The United States “vetoed” an Algerian draft resolution recommending that the General Assembly admit the State of Palestine to membership in the United Nations.
Twelve of the fifteen members of the Council voted in favor, with the United States opposed and the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstaining.
Ahead of the vote, Algerian Ambassador Ammar Ben Jammeh said that accepting full membership for Palestine was a crucial step “towards correcting a long-standing injustice, and this is the least that can be done to fulfill the debt we owe to its people and will be a clear signal that the international community stands by Palestine.”
Bin Jammeh stressed that Palestine’s admission to the United Nations would strengthen and not undermine the two-state solution, “which the occupation authorities continue to stand against publicly and will constitute a rejection of their attempt to erase the Palestinian people and destroy the Palestinian state and all prospects for peace.”
Following the vote, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said that after the US vetoed it “for the fifth time” since the beginning of the escalation in Gaza, “the Americans have once again shown what they really believe in the Palestinians, for Washington, they (the Palestinian people) do not deserve to have a state of their own, they are just an obstacle in the way of achieving Israel’s interests.”
“Washington itself will be permanently removed from the list of peace-loving and respected countries, having shared full responsibility with its Israeli allies for the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians,” Nebenzia said.
In turn, the Palestinian presidency condemned in the strongest terms the use of the United States veto, saying in a statement: “The American veto is dishonest, immoral and unjustified, and defies the will of the international community, which strongly supports the State of Palestine obtaining full membership in the United Nations.”
The Presidency stressed that “this aggressive US policy towards Palestine, its people and its legitimate rights represents a flagrant aggression against international law and encourages the continuation of the Israeli war of genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.”
On April 2, Palestine sent an official letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, requesting a reconsideration of its 2011 application to join the UN.
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