France voted in favor of the damaging Palestinian bid at the UN, thus stabbing the Jewish State in the back while caving in to anti-Israel pressure.
The resolution submitted by the Palestinian Authority to the UN Security Council (UNSC) – calling for a withdrawal from the “occupied territories” by the end of 2017 and the establishment of the “State of Palestine” – was dismissed on Tuesday, after the Palestinians failed to garner the required nine votes.
Eight countries on the 15-member council – China, France, Russia, Argentina, Chad, Chile, Jordan and Luxembourg – voted in support of the resolution, two voted against and five abstained.
Both the United States and Australia stood by Israel and opposed the belligerent resolution.
Responding to the votes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Israel’s supporters, stating: “I wish to express my gratitude to the U.S. and Australia, and a special appreciation to the president of Rwanda and the president of Nigeria. I spoke with both of them and they personally ensured me that they would not support [the Palestinian resolution], and they kept their promise, and that’s what tipped the scales.”
Israel has been cultivating its relations with the African countries and is now reaping the benefits. However, one vote was considered by Israeli diplomats as baffling, enraging and disappointing – the French vote against Israel.
The Times of Israel reports that the foreign ministry in Jerusalem was caught entirely off-guard when it became known, just hours before the vote, that Paris had changed its position and intended to vote in favor of the Palestinians.
“France wanted to offer a constructive, reasonable and consensual alternative to the initial Palestinian draft,” explained Francois Delattre, the French ambassador to the UN, after the vote. He admitted that the Palestinian suggestion was “not ideal,” but despite “reservations about some of its formulations,” he had voted in favor because, he said, the peace process needs to advance and the international community “must share the weight of these negotiations.”
France is Distancing Peace
The French had been working on a different version of a resolution to the UN, which was allegedly more “Israel friendly,” but the Palestinians rejected it, moving ahead with their aggressive diplomatic maneuver.
French President Hollande (R), Prime Minister Netanyahu (L) and former President Peres look at a French-Israeli technology innovation summit in Tel Aviv last year. (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Earlier in December, the French National Assembly came out in favor of recognizing the non-existent state of “Palestine.” The decision was one of largely symbolic value, but was damaging to Israel nonetheless.
At the time, Emmanuel Nachshon, a spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said the move would “distance the chances of reaching an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians” and “will only make the Palestinian positions more extreme and send the wrong message to the leaders and peoples of this region.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likewise commented that it was a “grave mistake.”
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy opposed the motion. “I will fight for the Palestinians to have their state. But unilateral recognition a few days after a deadly attack and when there is no peace process? No!”
France – Home to Radical Islam
France has become home to the largest Muslim population in Europe and has seen a sharp increase in Islamic violence and anti-Semitic attacks. In recent years, anti-Semitism has more than doubled in France, leaving many concerned that the country’s growing Muslim population will continue to be a source of anti-West and anti-Israel aggression. France has done little, if anything, to curb this trend.
Furthermore, French officials still refuse to call the attacks “terrorism,” opting to characterize the incidents as criminal cases and thus ignoring the growing peril – not only to Jews, but to the French and the West in general.
Among the foreign fighters who have joined the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) terror organization, a notably high percentage hails from France. Many French fear that they could return and strike locally.
Despite the looming threat, France reneged on its promise not to vote against Israel and caved in to Islamic pressure. “The fact that two of Israel’s allies, France and the UK, supported or abstained at the vote is worrying,” Minister of Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Yuval Steinitz stated.
By Aryeh Savir
Staff Writer, United with Israel