Israel’s Envoy To UN: Resolution ‘Inspired Palestinian Terrorist’ To Commit Jerusalem Truck Attack

“This resolution declared that our presence in Jerusalem is illegal. It encouraged the Palestinians to continue to avoid negotiations and inspired the terrorist in Jerusalem,” Danny Danon said, referring to the deadly truck-ramming terrorist attack.

The Israeli envoy added that he hopes the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump will reject biased UN resolutions and focus on resuming direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

“With this new administration comes the hope that the U.S. will return to its policy of rejecting unfair and biased Security Council resolutions and promoting direct and genuine dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians,” Danon told the Council.

Danon was speaking at a forum on the Middle East held at the UNSC. The focus of the plenum was Resolution 2334 that called for an immediate cessation of all settlement activity, which it deemed a “flagrant violation of international law.”

Danon held up a photo of the four soldiers killed in last week’s attack, three of whom were women, and said the new resolution encourages further terrorism.

“This was the result [of Resolution] 2334: Shir Hajaj, Yael Yekutiel, Erez Orbach and Shira Tzur,” Danon said. “They were murdered by a Palestinian who was led to believe that he could use terrorism and violence to remove the Jewish people from Jerusalem. He will not succeed.”

The resolution also deems the Old City of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall – Judaism’s holiest sites – as “occupied Palestinian territory.” Danon pointed out that the Jewish people’s connection to the capital dates back over 3,000 years. The Temple built by King Solomon was on the “same Temple Mount which this council refuses to call by its historic name,” he noted.

Danon charged that UNSC member-states were operating under the false assumption that the resolution’s only goal was to end settlements, but did not realize that its implicit message tells the Palestinians they can “continue to spread the lies that the Western Wall is not sacred to the Jewish people.”

To drive his point home, Danon told the Council about the cartoon posted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party in the aftermath of the vote. The cartoon, he said, “showed a dagger in the shape of a map of Israel colored with the Palestinian flag. Not Judea and Samaria; what some call the West Bank. All of Israel. Under the dagger was a pool of blood, and next to it, it said, ‘Thank you,’ and listed each council member that voted for the shameful resolution.”

He added that Israel would cease its annual contribution of $6 million to UN agencies determined as anti-Israel, including the Division for Palestinian Rights.

“This amount represents the portion of the UN budget allocated to anti-Israel bodies, which represents the UN’s double standard when it comes to Israel,” Danon said.