4 No. 59 JUSTICE ecurity Council Resolution 2334 is usually referred to as the resolution that condemned the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. However, the resolution also deals with other, quite important, issues. An analysis of some of its main provisions will be followed by an examination of its legal effect. After a few introductory remarks, the text of the resolution deals with four different subjects: condemnation of Israel; condemnation of all acts of violence against civilians; promoting peace based on the two-state solution; and the search for means to ensure the implementation of this resolution. Already in its preamble, Israel is severely condemned, not only because of the settlements: Condemning all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, including, inter alia, the construction and expansion of settlements, transfer of Israeli settlers, confiscation of land, demolition of homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians, in violation of international humanitarian law and relevant resolutions… Each of these items merits an in-depth discussion, but that would be beyond the scope of the present article. The settlements are condemned because they are allegedly illegal according to international law and because they are “a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution” (para. 1). It should be noted that this is not the first time that Israel was condemned by the Security Council. In 1980, the Council reacted strongly to the adoption of the Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel. However, the term used in the relevant Resolution 478(1980) was not “condemns” but “censures in the strongest terms.” Another object of condemnation are acts of violence: "Condemning all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror, as well as acts of provocation, incitement and destruction…” In this regard, Israel is not mentioned as the object of condemnation. This provision does not mention a specific addressee, thus applying to everyone. Of great interest are the provisions that deal with the peace process. On the one hand, the text urges the parties to resume their negotiations. It even calls upon “all parties [whoever that may be]…to exert collective efforts to launch credible negotiations…” (para. 8). The negotiations are to deal with “final status issues” – a term used in the Oslo Agreements of 1993 and 19951 – and include Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, security arrangements, borders, relations and cooperation with other neighbors, and other issues of “common interest.”2 The parties should be inspired by the “Quartet Roadmap”3 (the U.S., Russia, the UN and the EU) and by the Arab Peace Initiative.4 The resolution itself does not indicate a time-limit for the negotiations, but it refers to the time frame included in the Statement of the Quartet of September 21, 2010: the negotiations “can resolve all final status issues within one year.”5 The freedom of choice of the negotiators is, however, rather limited since the Security Council has established certain principles for the future settlement: The solution of the two-state system; and the border between Israel and Palestine should be the June 4, 1967 line, except for changes agreed upon by the parties. These principles raise some important questions. Security Council Resolution 242(1967), which has been the “building block” of all treaties of peace and other peaceful agreements between Israel and her neighbors since 1967, speaks of “withdrawal Some Reflections on Security Council Resolution 2334(2016) that Condemned Israel S Ruth Lapidoth The author wishes to express her thanks to Dr. Ofra Friesel and to Tomer Treger, LL.B. 1. Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, 1993; Israeli-Palestinian InterimAgreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 1995. 2. The Declaration of Principles, supra note 1, art. V. 3. Summary in text below. 4. Summary in text below. 5. Quartet Statement, Sept. 21, 2010, available at http://www. un.org/News/dh/infocus/middle_east/quartet-21sep2010. htm (last visited April 24, 2017).
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