The United States exercised its veto power on Thursday to block a United Nations Security Council resolution seeking to grant full member status to the Palestinian Authority (PA).
“President Biden has been clear that a sustainable peace in the region can only be achieved through a two-state solution with mutual agreement,” US deputy ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the council after the vote.
“There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and future as a democratic Jewish state. There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live in peace and with dignity in a state of their own,” he said.
The UN resolution gained support from 12 countries, including Russia, Japan, France, and China, with the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstaining.
Wood also called into question whether the PA meets the criteria to be considered a “State of Palestine,”citing “unresolved questions” and Hamas’s continued power and influence in the Gaza Strip, a crucial part of the state envisioned by the Arabs. He also emphasized the US commitment to a two-state solution as the “only path” for security and peace between Israelis and Arabs, and called on all Middle-East countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish State.
In a statement following the vote, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas called the US veto “unfair, unethical, and unjustified,” adding that it challenged “the will of the international community, which strongly supports Palestine’s full membership.”
