The United States has announced its opposition to Palestine’s entry as a full member of the United Nations during the upcoming vote in the UN Security Council. Instead, the US has emphasized that the best way to establish a Palestinian state is through direct negotiations with Israel. The deputy spokesman for the United States Department of State, Vedant Patel, stated that premature actions, even with good intentions, will not succeed in establishing a state for the Palestinian people.
According to Patel, the quickest path to creating a state for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with support from the US and other partners who share this goal. The US has urged the Palestinian Authority to take the necessary steps to prepare for the formation of a state, including incorporating Gaza, currently under Hamas control, as an integral part of the state described in the resolution.
Patel also noted that there is not agreement among members of the Admission Commission regarding the proposal to submit to the Security Council. He emphasized that there are questions about whether Palestine meets the criteria to be considered a state. The resolution needs the support of at least nine of the Council’s 15 members without any of the permanent members voting against it.
If the resolution passes the Security Council, it must then go through a second vote in the General Assembly, requiring approval by a two-thirds majority of the 193 member states. The process to establish Palestine as a full member of the UN began in 2011 but was stalled until recently, when the Palestinian representative to the UN requested a review of their non-member observer status.