(United Nations) The United States put an end to the Palestinians’ dream of full membership in the UN on Thursday, unsurprisingly vetoing in the Security Council a demand hated by their Israeli ally, in the midst of war in the Gaza strip.
What there is to know
The Palestinians have been trying for several weeks to obtain from the United Nations Security Council that a “Palestinian state” take its “legitimate” place within the UN.
On Thursday, the United States, a permanent member of the Security Council, used its veto to put an end to these Palestinian aspirations.
“We will not stop our efforts. The State of Palestine is inevitable, it is real,” the Palestinian ambassador to the UN responded in tears.
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, which saw 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 dampen our determination. We will not stop our efforts. The State of Palestine is inevitable, it is real,” said the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, in tears.
PHOTO EDUARDO MUÑOZ, REUTERS
Riyad Mansour, Palestinian ambassador to the UN
Remember that when this session is adjourned, innocent people in Palestine will continue to pay with their lives and the lives of their children for the price of Israeli actions. […]the price of delaying justice, freedom and peace.
Riyad Mansour, Palestinian ambassador to the UN
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 as its capital.”
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 two-thirds.
The United States has repeatedly reiterated that its position “has not changed” since 2011, when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ application for membership fell through before it even reached 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 of the United States ambassador to the UN, 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 back to 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.
PHOTO EDUARDO MUÑOZ, REUTERS
Gilad Erdan, Israeli ambassador to the UN
“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”.
“A humanitarian hell”
The Israeli government opposes the two-state solution, supported by a large majority of the international community, including the United States.
And the majority of the UN’s 193 member states (137 by the Palestinian Authority’s count) unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
In this context, UN Secretary General António Guterres painted a frightening picture of the situation in the Middle East “on the brink of the precipice” before the Security Council.
PHOTO ANGELA WEISS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Antonio Guterres. secretary general of the UN
A miscalculation, a miscommunication, a mistake, could lead to the unthinkable, a widespread regional conflict that would be devastating for all those concerned, and for the rest of the world.
Antonio Guterres. secretary general of the UN
As for the Gaza Strip, “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, which resulted in the death of 1,170 people, the majority civilians, according to an AFP report established from official Israeli data.
Israeli retaliatory operations in the Gaza Strip left 33,970 dead, mainly civilians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.