Mohammad Amjad Hossain :
President Emmanuel Macron of France has blasted President of the United States of America Donald Trump in his second speech in the United Nations on 25 September this year for abandoning its policy for creation of two nation state in the Middle East. President Macron is on record saying there is no creditable alternative to the two -state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict while adding that unilateral initiative will not work. Criticizing policy of Trump administration French President is on record saying trampling on the Palestinians and pushing unilateral initiative will not resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. No unilateral initiative, nor trampling on the legitimate rights of the Palestine people to legitimate peace will work, French President Macron added.
France President’s reaction is the reflection of President Donald Trump’s decision to close down office of Palestine Liberation organization in Washington DC, apart from backing out from contribution to UN Relief Agency for Palestinians ending decades long policy of the United States, calling” it an irredeemably flawed operation”. In 2017, United States gave around $ 350 million to UNRWA. Trump administration blamed the agency for encouraging Palestinians to insist on the right of return to homes inside Israel lost in 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war.
As of now around five million Palestinian refugees are depending on this contribution unless they return to their homeland occupied illegally by Israel since Arab-Israeli war in 1948 and 1967.UNRWA provides education and health care to Palestinian refugees and their descendants as well across the Middle East. Foreign Minister Mayme Safadi of Jordan which hosts more than two million of registered Palestinian refugees, holds the opinion that “disruption of UNRWA service will have extremely dangerous humanitarian, political and security implication for refugees and for the whole region”.
Moreover, US President Trump also violated International law declaring Jerusalem as capital of Israel and moved US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv to satisfy Israeli authorities. Jerusalem has been declared by the United Nations as corpus separatism on the basis of resolution 181 of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948.Israel also declared unilateral declaration of independence on the basis of this resolution which called to bifurcate Palestinian territories into Arab and Jewish states. Following fall of Ottoman empire in the first world war the Bristish was mandated by League of Nation to look after Palestine territory.
In defense of state of Israel Trump administration has started criticizing International Criminal court at the Hague in his speech at the United Nations and also sided with State of Israel in quitting from UNESCO last year. President Trump considers UNESCO as anti-Israel.
Palestine Liberation Organization has filed a case against State of Israel to International Criminal Court for killing innocent Palestinians during 80-day war against Palestinians in Gaza strip on 8 July of 2014, apart from Israeli settlements in West Bank and also filed a case against Israel to plan to raze Bedouin village in West Bank. This was stated by Dr.Erekat, secretary general of PLO executive committee.
This development might have added further fuel to become angry against Palestinians by Donald Trump administration. This has been reflected in the speech by Mr. John Bolton, National security advisor to the President who is reportedly described International Criminal Court as an” illegitimate court” while President Donald Trump in his speech at the United Nations said ICC has no jurisdiction, no legitimacy and no authority to whom we will never surrender America’s sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable and global bureaucracy. Both the statements reflect arrogance indeed.
As a matter of fact, the Rome statue of the International Criminal court was established at a diplomatic conference sponsored by UN General Assembly in Rome on 17 July of 1998 and entered into force on 1st July of 2002. As of now 123 countries signed the statue. Incidentally, President Bill Clinton signed but President George Bush withdrew the signature. ICC is internationally recognized court.
Two more permanent member of the Security Council did not sign: China and Russia.
Having seen the crisis being further complicated in occupied Palestinian territories and no indication from US to resolve this intractable crisis is seen.
The situation is further complicated in appointing Mr. Jared Kushner, son in law of the President as Special envoy to the Middle East who has no background in diplomacy but he has business link with Israel. The New York Times reported in January of 2018 companies of Jared Kushner received $ 30 million investments from one of the Israel’s largest financial institutes: Menora Mivtachim. Reportedly his company involved in construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Mr. Jared Kushner himself is Jewish by birth. Therefore, assigning Mr. Jared Kushner to resolve the Middle Crisis falls flat on its face in the first place.
This being the scenario this writer suggests that President of France Macron should initiate an action to hold a peace conference in the light of former US President George Walker Bush held international conference along with President Michael Gorbachev of Soviet Union on 30 October in 1991 in Madrid wherein both Israel and Arab countries, including Palestinians participated while President Bush has formed the Quartet on the Middle East in 2002 comprising UN, USA, the European Union and Russia while former British Prime Minister Mr.Tony Blair was appointed as Special envoy to resolve the crisis in the Middle East. President Emmanuel Macron either holds international conference or revive the Quartet to resolve two state crisis in the Middle East.
(Mohammad Amjad Hossain, retired diplomat from Bangladesh and former President of Nova Toastmaster International club of America, resides in Virginia, USA)
