UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Proces Nickolay Mladenov. Insolent statement
Photo: Motti Kimchi
Dr. Ofir Haivry
Photo: Netanela Haivry
Evacuate UN from East Talpiot
Op-ed: The first and most illegal outpost in east Jerusalem is none other than the United Nations headquarters in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood.
After a bunch of obscene, harsh condemnations from United Nations representatives in recent weeks, the UN representative for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, went as far as issuing a particularly insolent statement
against the Israeli governments' policy against terror in particular and against the settlement in Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem in general.
The area and buildings known as "Armon Hanatziv" (the Governor's Palace) are located on a mountain where the high priest of Israel used to live in ancient times (and is known by the Christians as "The Hill of the Evil Council"), south of the Old City. They were built in the 1930s as the British government center in the Land of Israel.
According to Mladenov, it turns out that any Israeli activity, settlement and outpost in those areas, including any house built in neighborhoods such as Ramot, Gilo or Armon Hanatziv (East Talpiot) – "all (these) outposts remain illegal under international law."
So the time has probably come to listen to these logical comments and successfully dismantle at least one large, illegal outpost: the UN headquarters' settlement in the East Talpiot neighborhood in Jerusalem.
East Talpiot neighborhood (Photo: Sebastian Scheiner)
After the Brits left Israel, one of the most difficult battles of the War of Independence in the Jerusalem area took place nearby, leaving 11 IDF soldiers dead. At the end of the war, Israel and Jordan agreed to leave the compound as a demilitarized area and allow the UN to locate the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) there.
When the Six-Day War broke out, the area was occupied for a short while by the Jordanian army, but was eventually liberated by IDF soldiers and declared by Israel part of its sovereign territory. The UN, which refused to recognize Israel's rule in Jerusalem, demanded an official recognition of its ownership of the area and ordered Israel to "return" it. Israel's governments throughout the years rejected this ridiculous demand, and even made sure to register the compound and the buildings in the Land Registry as an area owned by the State of Israel. An agreement was eventually reached, stating that the UN and its institutions are only inhabitants of the area.
Now, when we hear the UN representatives' screams that every Israeli home in east Jerusalem is an illegal outpost under international law, we must demand that the organization recognize the fact that the first and most illegal outpost is none other than the UN headquarters in the "Armon Hanatziv" compound, which the organization is holding onto with false claims and demanding ownership of without any legal foundation, neither national nor international.
The fact that temporary agreements were signed after the War of Independence, leaving a number of demilitarized areas in Jerusalem including this compound, does not give the UN any legal basis in it, and it is time for the Israeli government to withhold its agreement to allow the compound's noisy tenants to make insolent demands, and demand that they pack their belongings and move elsewhere.
The large, impressive building in East Talpiot can be used for the benefit of the Israeli public, just like the rest of the former demilitarized areas in Jerusalem which have already been turned into roads, museums and residential areas. It can be turned into a museum, a college or perhaps house the IDF's General Staff, which should have moved from the Kirya Base in Tel Aviv to the capital a long time ago.
And what about the UN headquarters in the Middle East which will be evacuated from East Talpiot? Where will it reside? It only seems appropriate for the UN to place its regional headquarters as far as possible from the annoying presence of the Jewish outposts in the Land of Israel, and it has many options for finding a proper seat where everything is in order according to the UN's interpretation of international law: Damascus, Baghdad, Sana'a, Tripoli and Beirut are surely yearning for Mladenov and his friends to come and influence them with their great wisdom.
Dr. Ofir Haivry is vice president of the Herzl Institute in Jerusalem.
