U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power told the Security Council on Tuesday that the U.S. is frustrated that Israelis and Palestinians are no closer to achieving the “two-state solution” years after committing to carving a separate Arab-majority country out of disputed territory, and indicated the U.S. thinks new Israeli settlements are partly to blame.
“The United States strongly opposes settlement activity, including some steps Israel has taken this month,” Power said. “We are deeply concerned about reports of a declaration of more than 370 acres in the Jordan Valley in the West Bank as state land. We are also deeply concerned about recent steps that appear to have effectively created a new settlement.”
“Steps aimed at advancing the Israeli settlement project, including changing the designation of land, issuing building tenders, and constructing new settlements, are fundamentally incompatible with the two-state solution and raise legitimate questions about Israel’s long-term intentions,” she added.
Citing recent evictions of Palestinians by Israeli officials, she said such actions “reflect an ongoing trend of demolition, displacement, and land confiscation that continues to undermine prospects for a two-state solution.”
But she also stressed, “let me make crystal clear, as has Secretary [of State John] Kerry and other U.S. government officials on multiple occasions, that settlement activity can never itself be an excuse for violence, never,” Power said.
“The United States strongly condemns terrorist attacks perpetrated by Palestinians,” she said, referring to several recent deadly stabbings. “These and other reprehensible and inexcusable attacks against innocent civilians underscore the critical importance of affirmative steps to stop incitement, restore calm, reduce tensions and bring an end to the violence on both sides.”
“We also condemn Israeli settler violence against Palestinians,” she said, citing several examples. “There is absolutely no justification for any of these acts of terrorism. We all must condemn them, consistently and unequivocally.”
Power called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to prevent such attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
Power asked United Nations countries to contribute more for humanitarian relief inside the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
“We urge all member states concerned about the conditions in which Palestinians live to join the United States in contributing to” a new relief appeal, she said.
