The United States blocked the U.N. Security Council on Thursday from moving forward on a Palestinian bid to be recognized as a full member state at the United Nations, sparking controversy and debate among member states.
The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, had described the bid for full-member status as an effort “to take our rightful place among the community of nations.” However, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, denounced the resolution as a “prize for terror,” stating that the U.N. is now committed to “multiterrorism.”
The vote saw 12 members in favor of the resolution, with the United States being the sole opposing vote and two abstentions. The Security Council has consistently called for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but negotiations between the two sides have failed to materialize.
In response to the resolution, a spokesman for the State Department, Vedant Patel, stated that the most expeditious path toward statehood for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with the support of the United States and other partners.
The resolution had asked the Security Council to recommend to the U.N. General Assembly that “the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations.” However, the United States, along with the other permanent members of the Council, can veto any action before it, and on Thursday, the U.S. wielded that veto.
The Palestinian Authority has been seeking a state made up of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip for decades, but little progress has been made on achieving statehood. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has been further complicated by the involvement of militant groups like Hamas and external actors like Iran.
The rejection of the statehood resolution by the United States has once again highlighted the deep-rooted complexities and challenges in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, leaving the path to peace and statehood uncertain.
