US vetoes bid for Palestine’s full membership status at UNSC

The United States vetoed a decision to award Palestine full membership status in the United Nations, in a meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday, Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent reported. 

Washington lobbied several nations to vote against the proposal, this past week, however, its efforts failed to produce the sought-after results, as 12 nations in the UNSC voted for awarding Palestine full membership status. 

Two other nations abstained from voting, including Switzerland and the United Kingdom, leaving the US stranded with only no vote in the UNSC. Being a permanent member of the UNSC, a US no-vote would nullify any proposal, even if it had garnered the full backing of all other members. France’s representative in the UN said that the country backed the proposal after it was reported that Paris abstained from voting. 

Palestinian Authority slams US “aggression”

The Palestinian Authority (PA) whose delegates represent the State of Palestine in the international body slammed the US veto on Thursday. The Palestinian Presidency said that Washington’s use of the veto power is “unfair, immoral, and unjustified.”

The PA called the US’s actions an “aggression” that pushes the region towards an “abyss”.

The US veto “represents a blatant aggression against international law and an encouragement to the pursuit of the genocidal war against our people… which pushes the region ever further to the edge of the abyss”, the Presidency said in a statement.

It is worth noting that Palestine has long fought for full membership status in the United Nations, which would award it internationally-recognized sovereignty over Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories in 1967 and the Gaza Strip. 

On Wednesday, The Intercept reported that the US State Department lobbied other nations in the past week to vote against the proposal, in order to avoid embarrassment. The plot was unveiled in a series of leaked cables issued by President Joe Biden’s State Department, highlighting the US’s hypocrisy, as it worked behind closed doors to hinder the Palestinian people’s right to statehood, while publicly advocating for it. 

Read more: US lobbied states to vote against Palestine’s membership bid: Leaks

UNSC members denounce US actions

Algeria’s representative said that the failure to award Palestine full UN membership status will be a permanent stain on the international body.

The draft resolution was originally introduced by Algeria and “recommends to the General Assembly that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations.”

On his part Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia said that Washington’s use of its veto power was a hopeless attempt to change the course of history.

“Today’s use of the veto by the US delegation is a hopeless attempt to stop the inevitable course of history. The results of the vote, where Washington was practically in complete isolation, speak for themselves,” Nebenzia said after the vote.

Nonetheless, Nebenzia said that history will not forgive the United States for its actions. 

Read more: Slovenia vows to back Palestine UN Membership in vote next week