Talking UN bias, Palestinian terror, and Trump’s peace plan, with Jason Greenblatt
J
ason Greenblatt faced a room full of naysayers last week at the United Nations. But in his determined speech, he gave little indication that he was willing to let their opposition stop him.
The Trump administration’s special representative for international negotiations appeared at a Security Council meeting on the Israeli settlements, one that sought to highlight how Israeli building in the West Bank represents an “obstruction” to peace and is a violation of international law. This kind of parley is nothing new at the United Nations. As Greenblatt pointed out, there have been nearly 700 resolutions condemning Israel since its founding in 1948, what he called the “obvious, continual anti-Israel bias” at the world body.
Greenblatt’s appearance comes just weeks before the Trump administration plans to release its peace plan, which he has been working on for two years along with senior advisor Jared Kushner and US Ambassador to Israel David Freidman. The details of the plan that have so far surfaced indicate that Israel will likely favor it while the Palestinians will outright reject it. In fact, the Palestinian prime minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, has already called the proposal “born dead” and indicated that there are “no partners in Palestine for Trump.”
So Greenblatt and company are facing stiff odds, and it just might be that his speech at the United Nations was intended to soften up the opposition. Greenblatt reminded UN members that they have been pursuing the same formula — total condemnation for Israel, sainthood for the Palestinians — for decades and that it might be the right time to adopt a new approach.
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