Mahmoud Abbas

Palestine v. Israel, and the US Democratic Race: Our Double-Episode Podcast

February 20, 2020

President Trump has made good on his campaign promises to redefine America’s relationship with the rest of the world — for better or for worse — and the United Nations has in many ways been the epicenter of his “American First” policy abroad. Most recently, his peace proposal for Israel and Palestine scraps decades …

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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Despite Common Rejection of Trump’s Mideast Plan, Some Hope to Restart Talks

February 11, 2020

by Stéphanie Fillion

A few days after Jared Kushner, President Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, met with United Nations Security Council members offsite in New York to sell the United States’ Mideast deal for peace, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas came to the Council to vehemently oppose it. While Abbas’s criticisms were echoed by most members of the Council, …

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East, Security Council, US Foreign Relations

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Strongmen to Kick Off the UN General Assembly Session in September

August 14, 2019

by Stéphanie Fillion

Donald Trump will shake hands with Emmanuel Macron, Jair Bolsonaro and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. But will Benjamin Netanyahu; Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel be there, too? The 74th opening debate of the United Nations General Assembly, which starts on Sept.17 and ends on Sept. 30; the general debate begins on Sept. 24. With most …

Climate and Environment, General Assembly, US-UN Relations

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NIKKI HALEY WATCH

A Useful Mideast Peace Plan? Don’t Hold Your Breath

March 7, 2018

by Irwin Arieff

Nikki Haley is appealing to the Palestinian people for “negotiation and compromise” in search of Middle East peace, denying that Washington is biased against them even as she warns their leaders that holding out will “lead to nothing but hardship.” But the latest pitch for Palestinian engagement by Haley, the United States ambassador to …

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East, Nikki Haley Watch, Security Council

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NIKKI HALEY WATCH

Nikki Haley to Mahmoud Abbas: Get Over Trump’s Jerusalem Decision

February 20, 2018

by Dulcie Leimbach

Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Authority, sticks to his well-known grievances. While Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, finger-points; Nikki Haley, the American envoy to the UN, warns everyone to stay off the topic of Jerusalem. In the latest showdown on Palestine in the UN Security Council, which welcomed Abbas …

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nikki Haley Watch, Security Council, US Foreign Relations

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Palestinians Sign the International Court Treaty, Hoping to See Israel Tried

January 2, 2015

by Dulcie Leimbach

The Palestinians have deposited copies of the legal instruments to join the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the world’s single permanent judicial body to try war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. If Palestine is accepted as a member of the court, it will be the 123rd state party to do so. Until now, …

ICC, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Security Council, US Foreign Relations

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Palestinians Move Fast to Join the ICC as Bid for Full Statehood Fails at the UN

December 31, 2014

by Dulcie Leimbach

The Palestinians’ failed proposal to formally establish a state and end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by late 2017 through a vote in the United Nations Security Council on Dec. 30 continued to reflect the immense influence of the United States on the Palestinians’ ability to assert themselves through the world body. The …

ICC, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East, Security Council, US Foreign Relations

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Palestinians Cheer New Status at the United Nations

November 30, 2012

by Alice Volkov

The General Assembly voted to elevate the Palestinian territories‘ status at the United Nations to nonmember observer state from nonmember observer entity, which it has held since 1974. The vote, occurring late afternoon on Nov. 29 in a packed Assembly Hall, was preceded by several speeches, including one by Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of …