UN vote changed nothing on the ground

Stephen Lendman: Palestinians know what they're up against. UN success changed nothing on the ground. Daily Israeli state terror continues. World leaders do nothing to help.

Rhetorical Palestinian support rings hollow. Americans like to say: Put your money where your mouth is. World leaders able to change things put theirs on Israel. They're complicit with US/Israeli imperial crimes.

They spurn Palestinian rights. Their suffering continues daily. On December 1, Israeli soldiers shot two more Gazans.

They accosted, arrested and detained another 13 Palestinian fishermen. Their "crime" was fishing in their own waters.

On November 21, Israel accepted memorandum of understanding terms. Both sides agreed to end conflict.

It continues unabated. Israel bears full responsibility. It bears repeating. Its word isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Rogue states operate that way. Israel is one of the worst. It matches the worst of regional tyranny. It's unsafe to live in. Even Jews for justice are targeted. Israel tolerates no opposition.

Shock troops attacked peaceful West Bank protesters. They arrested dozens lawlessly. They terrorize Palestinian communities. Occupation harshness continues. Life for Palestinians is hell.

A new Palestinian Detainee Research Center (PDRC) report said Israel "kidnapped" 650 Palestinians in November. Included were 85 children, seven women, and six legislators.

Fourteen PLC members are imprisoned for belonging to the wrong political parties.

After gaining power in 1933, Hitler eliminated political opposition the same way. Social democrats, communists, union officials, and others were arrested, imprisoned, or murdered.

PDRC said Israel throughout November conducted over 300 incursions into Palestinian communities - over 10 per day on average.

Peace, equity, justice, and liberation remain distant dreams. Israeli state terror prevents them. A December 1 International Solidarity Movement (ISM) headline expressed today's reality:

"New state, same occupation: violence in Qaryut as villagers attempt to remove illegal roadblock."

ISM meant new status. Palestinian statehood was achieved over 24 years ago. The UN vote had nothing to do with reaffirming what already exists.

ISM said Israeli soldiers attacked peaceful protesters. On November 30, they fired rubber bullets and tear gas canisters into a crowd at close range.

Palestinians wanted an illegal road block on their own land removed. Israel terrorized them. Injuries resulted. Several hurt required hospitalization. Attacks like this are frequent.

Israeli Shilo and Eli settlements are destroying Qaryut village. Palestinian land is stolen to expand them. Israel criminalizes peaceful protesters. "Is this what the new (Palestine) will continue to look like," asked ISM?

On June 14, 2009, Netanyahu spoke at Bar-Ilan University. For the first time, he (rhetorically) accepted "a demilitarized Palestinian state side by side with the Jewish state."

Palestinian weapons pale compared to Israel's destructive arsenal. Demilitarization would work if Israel renounced war for peace and disarmed.

Netanyahu's words rang hollow. He opposes all Palestinian rights. Observers knew he didn't mean what he said.

His Likud Party platform says the following about Palestinian self-determination:

Unilaterally establishing a Palestinian state "will constitute a fundamental and substantive violation of the agreements with the State of Israel and the scuttling of the Oslo and Wye accords."

"The government will adopt immediate stringent measures in the event of such a declaration."

Platform language says the following about settlements:

"The Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza (all Occupied Palestine) are the realization of Zionist values. Settlement of the land is a clear expression of the unassailable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and constitutes an important asset in the defense of the vital interests of the State of Israel."

"The Likud will continue to strengthen and develop these communities and will prevent their uprooting."

Likud also rejects Israeli/Palestinian Green Line separation. It prioritizes stealing Palestinian land. It also declares all Jerusalem (al-Quds) sovereign Israeli territory.

In the process, international law is spurned. Israeli lawlessness continues because world leaders able to stop it do nothing.

On Sunday, Israel said it’s withholding $100 million in monthly tax revenue it collects for the PA. Doing so is grand theft. It’s delivering on promised retribution. Expect much more ahead.

On December 2, a Haaretz editorial headlined "Israel's punishment," saying:

UN Member States spoke "loud and clear: Yes to a two-state solution. But Israel's government responded with a step that, first and foremost, punishes Israel."

Previous articles explained that two states once were possible. No longer. Israel controls too much Palestinian land. It won't relinquish any. Partition won't work.

The only viable solution is one state for all its people at peace with equal rights. Netanyahu's decision to build another 3,000 housing units separating East Jerusalem (al-Quds) from the West Bank drove a final nail in the two-state corpse.

It wasn't possible before. For sure, it's not now. Netanyahu's announcement came while UN Member States voted. He punished Palestinians and "the world," said Haaretz.

It didn't go unnoticed. Israel was also "punished." It's "entrenching itself even further in its own rejectionism, and deepening its isolation and the disconnect between itself and the international reality."

Perhaps so, but Palestinians so far aren't benefitting. Haaretz called settlement construction on extremely sensitive land "a particularly grave and dangerous decision."

Instead of showing restraint, "the government is dragging Israel into additional diplomatic disasters. And instead of embarking on sincere, genuine negotiations with the new observer state, Israel is turning its back on it, and on the world."

Netanyahu's policies belie his Bar-Ilan bluster. His posturing was willful deception. He also broke his pledge not to build new E1 Ma'aleh Adumin settlement housing units.

He regularly shows what he stands for and where he's heading. Haaretz envisions "diplomatic isolation, denunciation and ostracism by the world."

Believing it is way over the top. Perhaps some day. Not now. This, too, shall pass. Israel proved time and again it can commit the most egregious crimes and get away with them.

It won't continue forever. Israel's day of reckoning awaits. It's also true for its Washington paymaster/partner. Policies causing so much harm to so many will end. When, who knows.

Palestinian suffering continues. Regional war threatens. No end of conflict appears near. Humanity is at risk.

Perhaps mushroom shaped cloud resolution awaits. It's disturbingly possible. Things could indeed end with a bang. It can't be ruled out.