UNGA backs Palestinian bid for membership
Iran denounces US for choosing to blind eyes to reality
The UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly to back the Palestinian bid for full UN membership, a move that reflects growing global solidarity with Palestinians and a rebuke to Israel and the United States amid alarm over the war in Gaza and the extent of the humanitarian crisis in the territory.
The assembly voted by 143 to nine, with 25 abstentions, for a resolution that called on the UN Security Council to bestow full membership to the state of Palestine, while enhancing its current mission with a range of new rights and privileges, in addition to what it is allowed in its current observer status.
The highly charged gesture drew an immediate rebuke from Israel. Its envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, delivered a fiery denunciation of the resolution and its backers before the vote.
“Today, I will hold up a mirror for you,” Erdan said, taking out a small paper shredder in which he shredded a copy of the cover of the UN charter. He told the assembly: “You are shredding the UN charter with your own hands. Yes, yes, that’s what you’re doing. Shredding the UN charter. Shame on you.”
The Palestinian envoy, Riyad Mansour, pointed out the vote was being held at a time when Rafah, the southernmost city that is the last haven for many Palestinians in Gaza, faced attack from Israeli forces.
“As we speak, 1.4 million Palestinians in Rafah wonder if they will survive the day and wonder where to go next. There is nowhere left to go,” Mansour said. “I have stood hundreds of times before at this podium, often in tragic circumstances, but none comparable to the ones my people endured today … never for a more significant vote than the one about to take place, a historic one.”
The US mission to the UN, which voted against the resolution, said it would use its veto again if the question of Palestinian membership returned to the security council for another vote.
The resolution does not mean a Palestinian state will be recognized and admitted to the United Nations as a full member anytime soon. The Assembly can only grant full membership with the approval of the Security Council, and, if history is a guide, the United States would almost inevitably wield its veto power to kill such a measure, as it did in April.
Iran’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani lashed out at the US, as a staunch supporter of the Israeli regime, for choosing once more to blind its eyes to this reality and make cynical efforts to hinder the realization of the noble aspiration of the Palestinian people for full membership.
“However, today’s vote shows how the United States is isolated in its unconditional support of the Israeli regime,” Iravani said.