Malaysia asks to reintroduce perceived mistreatment of Palestinians on meeting’s agenda Monday
The UN Security Council session on Monday on the new nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers is expected to include a discussion on Israel.
In addition to the council’s expected endorsement of the Iranian nuclear deal, the 15-member body will also reportedly discuss Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Malaysia, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, proposed adding the discussion to the agenda, according to a report in the Hebrew-language website NRG on Sunday.
The Foreign Ministry said the expected discussion was “an ugly and cynical attempt to further cement the Palestinian issue on the agenda of the international community.”
The ministry rejected the use of multilateral organizations such as the UN to coerce it into any sort of action vis-à-vis the Palestinians, and said that progress in peace talks can only be achieved in direct bilateral negotiations.
Continued discussions of Israel’s perceived mistreatment of Palestinians, it said, was a waste of agency resources given the ongoing and fierce violence in the region.
“Its absurd that while attacks are taking place at the hands of radical Islamists throughout the Middle East, a special discussion on Israel is to take place,” a Foreign Ministry statement read.
Malaysia’s initiative to put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the council’s agenda came after France announced last month that it wouldn’t propose a resolution on Palestinian statehood to the Security Council if the United States was certain to would veto it.
Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, welcomed the nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers last week, calling it “historic” and a “positive step and augurs well for international efforts aimed at enhancing nuclear security.”
Congress has 60 days to review the Iran deal. While lawmakers can’t block the agreement itself, they can try to pass new sanctions on Iran or block the president from waiving existing penalties.
Israel is expected to focus its diplomatic efforts on lobbying US lawmakers not to support the nuclear deal.
The 10-year agreement struck in Vienna last week calls for a lifting of punishing international sanctions on Iran in exchange for measures to ensure Iran does not build nuclear weapons.
According to diplomats, the resolution endorsing the deal should pass the Security Council with little difficulty, since the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — were among those countries that negotiated the accord.
If passed, the new resolution would replace the existing framework of seven sets of Security Council sanctions imposed since 2006 on Iran, enshrining a new set of restrictions.
As reported by The Times of Israel