The U.S. has voted against a UN resolution that condemn Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights in Syria. This is the first time it has endorsed this occupied seizure of land. The votes to accept the resolution, title "The occupied Syrian Golan", were unanimous except for Israel and this time the U.S., at 151 vote in favor and 2 votes against. The vote was cast Friday, with 14 countries abstaining.
The resolution against Israel, like many others over the decades, condemns Israel for "repressive measures" against Syrian citizens. The 73rd session of the UN General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee "expresses deep concern" about the Syrian Golan Heights being under Israeli military occupation since 1967.
But it's not like the UN ever does anything beyond making these symbolic gestures to condemn Israel. Israel just keeps on doing what it does. Other resolution in the past have said the theft of Palestinian land that Israel continues to encroach upon is illegal, but they don't care and no one does anything about it anyways.
The occupation of the Golan Heights is illegal under international law. But that fact doesn't matter to Israel go gets free passes for their crimes. The resolution mentions the "illegality of the decision." for Israel "to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan".
Previous years of voting for UN resolutions regarding the Golan Heights have seen U.S. abstain from voting. This year marks a shift in Washington's attitude towards the conflict, as the U.S. was the only nation apart from Israel to voted against the resolution.
Trumps administration said it was changing it's policy before the vote:
"If this resolution ever made sense, it surely does not today. The resolution is plainly biased against Israel."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even says the international community needs to recognize the Golan Heights as "Israeli territory":
"Israel on the Golan Heights is a fact that the international community must recognize and as long as it depends on me, the Golan Heights will always remain under Israeli sovereignty."
But Syria isn't willing to just let Israel muscle an bully it's way into stealing Syrian territory. Syrian envoy Bashar al-Jafari said Damascus would take back it's land, either through peace, or by war if needed. Israel seized the territory in the 1967 Six-Day War, and has held it ever since, yet has never been accepted as a legitimate move by the international community.
Israel likes to worm their way into keeping land they steal by then building illegal settlements. They've done it with the Golan Heights, and much of occupied Palestine. They bulldoze homes of those who live on the land they occupy, destroying lives in order to steal land. They are big time thieves.
Eight other resolutions to condemn Israel were passed during the 73rd session, and the U.S. voted against all of them, with Canada voting against 7 and abstaining form 2. One was part of the Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), a "special committee to investigate Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories."
Other resolution were titled “Palestine refugees’ properties and their revenues”, “Persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities”, “Applicability of the Geneva Convention… to the Occupied Palestinian Territory…”, “Operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East” and “Assistance to Palestine refugees” which saw unanimous votes in favor, except for the U.S. and Israel.
The crimes Israel continues to commit against it's neighbors are internationally recognized, but the UN resolution mean very little in terms of stopping it. Israel will keep being "Judeo-Nazi" as Noam Chomsky recently described them.
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
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