As the situation flares up in the Middle East with an Israeli response in Iran, the United States put an end, this Thursday, April 18, to the Palestinians’ dream of full membership in the UN…. They unsurprisingly vetoed in the Security Council a demand hated by their Israeli ally, in the midst of the war in Gaza.
For several weeks, the Palestinians, who have had the lower status of “non-member observer state” since 2012, as well as the Arab countries, have implored the Council to accept that a “Palestinian state” already recognized by the majority of capitals takes its “legitimate” place within the United Nations. In vain. The United States, which did everything to delay the vote, did not hesitate to use its right of veto which it regularly uses to protect its Israeli ally.
US veto of full Palestinian membership in the UN
© / afp.com/Corin FAIFE
Critics of the Palestinian Authority
A decision immediately denounced by the Palestinian Authority seeing it as a “blatant aggression” which pushes the Middle East “to the brink of the abyss”. This rejection “will not break our will, will not stop our determination. We will not stop our efforts. The State of Palestine is inevitable, it is real”, for his part said in tears the Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyadh Mansour.
“Do not forget that when this session is adjourned, innocent people in Palestine will continue to pay with their lives and the lives of their children the price of Israeli actions, (…), the price of delaying justice , freedom and peace”, he lamented during a speech which provoked tears in the Council room. The draft resolution presented by Algeria which recommended Palestinian membership received 12 votes for, 1 against and 2 abstentions (United Kingdom and Switzerland).
Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip, also condemned the American veto, assuring that the Palestinian people would continue “their struggle until the establishment (…) of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem for capital”.
The American position does not change
But despite the American veto, the “overwhelming” support of Council members “sends a very clear message: the State of Palestine deserves its place” at the UN, launched Algerian Ambassador Amar Bendjama, promising on behalf of the group Arab to present this request again at a later date. “Yes, we will come back, stronger and noisier.”
The admission of a State to the UN must receive a positive recommendation from the Council (at least 9 votes out of 15 in favor, without veto from a permanent member), then be approved by the General Assembly, by a majority of votes. two-thirds.
The United States has repeatedly repeated that its position “has not changed” since 2011, when the application for membership presented by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas fizzled out before even reaching the Council stage.
“Premature actions”
“This vote does not reflect opposition to a Palestinian state, but is a recognition that it can only arise from direct negotiations between the parties,” justified Deputy American Ambassador Robert Wood, regretting “premature actions here in New York, even with the best intentions.”
The United States also highlighted American legislation that would require it to cut its funding to the UN in the event of Palestinian membership outside of such a bilateral agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The last veto of a state’s membership in the UN dates from 1976, when the Americans blocked entry into Vietnam.
The Israelis also virulently denounced the Palestinian initiative, criticizing the simple fact that the Council was examining it. And its rejection did not satisfy them, their ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan denouncing the countries which supported it. “Talking to this Council is like talking to a wall,” he said, believing that these favorable voices would encourage the Palestinians not to return to the negotiating table and “make peace almost impossible”.
The Israeli government opposes the two-state solution, defended by a large majority of the international community, including the United States. And the majority of the 193 member states of the UN (137 according to the Palestinian Authority’s count) unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.