Wednesday, February 03, 2021
Elder of Ziyon
On Monday, Israel and Kosovo formally established diplomatic ties. At that time, Kosovo recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and formally requested to open an embassy there.
This is especially significant because Kosovo is a Muslim-majority state and it is European.
Since then, there has been almost no reaction from Israel's usual critics. The hysterical condemnations that followed the UAE and Bahrain announcements are nowhere to be seen today.
The Palestinian Authority did not issue a statement.
The Arab League remained silent.
Some Arab newspapers published wire service versions of the story, with no comment for or against.
The UN refused to condemn the decision when it first was announced in September - even though it is in direct violation of UN Security Council resolution 478 (1980).
The only negative reactions came from Hamas - and the EU.
On Wednesday, Hamas condemned the recognition of Israel and Jerusalem as its capital, saying that it was a violation of international resolutions and humanitarian covenants.
On Tuesday, the European Commission spokesperson on foreign affairs, Peter Stano, said, “This is a regrettable decision […] because this decision is diverging Kosovo from the EU position on Jerusalem.”
The EU foreign service issued a veiled threat against Kosovo, saying, "Kosovo has identified EU integration as its strategic priority. The EU expects Kosovo to act in line with this commitment so that its European perspective is not undermined."
Except for Turkey, no one else expressed any opposition to the Jerusalem announcement. The new Biden administration didn't comment on the Jerusalem part, but it welcomed the agreement, with a tweet from the State Department spokesperson congratulating Israel and Kosovo.
This lack of reaction to the embassy announcement is in itself a big deal. Arab opponents of Israel have realized over the past year that their screaming is not only ineffective, but counterproductive - they can no longer force the UN to issue condemnations whenever they want. They would rather not take a position on Kosovo than show how impotent they are.
It is that impotence that is forcing them to be silent. They cannot get the Arab League to do what they want. They cannot shame a Muslim state to do what they want. They cannot even force Arab states to do what they want.
The only allies the haters of Israel have left is the EU.
