Should the House Condemn the U.N. Security Council’s Resolution on Israeli Settlements? (H. Res. 11)

What is H. Res. 11?

(Updated March 22, 2018)

This resolution would express the opposition of the House to a United Nations Security Council resolution that criticized Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank for undermining the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. It reiterates that it is U.S. policy that lasting peace will only be accomplished through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, and that international rulings that place more parameters on a final agreement make that harder to achieve. Additionally, it says that the U.S. should veto future resolutions that impose such preconditions or are one-sided and anti-Israel while trying to repeal of fundamentally modify Resolution 2334.

The House also took issue with the passage of the resolution for other reasons, including:

• That a failure to exercise America’s veto reversed decades of bipartisan agreement on the role of the U.N. and outside actors in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process;

• That it reduced the likelihood of Israelis and Palestinians restarting productive, direct peace negotiations;

• That the resolution’s passage contributed to politically-motivated boycotts of and divestment from Israel in order to extract concessions from Israel outside of direct negotiations between them and the Palestinians which must be rejected.

As a simple resolution, this legislation wouldn’t advance to the Senate if passed or have the force of law. It simply expresses the House’s opposition to U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334.

Argument in favor

The U.N. Security Council’s resolution unfairly targeted Israel for its settlements without providing a balanced criticism of Palestinian terrorism. It also sought to impose a solution to the issue of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which is something the Israelis and Palestinians need to work out themselves without the U.N.’s assistance.

Argument opposed

The U.N. Security Council’s resolution was justified in calling Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank “illegal” and wanting them stopped. Israel shouldn’t be building Jewish settlements on contested territory, and if anything the U.S. should have voted for the Security Council’s resolution rather than abstaining.

Impact

The U.N. Security Council; and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Cost of H. Res. 11

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) issued the following statement on the introduction of this legislation:

“[The Obama] administration has lost all credibility when it comes to Israel. The Administration’s stunt at the UN hurt our ally Israel and made peace in the region even more difficult to achieve. This Thursday, the House will not abstain from its responsibility and will vote on a bipartisan resolution reaffirming our longstanding policy in the region and support of Israel.”

This legislation’s cosponsor, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) has called the Obama administration’s decision to not veto the Security Council’s resolution a “parting shot” at Israel and offered the following statement after it was allowed to pass:

“I am very disappointed by the United States’ acquiescence to a one-sided, biased resolution at the United Nations Security Council. I have always believed that Israel can’t get a fair shake at the UN, and that is why Israel has relied on the United States to protect it from the anti-Israel tendencies of some UN Security Council members. This abstention represents a clear departure from that convention, and I consider this a break in the Obama administration’s word that they would veto biased or one-sided anti-Israel resolutions.”

This legislation has the bipartisan support of 52 cosponsors in the House, including 30 Republicans and 22 Democrats.

Media:

• House Foreign Affairs Committee Press Release