(United Nations) The UN Security Council decides Thursday on the Palestinians’ request for full membership in the United Nations, an approach doomed to failure at the moment in Gaza is transformed into “humanitarian hell”.
“Granting Palestine full membership in the United Nations would alleviate some of the historical injustice suffered by generations of Palestinians,” Ziad Abu Amr, a senior Palestinian Authority official, pleaded before the Council on Thursday, pointing the United States which did everything to delay the vote.
“There will be no security as long as Israel’s unjust power continues to deny the humanity of the Palestinian people, their right to life, liberty, dignity, security, and statehood.” , added Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
The very short draft resolution presented by Algeria, which represents Arab countries on the Council, “recommends to the General Assembly that the State of Palestine be admitted as a member of the United Nations.”
The admission of a state to the UN must first receive a positive recommendation from the Council (at least 9 votes out of 15 in favor, without veto from a permanent member), then be approved by the General Assembly, at a two-thirds majority.
But the United States, which does not hesitate to use its right of veto, in particular to protect Israel, does not hide its hostility towards the initiative of the Palestinians, who since 2012 have had the inferior status of “non-state observer member”.
“I think a US veto is absolutely certain,” said Richard Gowan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, anticipating abstention by the United Kingdom, and perhaps Japan and South Korea.
The United States has continued to repeat in recent weeks that its position “has not changed” since 2011, when the membership request presented by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas fell through in the face of American opposition. .
They believe that the UN is not the place for the recognition of a Palestinian state, which according to them should be the result of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. They also emphasize that American legislation would require them to cut their funding to the UN in the event of Palestinian accession outside of such a bilateral agreement.
The last veto of a state’s membership in the UN dates back to 1976, when the Americans blocked entry into Vietnam.
“On the edge of the precipice”
PHOTO ANGELA WEISS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
“The Middle East is on the precipice. The past few days have seen a dangerous escalation, through words and actions,” said Antonio Guterres.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, for his part, once again criticized the simple fact that the Council is examining the Palestinian request, which he deemed “immoral”.
“A peaceful state, what a joke!” “, he said, in reference to the UN Charter which stipulates that one of the conditions of membership is to be a “peaceful” state.
The Israeli government opposes the two-state solution, supported by a large majority of the international community, including the United States.
And the majority of the UN’s 193 member states (137 by the Palestinian Authority’s count) unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
In this context, the UN Secretary General painted a frightening picture of the situation in the Middle East before the Security Council.
The Middle East is on the precipice. The past few days have seen a dangerous escalation, through words and actions.
Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN
“A miscalculation, a bad communication, a mistake, could lead to the unthinkable, a widespread regional conflict which would be devastating for all those concerned, and for the rest of the world,” launched the Secretary General, repeating his condemnation in particular of Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel last weekend.
“It is high time to put an end to the bloody cycle of reprisals,” he pleaded, calling to “move the region away from the precipice”.
“Starting with Gaza” where “six and a half months of Israeli military operations have created a humanitarian hell,” he lamented, describing two million Palestinians enduring “death, destruction, denial of humanitarian aid vital.”
The war was triggered by the attack on Israel on October 7 by Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza, which resulted in the death of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on data. Israeli officials.
Israeli retaliatory operations in the Gaza Strip left 33,970 dead, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
reference: www.lapresse.ca