Thread by @Ron_Skolnik

1/ I sat through the 15 minutes of @jdgreenblatt45 at UNSC because it's best to listen to the original. A few thoughts. First: Greenblatt's entire purpose is to create parity for Israeli and Palestinian claims, e.g. "some call it WB, some Judea & Samaria"

@jdgreenblatt45 2/ Similarly, Greenblatt seeks to undermine any application of international law to the OTs in order to make it a non-factor. He even blasts those who use the word ("weaponize the word") Occupation.

@jdgreenblatt45 3/ Of course, Greenblatt does not endorse parity of competing claims to the area within Green Line Israel. In other words, Israel's sea-to-the-river claim is legit. The Palestinian river-to-the-sea claim isn't.

@jdgreenblatt45 4/ Greenblatt insists that "international consensus" on Israel-Palestine doesn't exist. He's right, of course, as Trump and his band undermined it from the get-go.

@jdgreenblatt45 5/ Greenblatt creates straw-man in UNSC Res 242, citing its ambiguity to suggest there isn't more specific int'l consensus. Of course there is! Look at Res 1515 (2003) that endorses 2-states and Quartet Roadmap, including its provisions re settlements. unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/0/…

@jdgreenblatt45 6/ Then there's UNSC 2334 (2016) that references "the Israeli occupation that began in 1967". In dismissing int'l consensus, Greenblatt would have us forget these don't exist.
un.org/webcast/pdfs/S…

@jdgreenblatt45 7/ Greenblatt is nakedly obvious in his one-sided advocacy for the Israeli argument. He refers to Israel having left 88% of the territory it took in 1967 (almost all of that, the Sinai), but not a word about PLO's concession of 78% of its original claim.

@jdgreenblatt45 8/ Greenblatt chides the international community for its inactivity, saying it hides behind statements & international fora to do nothing. Yet he suggests that his boss in the WH is in no rush to forward his political plan. No timetable, no urgency. Who's inactive?

@jdgreenblatt45 9/ And on Jerusalem: Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem are "an aspiration, not a right". As for Israel: Jerusalem, "today and forever is the capital of Israel".

@jdgreenblatt45 10/ And now the kicker: @jdgreenblatt45 is opposed to some unilateral steps - but only those taken in "international and multilateral fora" (itself an oxymoron, of course). Not a word of opposition for potential unilateral Israeli steps (=annexation).

@jdgreenblatt45 11/ To sum it up: It's a tough speech to listen to - so devoid of balance, intellectual integrity, and historical accuracy. But listen nonetheless, as you need know how the Trump team is going to spin its policy in the months ahead.