UAE Press: US move on Jerusalem a test for UN strength

International anger over US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital will not be doused until Washington takes corrective measures by reversing its deplorable stand, said UAE-based daily, The Gulf Today.

"It is good that the UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution stating that any change to the status of occupied Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be reversed," the paper said in an the editorial on Monday.

"The draft resolution correctly stresses that occupied Jerusalem is an issue to be resolved through negotiations and any decision or action which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of occupied Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded.

"The reality is that the unilateral nature of the US decision regarding occupied Jerusalem clashes with legitimacy and international conventions and contradicts the will of the rest of the international community," it added.

This was also clearly highlighted, the paper said, during the Security Council meeting held on December 8th, as well as the stance of the European Union’s ministers of foreign affairs during their meeting in Brussels on December 11th, 2017.

The editorial further noted that on the ground, Israeli atrocities have been continuing unabated. "The merciless killing by Israeli troops of a Palestinian activist who had lost both his legs as he protested against the US decision on occupied Jerusalem has traumatised the world. Wheelchair-bound Ibraheem Abu Thuraya, 29, is among eight Palestinians killed since Donald Trump took the controversial and condemnable decision.

"Settlement expansion is already making the two-State solution increasingly unattainable and undermining Palestinian belief in peace efforts," it added.

The paper went on to note that the United Nations considers all settlement activities to be illegal under international law and an impediment to peace.

"Settlements reduce and fragment the territory and Palestinians rightfully need for a viable state. According to recent UN statistics, Israeli settlements in the West Bank have continued to grow steadily by around 5.5 percent, where more than 80 percent of all settlers reside. The current growth rate is estimated to increase the number of settlers to nearly 900,000 in just 12 years.

"The world has been waiting for a Palestine state for decades. None can deny the fact that Trump’s decision represents a major violation of the principles of international law and goes against the UN Security Council resolutions. It comes as a test for the United Nations to prove the effectiveness of its decisions," the editorial explained.

"Washington should shed its ego, heed the collective stance of the rest of the world and correct its historic blunder," it concluded.

[Image caption: A general view of Jerusalem shows the Dome of the Rock, located in Jerusalem's Old City on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount. – Photo by Ronen Zvulun, REUTERS]