turkish government recently clamped down on news outlets, as well as Facebook and Twitter, after last month’s suicide attack on Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport that left 36 dead and another 147 wounded. The government-backed action by Turkish Internet service providers was caught by watchdog group Turkey Blocks.

Digital rights group Access Now counted 15 Internet shutdowns in 2015 and says there have been at least 20 so far in 2016.

“Shutdowns harm everyone and allow human rights crackdowns to happen in the dark, with impunity. Citizens can’t participate fully in democratic discourse during elections. The Human Rights Council’s principled stance is a crucial step in telling the world that shutdowns need to stop,” said Access Now Senior Global Advocacy Manager Deji Olukotun in a statement.

The U.S.-based non-governmental organization Freedom House says governments are upping the pressure on Internet service providers and social media sites to block, filter, and remove content.

For example, transparency reports published by Twitter show requests from courts and government agencies have skyrocketed from six per year to over 1,000 in the three years since the micro-blogging site started releasing data.

Freedom House estimates that 34 per cent of the global population lives in countries that heavily restrict Internet access or content, and another 23 percent live in countries with partially restricted access.

The UN resolution, which is not legally enforceable, builds on its previous statements on digital rights and reaffirms its stance that the “same rights people have offline must also be protected online.” This is the organization’s third online rights resolution since 2012, but the first that specifically targets nations that deny access to citizens.

A number of countries, including Canada, have signalled a need to combat the efforts of political regimes bent on controlling free expression online. Ottawa pledged $9 million last year for a project aimed at helping citizens circumvent government imposed restrictions in repressive environments.

U.S President Barack Obama has said that access to high speed broadband Internet is “not a luxury, it’s a necessity.”

Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee who copied and leaked classified information from the U.S. National Security Agency to several media organizations, called the UN’s dedication to the issue “good news” on Twitter Friday.

While the resolution lacks the legal authority to impose changes within countries that choose to censor what is a said and seen online, the move is being heralded as a critical first step in shifting the conversation about such actions into the mainstream.

“This resolution marks a major milestone in the fight against internet shutdowns. The international community has listened to the voices of civil society — many of whom have suffered under shutdowns themselves — and laudably pushed back on this pernicious practice,” said Olukotun.

April 4, 2024 0 comment

Internet

UN Chief Urges Global Rules for Cyber-Warfare

by Loknath Das February 20, 2018

written by Loknath Das

UN Chief Urges Global Rules for Cyber-Warfare

HIGHLIGHTS

Cyber-attacks likely to become first salvoes in future wars: Guterres
“Next war will begin with cyber-attack to destroy military capacity”
Hackers disrupted firms, ports, public services at large scale last year

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Monday for global rules to minimise the impact of electronic warfare on civilians as massive cyber-attacks look likely to become the first salvoes in future wars.

Computer hackers, many of them believed to be state-sponsored groups, last year disrupted multinational firms, ports and public services on an unprecedented scale around the world, raising awareness of the issue.

Last week, US Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians and three Russian companies on charges of conducting a criminal and espionage conspiracy using social media to interfere in the 2016 US election.

“Episodes of cyber-warfare between states already exist. What is worse is that there is no regulatory scheme for that type of warfare, it is not clear how the Geneva Convention or international humanitarian law applies to it,” Guterres said in a speech to his alma mater, the University of Lisbon.

“I am absolutely convinced that, differently from the great battles of the past, which opened with a barrage of artillery or aerial bombardment, the next war will begin with a massive cyber-attack to destroy military capacity… and paralyse basic infrastructure such as the electric networks.”

He offered the United Nations as a platform where various players from scientists to governments could meet and work out such rules “to guarantee a more humane character” of any conflict involving information technology and, more broadly, to keep the Internet as “an instrument in the service of good”.

Addressing professors and engineers after receiving the university’s honorary degree, Guterres urged them to contribute to the process, which had to run much faster than before. Traditional ways of working out such rules could take decades – too slow for the rapidly changing technology scene.

A group of NATO allies said last year they were drawing up cyber-warfare principles to guide their militaries on what justifies deploying cyber-attack weapons more broadly, aiming for agreement by early 2019.

Some NATO allies believe shutting down an enemy power plant through a cyber-attack could be more effective than air strikes.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

February 20, 2018 0 comment