(NewsWorthy.news) – The United States vetoed a widely supported United Nations resolution that would have set in motion a complete U.N. membership for Palestine. In the vote on April 18, 12 out of 15 member states represented on the Security Council voted in favor of allowing the state’s membership.
The U.S. opposed the membership and two countries – Switzerland and the United Kingdom – abstained. Had it not been vetoed, the resolution would have recommended that the General Assembly, which has 193 members, approve Palestine’s U.N. membership. As 140 countries recognize the state of Palestine the admission of the state as the U.N.’s 194th member would have been approved without U.S. opposition.
The second attempt by Palestine at becoming a full member of the U.N. comes as the war in Gaza is in its seventh month. U.S. deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel made it abundantly clear that “premature actions” in New York regardless of how good the intentions are will not achieve statehood for Palestine. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas previously applied for Palestine’s U.N. membership in 2011. The vote failed because Palestine did not get the required minimum backing of nine Security Council members. In 2012 Palestine’s status was raised from that of a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state after successfully getting a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly to vote it through.
Algerian U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama, who introduced the resolution, said peace can only come with the inclusion of Palestine in the U.N., and that the resolution would rectify a longstanding injustice. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood defended the U.S. veto by saying there were still unresolved questions over whether Palestine could be considered a state. Wood highlighted the power exerted by Hamas, still recognized as a terrorist group by the U.S., in the Gaza strip as a cause for concern.
Abbas has threatened to sever ties with the U.S. in response to the White House’s opposition to the state’s U.N. membership. Abbas reportedly commented that America continues to support Israel’s occupation of Gaza while refusing to press Israel to stop its “genocidal war”. He slated the White House for threatening security and stability in the Middle East and for arming and funding the Israeli regime. Israel’s foreign minister praised the U.S. veto, saying that “terrorism will not be rewarded.”
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