Israelis, Palestinians Critical of US Decision to Block Fayyad Nomination as UN Envoy to Libya

Palestinians were outraged and many Israelis highly critical of a decision by the Trump administration to block the nomination of former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as United Nations special envoy to Libya. US Ambassador Nikki Haley said on Friday that the appointment would send the wrong signal to the UN member states regarding the Palestinian campaign to use the world body as a springboard to the appearance of statehood. Haley phrased the decision in terms of supporting Israel’s positions. Despite the heightened sensitivities of the US-Israel relationship caused by former President Barack Obama’s eleventh-hour withholding of the American veto of a Security Council Resolution that is highly critical of the Jewish state’s policies in areas it acquired in the 1967 war, critics of the move argue that Fayyad’s candidacy is that of an individual and not as a Palestinian official. Accordingly, the Palestinians are not wrong in arguing that by disqualifying the eminently qualified Fayyad solely because he is Palestinian is discriminatory and indefensible. In a move also facing strong condemnation, it is being reported that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is considering the appointment of Israeli politician Tzipi Livni to a senior UN post as a buy-off [read bribe] for Israeli acceptance of the Fayyad appointment. Although not officially in-play, the trial balloon has been met by many Israelis with outrage over the image the deal would project of their country.