In the video: Prime Minister Netanyahu in Gush Etzion: "The US decision is the correction of a historical injustice, this is a great day and an achievement that will stand for generations" (still photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO, editing by Shaul Adam)
Germany has decided to withdraw its signature on a U.S. condemnation to the UN Human Rights Council's commission of inquiry in Geneva, which deals with the situation in the West Bank and Gaza, Israeli and German officials said. This was in response to the Israeli government's decision earlier this week to promote the construction of thousands of new housing units in West Bank settlements and to transfer authority over the matter to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The settlement of Har Kedumim in northern Samaria (Photo: Reuters)
Why it's important:
- Germany is Israel's most important ally in Europe and second after the United States in the world. German support for blocking anti-Israel moves at the UN is critical for Israel.
- The German move surprised Israel and is the first practical signal of growing frustration on the part of the government in Berlin with Netanyahu's policy in the West Bank.
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Reminder:
- The UN Human Rights Council's commission of inquiry was established in May 2021, shortly after Operation Guardian of the Walls. The committee was established by a narrow majority, with 24 countries – most of them Arab, Muslim or non-democratic – supporting its establishment. 23 countries voted against establishing the commission or abstained.
- The mandate and powers of the committee are exceptionally broad compared to any other commission of inquiry established by one of the UN bodies. Thus, for example, it is a standing committee that operates continuously without an end date and does not focus its activities on a specific and defined event.
- The commission of inquiry was established in the wake of Operation Breaking the Walls, but its mandate is much broader and includes investigating human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in general, as well as examining the "founding causes" that lead to Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. Unusually, the commission is supposed to investigate human rights violations within Israel's borders – something that has never happened before.
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Backstage:
- At a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the United States planned to issue a statement condemning the commission of inquiry. Similar announcements have been made several times in the past, and Germany has joined each.
- The Germans had already announced that they had joined the American condemnation, but on Monday, a day after the government's announcement on promoting construction in the settlements and the decision to shorten the procedures for approving construction in the settlements, the Germans decided to retract their decision and informed the Americans that they were withdrawing their signatures on the announcement.
- German and Israeli officials said Germany had sent an official message to Israel through diplomatic channels that the decision to withdraw support for the U.S. condemnation was a response to the government's decision on settlement expansion.
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Tags
- Germany
- United States
- Settlements
- West Bank