United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334

UN Security Council
Resolution 2334
Border wall in Palestine
Date23 December 2016
Meeting no.7853
CodeS/RES/2334 (Document)
SubjectThe situation in the Middle East
Voting summary
  • 14 voted for
  • None voted against
  • 1 abstained
ResultAdopted
Security Council composition
Permanent members
Non-permanent members
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United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 was adopted on 23 December 2016. It concerns the Israeli settlements in "Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem". The resolution passed in a 14–0 vote by members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Four members with United Nations Security Council veto power (China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom) voted for the resolution, while the United States abstained.[1] The resolution states that Israel's settlement activity constitutes a "flagrant violation" of international law and has "no legal validity". It demands that Israel stop such activity and fulfill its obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention.[2][3]

It was the first UNSC resolution to pass regarding Israel and the Palestinian territories since Resolution 1860 in 2009,[4] and the first to address the issue of Israeli settlements with such specificity since Resolution 465 in 1980.[5][6] While the resolution did not include any sanction or coercive measure and was adopted under the non-binding Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter, Israeli newspaper Haaretz stated it "may have serious ramifications for Israel in general and specifically for the settlement enterprise" in the medium-to-long term.[6]

The text was welcomed by much of the international community in the following days. According to Murray McCully, former Minister of Foreign Affairs for New Zealand, Resolution 2334 reinforces the international community's commitment to a negotiated outcome,[7] while former Canadian ambassador Paul Heinbecker observed that, Israeli and Palestinian narratives notwithstanding, resolution 2334 "reflects what the world thinks. It does not constitute a minority view or even a very divided view. If this resolution of the 15-member UN Security Council were put to a vote in the 193-member General Assembly, the outcome would scarcely be different."[8] In response, the government of Israel retaliated with a series of diplomatic actions against some members of the Security Council,[9][10] and accused the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama of having secretly orchestrated the passage of the resolution. Palestine's representatives stated this was an opportunity to end the occupation and establish a Palestinian state to live side by side with the state of Israel on the 1967 line.[11]

  1. ^ "Choosing not to veto, Obama lets anti-settlement resolution pass at UN Security Council". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Israel's Settlements Have No Legal Validity, Constitute Flagrant Violation of International Law, Security Council Reaffirms: 14 Delegations in Favour of Resolution 2334 (2016) as United States Abstains". UN. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Israeli settlements: UN Security Council calls for an end". BBC News. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  4. ^ "UN passes resolution on ending Israeli settlements". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  5. ^ Ravid, Barak; Khoury, Jack (10 December 2016). "Palestinians Try to Sway Obama Not to Veto UN Resolution on Israeli Settlements". Haaretz. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b Ravid, Barak. "Analysis Understanding the UN Resolution on Israeli Settlements: What Are the Immediate Ramifications?", Haaretz (24 December 2016): "But it is the first to deal so specifically with the settlements in over 35 years. The previous such resolution, Resolution 465, was adopted by the Security Council in March 1980 (you can read it in full here). That being said, since 1980, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has undergone dramatic changes, the extent of the Israeli settlement enterprise has grown dramatically, and international community's focus on the settlements as a threat to the viability of the two-state solution has also increased markedly."
  7. ^ "Murray McCully: Why NZ sponsored the resolution against Israel's settlements". NZHerald. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Ignore the political theatre, Resolution 2334 has global support". The Globe and Mail. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc_summoned was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference diplo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "UN Security Council urges end to Israeli settlements". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 24 December 2016.

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