The United States blocks full Palestinian membership in the UN

The United States put an end to the Palestinians' dream of full membership on Thursday. the UN, unsurprisingly vetoing the Security Council. &agrav; a claim hated by their ally Israeli, in the middle of the war 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.

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”, declared the Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour. ~60. ~/p>

“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”.

US veto of full Palestinian membership in the UN © AFP – Corin FAIFE

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 Arab group to present this request again later. “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 by a permanent member), then be approved by the General Assembly, by a two-thirds majority.

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 the deputy American ambassador Robert Wood, regretting “premature actions here in New York, even with the best intentions”.

The United States also highlighted American legislation which 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.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan during a meeting of the UN Security Council, April 18, 2024 in New York © AFP – ANGELA WEISS

The last veto of a state's membership in the UN dates back to 1976, when the Americans blocked entry into Vietnam.

The Israelis also virulently denounced the Palestinian initiative, castigating 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 had supported it.

“Talking to this Council is like speaking 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 193 UN member states (137 according to the Palestinian Authority's count) unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.

In this context, the secretary general of the UN Antonio Guterres painted a frightening picture before the Security Council of the situation in the Middle East “on the edge of the precipice”.

“A miscalculation, a miscommunication, a mistake, could lead to the unthinkable, a widespread regional conflict which would be devastating for all those concerned, and for the rest of the world”, he said. -he alerted.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a meeting of the UN Security Council on April 18, 2024 in New York © AFP – ANGELA WEISS

As for Gaza, “six and a half months of Israeli military operations have created humanitarian hell,” he lamented.

The war was triggered by the attack carried out on October 7 against Israel by Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza, which led to the death of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report established using data Israeli officials.

Israeli retaliatory operations in the Gaza Strip left 33,970 dead, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

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