Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size.
Israel dialed back diplomatic ties to 10 countries Tuesday whose governments supported a United Nations resolution condemning settlements in Palestinian territory. The 15-member Security Council vote was nearly unanimous: 14 nations in support, one abstention: the United States. FSRN’s Nell Abram has more.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry officially limited relations with embassies from 10 of the 14 countries that supported the Security Council resolution which calls Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory a “flagrant violation” of international law with no “legal validity.”
In a departure from its longstanding staunch support of Israel at the international body, the U.S. abstained from the vote — sparking the ire of Israeli officials who allege that Washington actually orchestrated the move. The Israeli ambassador to the U.S. said Tuesday that they have evidence supporting the claim and they will present it to incoming president Donald Trump once he takes office.
But Tuesday, State Department spokesperson John Kirby expressly denied the accusation: “I think is all a little bit of a sideshow, to be honest. This was a resolution that we could not in good conscience veto — because it condemns violence, it condemns incitement, it reiterates what has long been the overwhelming consensus international view on settlements — and it calls on parties to take constructive steps to advance a two state solution the ground. There was nothing in there that would prompt us to veto that type of resolution.”
Kirby added that the pace of settlement construction in recent years is rendering the viability of a two state solution increasingly impossible.
The UN resolution calls for a complete halt to settlement activities, but Israeli authorities show no sign of slowing that pace. According to the Israeli daily Ha’aretz, the municipality of Jerusalem is set to consider nearly 400 construction permits this week.
Important Message: Please Read
For 25 years, Truthout has survived by publishing impactful investigative journalism and analysis; distributing full editions 365 days a year; and building a community of readers who support us with small, hard-earned donations.
Eighty percent of our $3 million yearly budget comes from small donors alone. Of those, 8,000 readers support us with monthly donations. Back in 2018, when Facebook decided to suppress the circulation of posts made by organizations, thereby cutting readers off from seeing many articles shared by the news organizations they had intentionally decided to follow, Truthout’s total traffic declined by 40 percent, as nearly all of our traffic from that platform disappeared.
Now, Google has recently rolled out its AI search bar, providing AI summaries instead of directing readers to our site. Google Search is our single largest source of traffic; it’s the route by which nearly one third of our readers find us. Much like in 2018, a shocking 40 percent of our Google traffic has disappeared overnight.
It will not be easy for Truthout to shoulder this blow. Nor will it be easy for our peers and collaborators — news sites that depend on traffic and aren’t bankrolled by large corporations.
If you can support Truthout with a donation today, you can help us resist the AI onslaught. Please give today.