UN Security Council rejects unilateral Palestinian statehood bid

UN Security Council rejects unilateral Palestinian statehood bid

Resolution calling for establishment of Palestinian state by late 2017 falls one vote short at U.N. Security Council • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convinces Nigeria and Rwanda to abstain from voting, leading to defeat of the resolution.

Daniel Siryoti, Shlomo Cesana, Yoni Hirsch, Israel Hayom Staff and News Agencies

Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour speaks at the U.N. Security Council meeting, Tuesday | Photo credit: AP

A stinging defeat for the Palestinians: The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday rejected a Palestinian resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and the establishment of a Palestinian state, with east Jerusalem as its capital, by late 2017.

The resolution needed nine votes in favor (out of 15) to pass. It fell one vote short, obtaining eight votes in favor (Russia, China, France, Jordan, Chad, Luxembourg, Argentina and Chile), two against (the United States and Australia), and five abstentions (Britain, Rwanda, Nigeria, Lithuania and South Korea). However, even if the resolution had passed, the U.S. would have vetoed it.

Before the vote, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the leaders of three of the nations that ended up abstaining, including Rwanda and Nigeria, and asked them to not vote in favor of the Palestinian resolution.

On Wednesday morning, Netanyahu said, "I want to express appreciation and thanks to the U.S. and Australia, and also special appreciation to the president of Rwanda, my friend Paul Kagame, and the president of Nigeria, my friend Goodluck Jonathan. I spoke with both of them. They personally promised me they would not support this resolution. They stood by their word, and that is what decided this battle. This was very important for the State of Israel."

Credit: Reuters, Benny Pleban

After Tuesday's vote, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power said, "In recent years, no government has invested more in the effort to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace than the United States. Peace, however difficult it may be to forge, is too important to give up on.

"Regrettably, instead of giving voice to the aspirations of both Palestinians and Israelis, this text [the Palestinian resolution] addresses the concerns of only one side. It is deeply imbalanced and contains many elements that are not conducive to negotiations between the parties, including unconstructive deadlines that take no account of Israel's legitimate security concerns.

"We must proceed responsibly, not take actions that would risk a downward spiral. We voted against this resolution not because we are comfortable with the status quo. We voted against it because we know what everyone here knows as well -- peace will come from hard choices and compromises that must be made at the negotiating table. Today's staged confrontation in the U.N. Security Council will not bring the parties closer to achieving a two-state solution."

Jordanian Ambassador to the U.N. Dina Kawar expressed regret that the resolution was voted down, while noting that she thought Security Council members should have had more time to discuss the proposal.

"The fact that this draft resolution was not adopted will not at all prevent us from proceeding to push the international community, specifically the United Nations, towards an effective involvement to achieving a resolution to this conflict," Kawar said.

The defeat of the resolution was not entirely surprising. The U.S., according to Security Council diplomats, had made clear it did not want such a resolution put to a vote before Israel's elections on March 17.

The Palestinians, the diplomats said, insisted on putting the resolution to a vote despite knowing the U.S. would not let it pass. Their sudden announcement last weekend that the Palestinian Authority wanted a vote before the new year surprised Western delegations on the council.

Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour said Tuesday, "Our effort was a serious effort, genuine effort, to open the door for peace. Unfortunately, the Security Council is not ready to listen to that message."

Mansour said that the Palestinian leadership "must now consider its next steps." The Palestinians have threatened to join the International Criminal Court if their unilateral efforts at the U.N. fail to bear fruit.

Before Tuesday's vote, chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat said that the Palestinians could return again to the Security Council, which from Thursday will have five new members who are viewed as more sympathetic to their cause.

On Wednesday, Erekat said Palestinian officials would "very serious meeting" and could set a date for applying for membership to the ICC and other international agencies.

"There will be no more waiting, no more hesitation, no more slowdown," Erekat said. "We are going to meet and make decisions."

Israel Nitzan, the Middle East adviser at Israel's U.N. Mission, delivered a brief message to the Palestinians after Tuesday's vote: "You cannot agitate ... your way to a state." Nitzan said the Palestinians had taken every possible opportunity to avoid direct negotiations and had brought the council "a preposterous unilateral proposal."

On Wednesday morning, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the defeat of the resolution should teach the Palestinians that "provocations and unilateral actions achieve nothing."

French Ambassador to the U.N. Francois Delattre said his country would continue its efforts to get a resolution through the council that would help move peace efforts forward.

"France regrets that it isn't possible to reach a consensus today," he said, noting that he voted for the resolution despite having reservations about its contents. "Our efforts must not stop here. It is our responsibility to try again."

Earlier this week, Netanyahu told visiting Indiana Governor Mike Pence, "The Palestinian Authority is seeking to impose on us a diktat that would undermine Israel's security [and] put its future in peril. We expect the international community, at least the responsible members of that community, to oppose vigorously this U.N. diktat, this U.N. Security Council resolution, because what we need always is direct negotiations and not imposed conditions. But I want to guarantee you, to you and to the people of Israel: If the international community does not reject the Palestinian Authority's proposal, we will. Israel will oppose conditions that endanger our future."