US vetoes Palestinian request for full UN membership

(In spite of all their efforts (revealed by The Intercept) to convince the other 14 nations to vote against Palestinian statehood, not a single one of them did, with only two abstaining. Do not misunderstand... months ago Biden's people penned an Op-Ed for WSJ in which they made it clear that they knew Palestine would end up being recognized as a state after all of this. They still understand that. This is all about the current administration not wanting to weaken Israel's position in negotiating what parts of Palestine they get to keep when they finally have to admit defeat.)

from PressTV

The United States has predictably cast its veto against a bid by the Palestinian Authority (PA) for Palestine to be recognized as a full member of the United Nations.

The US, the Israeli regime’s biggest ally, blocked a relevant draft resolution that had been put to vote at the 15-member UN Security Council on Thursday.

Britain and Switzerland abstained, while the remaining 12 Council members voted yes.

"…The draft resolution has not been adopted owing to the negative vote of a permanent member of the Council,” said Vanessa Frazier, permanent representative of Malta, the Council’s rotating president.

Palestine is currently a non-member observer state. An application to become a full UN member needs to be approved by the Security Council and then at least two-thirds of the UN General Assembly.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the US “once again demonstrated what they really think of the Palestinians.” “For Washington, they do not deserve to have their own State. They are only a barrier on the path towards realizing the interests of Israel,” he said.

Citing “unclassified US State Department cables,” The Intercept, an online American news organization, reported on Wednesday that Washington was secretly pushing members of the Council into rejecting Palestine’s bid.

“We…urge you not to support any potential Security Council resolution recommending the admission of ‘Palestine’ as a UN member state, should such a resolution be presented to the Security Council for a decision in the coming days and weeks,” one cable read...

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