The US recently exercised its veto power to reject Palestine’s bid for full membership of the United Nations (UN). The UN Security Council had deliberated on a resolution presented by Algeria aiming to elevate Palestine to full member status – the resolution received the necessary backing from 12 members, significantly more than the required nine votes. However, with the US veto, the effort was stalled. Among the 15 Security Council members, two, namely the UK and Switzerland, abstained from voting.
Palestine holds the status of a Permanent Observer State at the UN since 2012. This status enables participation in all UN proceedings; however, it does not grant the power to vote on draft resolutions or decisions. Palestine has been vying for UN membership since its application submission in 2011.
As per the UN’s charter, member nations are required to be “peace-loving states that accept the obligations” of the charter. For full membership, the applicant state’s bid must attain approval from at least nine Security Council members with zero vetoes and then, a two-thirds vote in favor by the General Assembly. Over 100 states have secured UN membership following this procedure.
The US justified its veto on the grounds that admitting Palestine would risk the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and hence, the two-state solution. The US further emphasized that the path to statehood for Palestinian people was through direct negotiations, not unilateral recognition at the UN.
Conversely, Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s representative at the UN, intimated that full membership would reinstill the lost hope among Palestinians, paving the way for realizing the two-state solution. Following the US veto, Mansour held firm to his resolve, staunchly expressing that the establishment of the State of Palestine was inevitable.
Israel communicated its approval of the US veto. Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, thanked President Biden via a social media post, describing the US veto as a preventative measure against the establishment of a “Palestinian terrorist state.”
These developments follow close on the heels of the Security Council’s recent resolution favoring a ceasefire in Gaza, a measure which saw the US abstain. The dispute continues to escalate with both sides disregarding ceasefire resolutions while the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens.
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