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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 9/21/17

Courting the Global South: Will Israel Become a UN Security Council Member?

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This meant that UN bodies that do not allow for veto-wielding members grew in their ability to challenge the UN Security Council.

The actions of UNHRC and UNESCO spurred a determined Israeli-American campaign to delegitimize them.

Since the Donald Trump Administration's advent to power, and with the help of his ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, Washington has waged a war against the UN, using intimidation and the threats of withholding funds.

UNESCO insisted on its position, despite the cutting off of funds. Meanwhile, UNHRC decided to go along with publishing the list of companies, despite US threats to pull out of the human rights body altogether.

According to Israel's Channel 2, the list includes Coca-Cola, TripAdvisor, Airbnb, Priceline and Caterpillar. It also includes national Israeli companies and two large banks.

Israeli officials fumed. Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely charged that "The UN is playing with fire," threatening that such initiative will cause further loss of UN budget.

She even declared that the US and Israel are working together to start a "revolution" at the Human Rights Council through a joint "action plan."

Signs of this oddly termed "revolution" are already apparent. Aside from choking off UN bodies financially, Israel is lobbying countries in the South that have traditionally exhibited solidarity with Palestinians due to the common historical bonds of foreign oppression and anti-colonial struggles.

Netanyahu had just concluded a trip to Latin America, considered the first by a sitting Israeli Prime Minister. In the last leg of his trip in Mexico, he offered to "develop Central America."

The price is, of course, for Latin American countries to support Israel's occupation of Palestine and turn a blind eye to its human rights violations in Palestine.

The irony that, fortunately, did not escape everyone is that last January, Netanyahu declared his support of Trump's promise to wall off the US-Mexico border and force Mexico to pay for it.

It remains to be seen how Israel's efforts will win Latin America to Israel's side, considering the latter's terrible record of supporting fascist regimes and subverting democracy.

The Israeli Prime Minister's charm offensive was planned to include Togo in October to attend the Israel-Africa Summit. Thanks to the efforts of South Africa, Morocco, among other countries, the summit was cancelled due to the fact that over half of African countries were planning to boycott it.

The setback must have been a major diplomatic embarrassment for Tel Aviv as Netanyahu has made African diplomacy a pillar in his foreign policy. Last June, he visited Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda. He was accompanied by a large delegation of business executives. Earlier in June, he promised African leaders at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) summit in Liberia to supply them with agricultural technology that would stave off droughts and food scarcity.

The price? According to African News Agency (ANA), "Israeli technology would solve Africa's most urgent issues -- as long as African nations opposed UN resolutions critical of Israel's occupation of Palestine."

Not all African leaders allowed themselves to be manipulated by Tel Aviv.

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Ramzy Baroud is the Managing Editor of Middle East Eye. He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold (more...)
 

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