The United States, European Union and the United Nations have issued unusually stern criticism of Israel, provoking a sharp response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and raising Palestinians' hopes of steps against their neighbor. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday described Israel's settlements as "provocative acts" that raised questions about its commitment to a two-state solution, nearly 50 years after occupying lands the Palestinians seek for a state. Ban also laid some of the blame for four months of stabbings and car rammings by Palestinians at Israel's door, saying "as oppressed peoples have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism". Netanyahu's response was furious. Ban's remarks "give a tailwind to terrorism", he said, and ignore the fact "Palestinian murderers do not want to build a state". "The UN lost its neutrality and moral force a long time ago," he added, singling Ban out for personal criticism. While terse words between Israel and the UN are nothing new, Israel's closest allies, the United States and the European Union, have publicly expressed their own frustration with the policies of Netanyahu's right-wing government. Speaking at a security conference last week, US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro questioned how equitably justice is applied in the occupied West Bank, saying: "At times there seem to be two standards of adherence to the rule of law: one for Israelis and another for Palestinians." That, too, drew an angry response from Netanyahu. Shapiro later said he regretted the timing of his remarks, made on the day an Israeli mother of six, stabbed to death by a Palestinian in a West Bank settlement, was buried. The European Union's policy of labeling products made in Israeli settlements has provoked similar anger from officials, while Sweden's foreign minister was branded an anti-Semite after calling for an independent investigation into Israel's efforts to quell the current wave of violence. The criticism, particularly about the settlements, where some 550,000 Jews live in around 250 communities scattered across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, has raised Palestinian hopes that world powers might finally be minded to support a UN resolution condemning Israel's policy outright. "We are continuing our contacts with the international community... and will go to the Security Council for a resolution against the colonial settlement enterprise," Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians' chief negotiator, said last week. The last attempt at such a resolution failed in 2011 after the United States vetoed it, saying it harmed the chances for peace. The feeling among Palestinian diplomats now is that the United States may be less inclined to veto given the absence of peace talks and the depth of US frustration with Israel. Israeli diplomats are also wary of that possibility. "It's always a risk and we are extremely attentive to it," said Emmanuel Nahshon, the Foreign Ministry's spokesman. "There has indeed been a lot of criticism of Israel recently, but I don't know whether that necessarily translates into a UN resolution." — Reuters
