PM Netanyahu cancels the visit of the Ukrainian Prime Minister to Israel. Kiev’s response; “The crisis in the Middle East is the deepest it has been throughout its history.”
Following the cancellation of the visit of Ukrainian Prime Minister, Volodymyr Groysman, to Israel, the Ukrainian delegation to the United Nations responded to their support of the United Nations resolution against settlements in the Security Council.
“Unprecedented settlement activities by Israel in the palestinian territories does not help to deal with violence.”
After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled on Saturday the visit of his Ukrainian counterpart following the state support for the UN resolution against settlements, a delegation of Ukraine to the United Nations issued a message explaining Kiev’s support for the resolution. “The search for a solution is now in the deepest crisis in history,” the statement read. “The lack of prospects for reviving the peace process between Israel and the palestinians has led to an escalation of the security situation in Israel and the West Bank on a daily basis. As a result, the unprecedented settlement activities of Israel in the palestinian territories does not help deal with the violence”, said the diplomats.
In their statement, the delegation noted that the decision that was finally approved was more lenient with Israel than the original resolution and included references to palestinian terror.
“The call to Israel to stop settlement activity as a prerequisite for resolving the conflict as part of a two-state solution is not new,” the statement said. “All parties call out for efforts to achieve peace and security in the Middle East.”
The delegation made a connection between the Russian occupation of Crimea and the Israeli occupation. For Ukraine, abstention or objection to the resolution calling for a cease of illegal actions in the territories that under international law are considered occupied territory, would be contrary to the struggle on the diplomatic front against the occupation of the Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by Russia.
“These are political issues, about which positions cannot vary according to the political situation. There are national interests that do not often match the interests of our partners, especially Israel. Because of these interests, we cannot abstain or object,” it said.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a statement cancelling the visit of Prime Minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Groysman to Israel, in protest against his country’s support for the draft resolution against settlements received on Friday by the UN Security Council. Groysman, who is the first Jewish Prime Minister of Ukraine elected last April, was to arrive in Israel on Wednesday.
Cancellation of the visit was one of a series of steps taken by the government following the adoption of resolution 2334 on Friday by the UN Security Council, with the support of all Council members. The United States abstained in the vote instead of vetoing the resolution. The abstention by the Obama administration has set off a furor of reactions by Israel against all those who voted in favor of the resolution and the US.