U.S. Stops UN from Recognizing a Palestinian State Through Membership
Editor
19 April 2024 13:23 WIB
"We believe that such recognition of Palestinian statehood should not come at the start of a new process, but it doesn't have to be at the very end of the process. We must start with fixing the immediate crisis in Gaza," Britain's U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told the council.
The U.N. Security Council has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in 1967.
Algeria's U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama argued before the vote that admitting Palestinians to the United Nations would strengthen rather than undermine the two-state solution, adding: "Peace will come from Palestine's inclusion, not from its exclusion."
The Palestinian Authority, headed by Abbas, exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank. Hamas ousted the Palestinian Authority from power in Gaza in 2007.
Hamas condemned the U.S. stance in a statement and called on the international community to "support the struggle of our Palestinian people and their legitimate right to determine their destiny."
Israel is retaliating against Hamas in Gaza over an Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel led by the militant group.
Israel says about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people were taken hostage in the assault, and Gaza health authorities say Israel has killed nearly 34,000 people in its offensive in Gaza since then.
"Failure to make progress towards a two-state solution will only increase volatility and risk for hundreds of millions of people across the region, who will continue to live under the constant threat of violence," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the council earlier on Thursday.
REUTERS
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