Pengumuman U.S. to Veto Palestinians to Seek UN Membership
U.S. to Veto Palestinians to Seek UN Membership
The Obama administration has announced for the first time publicly that it will veto any bid by the Palestinians to seek statehood recognition at the United Nations (UN) later this month.
On Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had said that it was "too late" for American and other international powers to prevent Palestinians from applying for membership at the UN.
Although all these while President Barack Obama's policy has been to oppose a unilateral attempt by the Palestinians to seek statehood, his administration said for the first time that it would use its veto power on the U.N. Security Council, Politico reports.
Washington is of the opinion that Palestinian statehood should only come as a result of direct negotiations with Israel.
"To be frank with you, they came too late. They have "wasted all the time" since the beginning of the year, and had not produced any concrete proposals, Abbas said on Thursday.
The Palestinian government plans to ask the Security Council for a vote on full membership status on September 19. If, as now looks certain, the U.S. vetoes the bid, the Palestinians may ask for recognition from the General Assembly, where the vast majority of countries are believed to back statehood, the report said.
The Israeli government, which despite key personal conflicts with the Obama administration remains a crucial ally in the region, also opposes the unilateral declaration of statehood. Israel has proposed a return to the negotiation table without preconditions, an idea that the Palestinians have declined to pursue.
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