<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Amnesty International public statement : US veto effectively gives Israel “green light” to expand illegal&nbsp;settlements]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<table align="center">
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eastmed@amnesty.org &#8211;February 22, 2011&#8211;<br />
<a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE15/015/2011/en--" target="_blank">http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE15/015/2011/en&#8211; </a></td>
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL<br />
PUBLIC STATEMENT</p>
<p>AI Index: MDE 15/015/2011</p>
<p>22 February 2011</p>
<p>US veto effectively gives Israel “green light” to expand illegal settlements<br />
Amnesty  International has condemned the US veto of a UN Security Council  resolution reaffirming that Israeli settlements in the Occupied  Palestinian Territories (OPT) are illegal and demanding that Israel  cease all settlement activities in the OPT, including East Jerusalem.<br />
The  other 14 members of the UN Security Council voted in favour of  Resolution S/2011/24 on 18 February 2011, which was proposed by Lebanon  and co-sponsored by over 120 countries.<br />
US Ambassador Susan E. Rice  stated during the debate on the resolution that the US government  “reject[s] in the strongest terms the legitimacy of continued Israeli  settlement activity.” However, she argued that the resolution would not  “move the parties closer to negotiations and an agreement” and risked  “hardening the positions of both sides.” Other US officials have  maintained recently that the Security Council is not the right forum to  address the settlements issue at a time when the US government is  attempting to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.</p>
<p>As the  UN’s most powerful body, the Security Council has the primary  responsibility for dealing with threats to international peace and  security caused by activities such as Israeli settlement expansion in  the OPT.</p>
<p>Amnesty International notes that the US veto of this  resolution – which merely demanded that Israel fulfil its legal  obligations and previous commitments to the Quartet and the US  government – seriously undermines the US government’s claims to oppose  Israel’s ongoing settlement construction.</p>
<p>The Israeli government  has indicated that it seeks to expand settlements in the occupied West  Bank, including East Jerusalem, with further construction plans due to  be considered in the coming months. Amnesty International is concerned  that the Israeli government will interpret this US veto as a “green  light” for these plans and conclude that it can escape meaningful  international censure.</p>
<p>Israel’s policy of settling its civilians  on occupied land violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, and is  considered a war crime according to the statute of the International  Criminal Court.</p>
<p>Israel’s settlement policy is also inherently  discriminatory and results in continuing violations of the rights to  adequate housing, water and livelihoods for Palestinians in the occupied  West Bank, as Amnesty International has repeatedly documented.<br />
Reported  US government attempts to pressure the Palestinian Authority not to  bring this resolution to a vote at the UN Security Council, including  threats to cut US aid, are also troubling. If the Obama administration  is serious about promoting a lasting, just resolution to the  Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it should fully back the international  consensus against Israel’s illegal settlements and the human rights  violations that result from them.<br />
Further information<br />
Following  the vote on Friday, other permanent members of the UN Security Council  including the UK and Russia expressed strong support for the resolution,  and EU High Representative Catherine Ashton expressed regret that the  resolution was not passed.<br />
Both the Palestinian Authority and the  Hamas de facto administration condemned the US vote against the  resolution, which was the first time that the Obama administration has  used its UN Security Council veto. Protests were held in several West  Bank cities on 20 February 2011, and the Palestinian Authority indicated  its intention to take the issue of settlements to the UN General  Assembly, possibly by calling an emergency session this week.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-</p>
<p>East Mediterranean Team<br />
Amnesty International, International Secretariat<br />
Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street<br />
London WC1X 0DW<br />
United Kingdom<br />
E-mail: Eastmed@amnesty.org<br />
Tel:       +44 (0)20 7413 5500<br />
Fax:      +44 (0)20 7413 5719</p>
<p>&#8212;<br />
Working to protect human rights worldwide</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=45301">מגזין הכיבוש Occupation Magazine</a>.</p>
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