Serry's address to the UNSC and the promotion of Israel's narrative

In his briefing to the UN Security Council, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) Robert Serry was careful to uphold Israel’s dominating narrative while attempting to convey a compromised appeal on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza. Departing from a statistical observation of the death toll generated by the so-called “conflict” according to UN terminology, Serry is reported to have stated that “civilians on both sides” feel “battered and embittered”. Having accomplished the first step of failing to distinguish between the indigenous Palestinian population and the settler-population that is willingly complicit in Israel’s colonial violence, the rest of Serry’s address extends the Israeli narrative to a wider, international audience.

Focusing upon the necessity of rebuilding Gaza, as well as the fallacy of the treacherous two-state conspiracy, Serry stated that “UNSCO has brokered a trilateral agreement between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the UN to enable work at the scale required in the Strip.” The work involves a prominent role for the PA and security coordination to appease Israel, “through UN monitoring that these materials will not be diverted from their entirely civilian purpose.”

According to EurActiv, reconstruction will be decided entirely upon Israeli interests. An unnamed EU official declared that security restrictions on aid inadvertently meant that the settler-colonial state was allowed to monopolise the situation. The claim was denied by Israeli spokesman Mark Regev, although requests for further elaboration were not forthcoming.

Serry’s conclusion included a plea for imperialists to adhere to their colonising plans for Palestine. “When I warn that Gaza could implode, or explode again, or the two state paradigm could slip irreversibly away, I do not believe I am crying wolf.”

The two-state imposition, according to Serry “would be a welcome step of confidence, commitment and hope at a time when the parties and the world desperately need it.” Already, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has been relentlessly propagating a return to negotiations under the guise of a so-called “European recognition” of the Palestinian state.

With Gaza’s reconstruction destined to become another form of collaborative oppression against Palestinians, eliminating the ramifications of “Protective Edge” by allowing Israel to dictate the parameters of rebuilding consolidates the settler-colonial process, once again endorsed by a corrupt Palestinian leadership.

As with other imperialist rhetoric, Gaza, the epitome of resistance, has been marginalised in order to allow the resurgence of complicity. This ensures that Palestinian civilians and their needs, which are inclusive of resistance, are not allowed a platform for collective expression. Reconstruction rhetoric divested from the necessity of resistance constitutes a threat to the entire Palestinian population and its unified stance behind the resistance movements. Anything less than the inclusivity of resistance is tantamount to a betrayal of Palestine.

Serry has complained about “underlying dynamics still unaddressed”. Yet this is precisely the intention of the imperialist international organisation – a discussion of Palestine’s remnants through the hegemonic narrative stipulated by Israel and endorsed by the complicit international community, in order to ensure a complete annihilation of Palestinian demands and territory.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.