Kenya was among 21 countries that failed to participate in the UN General Assembly emergency meeting on December 21. The assembly overwhelmingly voted in favour of a resolution supporting the longstanding international consensus on the status of Jerusalem.
A total of 128 members voted in favour of the resolution, dealing a diplomatic blow to US President Donald Trump, who took an unprecedented unilateral decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in utter contravention of international law.
Only nine countries, including the US and Israel, voted against the resolution. Thirty-five countries abstained, while 21, including Kenya, chose to stay away. The status of Jerusalem is not only a sensitive issue for Palestinians, but also the 1.6 billion global Muslim population, as the city is home to Islam’s third most sacred site, the Al Aqsa mosque.
It could be argued that Kenya chose to take a cautionary position in the face of threats from the Trump administration to cut off aid to countries that supported the resolution. However, a vast majority of African countries refused to succumb to the intimidation and voted overwhelmingly to support the Palestinian cause.
While Kenya has maintained diplomatic relations with Israel, the government has also supported the aspirations of the people of Palestine to have their own independent state.
Kenya was among the forememost countries to publicly recognise the Palestinian quest for full statehood. In the early 1980s, the Yassir Arafat-led Palestine Liberation Organisation was allowed to maintain a representative office in Nairobi with diplomatic status. Kenya also recognised the Palestinian Authority, which has an ambassador accredited to Nairobi.
During an African-Arab summit in Kuwait in 2013, President Uhuru Kenyatta told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that his government was considering a request by Palestine to establish an embassy in Nairobi. He said he will continue to support the aspiration of the people of Palestine to have their state.
Until the vote on December 21, Kenya has consistently voted in favour of resolutions supporting Palestine at the UNGA. The no-show could signal a policy shift that Kenya might be abandoning its longstanding policy to support the quest of the people of Palestine to attain statehood.
Of recent, Uhuru has appeared to be moving closer to Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting Kenya twice during Uhuru’s presidency.
The Netanyahu-led Likud government is seen as the most hardline government in Israel’s history and has been vague on its commitment to a peaceful settlement of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Despite condemnation from the UN and the international community, it continues to build illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian lands, grossly undermining the peace process.
Israeli Foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, who has been the face of extremism in the Likud government and has consistently advocated the expulsion of Israeli Arab and Palestinians in the occupied lands, has also been a welcome guest in Nairobi.
Muslim leaders have expressed their concern over Uhuru’s dalliance with Israel and called on the government not to entrench ties with Israel before it changes its policies against Palestinians. They said the increasing ties amount to endorsing Israel’s oppressive policies against Palestinians and occupation of Muslim sacred sites.
In an indicator that the no-show at the UNGA did not go down well with Muslims, former Mandera Senator Billow Kerrow described Kenya’s move as a “shame”. Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga termed it a letdown, while on social media, the government was condemned for ignoring the concerns of Muslims as far as Jerusalem is concerned.
The telltale signs indicate a policy change in Kenya’s support towards Palestinians. But with growing condemnation by the international community towards Israel’s oppressive policies, it is imperative that Uhuru’s administration takes a firm stand for justice in the quest to achieve human dignity for the oppressed Palestinians.