Ramifications of UN Security Council Resolution: Sanctions, Boycotts and ICC Lawsuits

"The UN Security Council's Resolution 2334, which was adopted on Friday, may not have immediate practical ramifications, but it could open the door to lawsuits against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and for sanctions to be imposed on Israel-both by the UN and by individual countries...

The resolution makes Israeli citizens that are involved in the settlement enterprise in the West Bank vulnerable to lawsuits in courts all over the world.

Jerusalem is also worried that the resolution opens the door for lawsuits against Israeli officials at the ICC: government ministers and senior IDF officers who make decisions about construction in the settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes, or the expropriation of lands could be accused of war crimes under the Geneva Convention.

The resolution can also lead to the creation of mechanisms to monitor and report Israeli actions, which could lead to sanctions being imposed against it.

The resolution's wording can also be seen as a victory to the BDS Movement, as it opens the door for boycotts of goods produced in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank...

Article 5 of the resolution calls to create a distinction between the State of Israel and the settlements built on lands captured in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War.

This article calls on the international community not to aid those settlements and allows for countries and organizations to boycott the settlement enterprise-either directly or indirectly.

Officials in Jerusalem are worried such a call would encourage the European Union to make its policy of labeling settlement products into law and call for a boycott these products.

Such a move would lead banks, gas stations, HMOs, retailers, high-tech companies and others to close their branches beyond Green Line to avoid being included in the 'blacklist' of companies doing business in the settlements and consequently being boycotted as a result..."