Outside, protesters. Inside, applause. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, visiting the US Congress, received a mixed reception, to say the least. A reception that highlights our ambiguity about Israel.
This visit comes at a time when the risks of escalation of the conflict in the Near and Middle East are more present than ever. The Israeli Prime Minister did not fail to recall that tensions are rising with various groups supported by Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy.
In recent days, Israel bombed a port in Yemen in retaliation for drone attacks by Houthi rebels, raising fears that another front is opening up in the region, as there are already fears that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could trigger a full-scale conflict that could be devastating for neighboring Lebanon.
All this while the Israeli offensive has left nearly 40,000 dead in the Gaza Strip and triggered a serious humanitarian crisis. The Palestinian enclave has been transformed into a field of ruins since the Hamas attacks that left nearly 1,200 dead and 250 hostages last October.
But Benjamin Netanyahu himself is caught between several fires.
On the one hand, his population criticizes him for not negotiating a ceasefire that would allow the release of the 166 hostages still held by Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. But on the other hand, the far-right members of his coalition refuse to give ground.
Internationally, justice is also on his tail.
Last week, the International Court of Justice issued a scathing opinion that unequivocally established that the 57-year occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal.
Over the decades, more than 700,000 Jews have settled in the Palestinian territories. This colonization, which is only accelerating, is at the heart of the conflict.
Israel has outright annexed East Jerusalem, where Palestinians, now considered foreigners, suffer all sorts of discrimination. And in the West Bank, the Hebrew state presents Jewish settlements “as a national value” and takes “measures to encourage their creation.”
On the contrary, the Court considers that the State of Israel is under “an obligation to immediately cease all new settlement activity, and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Furthermore, the Court urges all countries of the world not to encourage the illegal continuation of colonisation.
This confronts Israel’s allies with their contradictions.
The United States and Canada, for example, have long said they are against settlement activity, but they continue to support Israel.
For decades, Canadian policy has been based on the creation of a Palestinian state coexisting with that of Israel. This is the two-state solution.
Yet last April, Canada abstained from voting for the UN resolution that would have allowed Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations.
PHOTO DREW ANGERER, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Benjamin Netanyahu delivering his speech before the US Congress on Wednesday
The resolution was adopted by an overwhelming majority (143 countries in favor, 9 against, 25 abstentions). But the United States imposed its veto in the Security Council, arguing that the recognition of Palestine would harm the advancement of the two-state solution, which constitutes a serious rhetorical contortion.
“Why, for heaven’s sake, vote against your own positions? – the American veto is a double mistake, moral and diplomatic,” deplored the former Israeli ambassador to Paris Elie Barnavi, in an open letter published in the newspaper The world.
Soon, Israel’s allies may find themselves facing another dilemma.
Last spring, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested an international arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he accuses of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
Ottawa immediately criticized this approach, even though Canada has always described itself as a great defender of international law. If the mandate is granted, Ottawa will not be able to remain ambiguous.
For their part, the Americans are not a party to the Criminal Court, having always fiercely opposed the jurisdiction of an international body. If a warrant were issued against Benjamin Netanyahu, they would therefore not have to arrest him the day he sets foot on American soil.
But they pushed the envelope by welcoming him with great pomp to Congress, where he is the only head of state in history to have had the privilege of delivering a speech four times during his career. That is more than former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
As recently as March, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared that Benjamin Netanyahu was a “major obstacle to peace,” calling for elections to elect a new prime minister. The rebuff was all the more scathing because Schumer is the Jew holding the highest office in government.
This did not stop American elected officials from applauding Benjamin Netanyahu, although more than 60 of them boycotted the event. On the street, protesters held up their signs, rightly pointing out that the United States continues to send billions of dollars in weapons to Israel. And meanwhile, President Joe Biden is struggling to negotiate a ceasefire. Isn’t that contradictory?
The path to lasting peace in the Middle East is far from clear. But a coherent approach, in Canada and elsewhere, would certainly help move us in the right direction.