ISTANBUL: Palestine strongly condemned a decision by the United States (US) to veto a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution Thursday demanding Palestine’s full membership in the United Nations.
In a statement, the Palestinian Presidency called the move ‘’unfair, unethical and unjustifiable, challenging the will of the international community”, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
It emphasised that this aggressive American policy towards Palestine, its people and their legitimate rights constitutes a blatant violation of international law.
It also noted that the US veto encourages the continuation of Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
The Presidency underscored that the veto exposes the contradictions in US policy, which claims to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while preventing the international community from implementing this solution through its repeated use of the veto.
The 15-member UN Security Council gathered in New York to vote on a draft resolution authored by Algeria recommending the admission of the State of Palestine for UN membership.
The membership was blocked with a vote of 12 in favor and two abstentions, including the United Kingdom (UK) and Switzerland.
Palestine was accepted as an observer state of the UN General Assembly in 2012, allowing its envoy to participate in debates and UN organisations but without a vote.
States are admitted to membership in the UN by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council, according to the UN Charter.
A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the permanent members -- US, Britain, France, Russia or China -- to pass.
Palestine’s application for full UN membership comes amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct 7 cross-border attack, which has killed nearly 34,000 Palestinians. - Bernama, Anadolu
