Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

US Envoy to UN Calls on Israel to Stop Demolishing Palestinian Homes


Wed 19 Jan 2022 | 09:59 PM
H-Tayea

On Wednesday, the US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield references the eviction and demolition in the flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem in comments to the UN Security Council.

“To make progress, both Israel and the Palestinian Authority must refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution,” Thomas-Greenfield says. “That includes annexations of territory, settlement activity, demolitions, and evictions – like what we saw in Sheikh Jarrah – incitement to violence, and providing compensation for inpiduals imprisoned for acts of terrorism.”

Her statement marks the first public comment from the US on the eviction, which was the first in that neighborhood since 2017.

In response, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan tells the council that the family evicted is “a family that stole public lands for their own private use… This is a municipal issue that has gone through all the respective channels of the independent Israeli legal system.”

Thomas-Greenfield also references the synagogue hostage situation in Colleyville, Texas, over the weekend.

“The harrowing events in Colleyville, Texas, this past weekend… reminds us that we all must work together to stand against antisemitism and extremism,” she says. “The United States will continue to champion justice for victims of antisemitism, and for Holocaust survivors and their descendants.”

She also references the new makeup of the UN Security Council, after Tunisia and others finished their terms earlier this month, and the United Arab Emirates, among others, joined.

“For the first time in many years, all members of this Council have diplomatic relations with the State of Israel,” says Thomas-Greenfield. “This is a testament to the important shifts underway in the Middle East, and indicative of Israel’s contributions on the world stage. Let us avail ourselves of this opportunity to move beyond our standard talking points and identify ways to support the parties in pursuit of sustainable and lasting peace for all of their people.”