OneNewsNow - Attorney: Israel needs more allies

by Chad Groening - OneNewsNow
9/21/2011

A Christian law firm says the United States must do more than just veto a U.N. effort to unilaterally create a Palestinian state without negotiating with Israel.

This Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address the United Nations to seek recognition of a state to be carved out of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.

Jordan Sekulow is director of international operations at the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), which is circulating a petition that urges President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to support Israel and reject any bid for statehood for the Palestinian Authority. Obama has indicated he will veto any U.N. Security Council resolution, but Sekulow says one veto will not be enough.

"If we're the only veto, it makes Israel look bad; it makes the United States look bad," he explains. "We should be putting pressure on our Western European allies. And I also say, why not put pressure on China on this one? If this was okay, then Taiwan could try to do this, [and] Tibet could try to do this."

And even if the Palestinians fail with the Security Council, the ACLJ international operations director points out that the General Assembly could still grant standing with things like the International Criminal Court.

"They can then say, 'Well, it's actually Israel who is the aggressor; it is Israel who has committed an act of war by occupying our state,'" Sekulow warns. So, he says it is imperative for the United States to stand with Israel.

You can read the entire story and listen to the audio report here.