U.S. VETOES PROPOSAL TO GIVE PALESTINIANS FULL UN MEMBERSHIP, 12 OF 15 MEMBER COUNTRIES VOTE IN FAVOR

U.S. Vetoes Proposal to Give Palestinians Full UN Membership, 12 of 15 Member Countries Vote in Favor

Britain and Switzerland abstained in the vote, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Washington's veto as 'unfair, unethical, and unjustified'

April 19th, 00AM April 19th, 03AM

The United States on Thursday effectively stopped the United Nations from recognizing a Palestinian state by casting a veto in the Security Council to deny Palestinians full membership of the world body.

It vetoed a draft resolution that recommended to the 193-member UN General Assembly that "the State of Palestine be admitted to membership" of the UN. Britain and Switzerland abstained, while the remaining 12 council members voted yes. U.S. allies France, Japan, and South Korea supported the resolution.

"The United States continues to strongly support a two-state solution. This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgment that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties," Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the council.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the U.S. veto as "unfair, unethical, and unjustified," saying in a statement that it challenged "the will of the international community, which strongly supports Palestine's full membership."

His voice breaking at times, Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour told the council after the vote: "The fact that this resolution did not pass will not break our will and it will not defeat our determination."

"We will not stop in our effort," he said. "The state of Palestine is inevitable. It is real. Perhaps they see it as far away, but we see it as near."

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz commended the United States for casting a veto, adding: "The shameful proposal was rejected. Terrorism will not be rewarded."

The Palestinians are currently a non-member observer state, a de facto recognition of statehood that was granted by the UN General Assembly in 2012. But an application to become a full UN member needs to be approved by the Security Council and then at least two-thirds of the General Assembly.

"We believe that such recognition of Palestinian statehood should not come at the start of a new process, but it doesn't have to be at the very end of the process. We must start with fixing the immediate crisis in Gaza," Britain's UN Ambassador Barbard Woodward told the council.

'Peace from inclusion'

Algeria's UN Ambassador Amar Bendjama argued before the vote that admitting Palestinians to the United Nations would strengthen rather than undermine the two-state solution, adding: "Peace will come from Palestine's inclusion, not from its exclusion."

"Recent escalations make it even more important to support good-faith efforts to find lasting peace between Israel and a fully independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian state," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council earlier on Thursday.

"Failure to make progress towards a two-State solution will only increase volatility and risk for hundreds of millions of people across the region, who will continue to live under the constant threat of violence," he said.

2024-04-18T21:39:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd