UN Secretary-General Doubles-Down on Determination to Name Fayyad to Libya Mission

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has seemingly doubled-down on his intent to name former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad as his Special Envoy to Libya despite the American and Israeli opposition to the appointment. But it remains unclear to what extent his resolve has been strengthened by the apparent acceptance by Israel of a quid pro quo deal that would see a marginal Israeli politician appointed to a $250,000 per year deputy spot in the Secretary-General’s office. The issue was kicked-off last week when the American UN ambassador surprised many by vetoing the appointment of Fayyad, who is widely considered to be eminently qualified, solely because he is Palestinian. The US under President Trump and Israel object to the Palestinian use of the UN to embellish an appearance of statehood while there is no state of Palestine. But critics of the veto argue that it is untoward for the Jewish state to be objecting to the appointment of the most qualified man to fill the job because he is Palestinian and then reverse its objection after one of its own has been given a lucrative senior position which is being unambiguously displayed as a virtual payoff for Israel to remove its objection. The strength of support for the Fayyad appointment in Israel is evidenced by editorials in such politically diverse newspapers as The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz.