Needed: America's veto at the UN. Can Israelis depend on it?

"Once again the United Nations Security Council will move the issue of Israel and its policies in Judea and Samaria to the front of the queue: it will soon debate whether to pass a resolution citing that the Jewish communities (i.e. the 'settlements') in Judea and Samaria are illegal under international law.

This resolution must not be allowed to pass. It needs a US veto, but can we depend on it? The director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, Anne Bayefsky, has outlined the key points that make this pending resolution a potential disaster for Israel.

If such a resolution (to reiterate: making the settlements illegal under international law) is passed by the Security Council:

• It cannot realistically ever be reversed because any attempts to reverse it, say by the next president or the US Congress, would encounter an immediate veto from Russia and/or China, both of whom are permanent members of the Security Council with veto power.

• Its passing would be contrary to all past agreements between Israel and the Arabs.

• It would pre-determine a major issue (i.e. the status of the settlements) that must be decided between the sides to the conflict and not by a third party.

• It would reverse the US's fundamental policy that peace must only come through direct negotiations between the parties.

• It would legitimize BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) activity as it would give credence to their claim that the settlements are illegal in spite of the fact that BDS has been outlawed by many US States.

• It would be a direct message to the International Criminal Court of Justice that it is OK to proceed with a declaration that the establishment of Jewish 'settlements' constitutes a war crime, thereby bringing Israel to trial for said 'crimes.' ...

[T]he vote will most likely come in the interregnum between the US presidential elections and the inauguration of the new president. During those 73 days president Obama remains in office but will clearly be unfettered by any political concerns. He does not have to worry about offending any constituency, least of all the Jews, as he is neither running for office nor supporting any candidate for office.

That makes him less dependable as a 'vetoing ally' of Israel in the Security Council..."