The UN’s illegal occupation of Jerusalem
I call upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restore our dignity and self-respect by ejecting the U.N. from Government House.
June 5, 2024, marked the 57th anniversary of the U.N.’s occupation of Government House in Jerusalem.
Before the termination of the British Mandate in 1948, the Government House complex, deliberately erected by the British in the 1930s on the commanding heights of the southern Jerusalem ridge overlooking the Old City, was a symbol of British rule.
Between 1949 and 1967 this area complex was acknowledged as a no-man’s-land per the Israel-Jordan armistice of April 1949. On June 5, 1967, at 10:45 am, the Jordanian army opened fire on Jewish Jerusalem despite then-Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol’s attempt through the offices of the U.N. to persuade Jordan not to become involved in the hostilities.
The Jordanians subsequently captured Jebel Mukhaber and by 2:10 pm had seized Government House. In the battle to retake the complex from this illegal occupation, the IDF lost 21 soldiers—testified to by the memorial plaque on the Hass Promenade.
Having pushed out the Jordanians at great cost in lives, the Israeli government procrastinated—as shown in documents found in the State Archives—as to what should happen to the complex. The government failed to show its mettle and disregarded that the complex had been the prestigious headquarters of the Mandate. It should have been incorporated into Jerusalem to serve as the official residence of the president of Israel like the White House in Washington, the Élysée Palace in Paris or the Kremlin in Moscow.
Unfortunately, the Israeli government retained the galut mentality of cowering before the nations of the world instead of exhibiting self-confidence and pride. Were they afraid of offending the King of Jordan or the defeated Arab states? Or were they kowtowing to the “great” powers?
The U.N. was immediately permitted to reoccupy the complex without negotiations, lease or any other quasi-legal conditions.
Over the past 57 years, the U.N. has made substantial modifications to both the internal and exterior structures of Government House, illegally extending its boundaries by seizing adjacent land. All this took place under the watchful eyes of the government and the Jerusalem Municipality, both of which did nothing to restrain the U.N. through national or local planning legislation—for 57 years, they acted unilaterally.
Additionally, the U.N. does not pay Jerusalem municipal taxes or reimburse the suppliers of vital infrastructure utilities like electricity, water and telephone communications. It also occupies the adjacent Antenna Hill to the southeast.
Given that Israel has signed peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt and the U.N.’s force in Lebanon UNIFIL has not ensured that Security Council Resolution 1701 that restricts Hezbollah activities in Lebanon is enforced, there can be no reasonable grounds for the U.N. and its agencies to occupy Government House. They can move lock, stock and barrel to northern Israel where they will be on the spot.
Furthermore, the Housing Minister recently declared that the UNWRA complex in Ma’alot Dafna is illegal and is taking steps such as fines and requiring the payment of retroactive rent.
Given the attitude of the U.N., its secretary-general and its staff—as well as the General Assembly and Security Council—towards Israel and the Jewish people, we must stand firm against the U.N. and openly show our supreme sovereignty by regaining full control over the Government House complex and adjacent areas.
I call upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restore our dignity and self-respect by ejecting the U.N. from Government House and designating the complex the official legal residence of the president of Israel.
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