Arab countries play a hypocritical role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process by denouncing the United States while failing to provide meaningful help to the Palestinians, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley argued Tuesday.
“Too often, the Arab countries give just enough money and mouth just enough uncompromising words to stay out of the crosshairs of Palestinian representatives,” Haley told the United Nations Security Council. “But if they really cared about the Palestinian people, they would not do that.”
Haley’s broadside came amid a series of clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian terrorists, which have led to widespread criticism of Israel over civilian casualties. As a senior U.N. diplomat warned of the looming threat of another major military operation in Gaza, Haley argued that the Arab world needs to put more pressure on Palestinian officials.
“Where are the Arab countries when it comes to encouraging reconciliation between Palestinian factions, which is essential to peace?” she said. “Where are the Arab countries when it comes to denouncing Hamas terrorism? Where are the Arab countries when it comes to supporting compromises that are necessary for peace?”
Nickolay Mladenov, the special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, cited “the political stalemate between Hamas and Fatah” — feuding Palestinian political parties, who formed a joint government that Israel regards as an unfit negotiating partner due to Hamas terrorism. Mladenov also noted that “19 Palestinians, including seven children, were killed by Israel Defense Forces” in response to rocket attacks and the launching of incendiary balloons from Gaza.
“Over the last two weeks however the situation quickly spiraled out of control, nearly to a point of no-return,” he told the Security Council. “Today, I reiterate my call to all in Gaza to step back from the brink. Those who seek to provoke Israelis and Palestinians to war must not succeed.”
Haley defended Israel and dismissed criticism of the United States from other world leaders more critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, observing that the U.S. humanitarian aid to the Palestinians far outstrips any other donor.
“[The U.S.] averages to more than a quarter of a billion dollars every year since 1993,” she said. “Since that year, the United States has provided over six billion – with a B – dollars in bilateral assistance to Palestinians. How much have the Arab countries – some of whom are wealthy countries – how much have they given to the Palestinians? It does not come anywhere close to what the United States has done.”
Haley called repeatedly for the Arab nations to put additional pressure on Palestinian officials in order to create the preconditions for peace.
“The Palestinian leadership has been allowed to live a false reality for too long because Arab leaders are afraid to tell them the truth,” she said. “The United States is telling the truth because we do care about the Palestinian people. But we should all recognize that Palestinian needs are not an American problem any more than a Russian problem or a French problem. And they are certainly not more of an American problem than an Egyptian, Saudi, Emirati, or Turkish problem.”
