The enduring, but regrettably unproductive, pursuit of the Palestinian people for statehood got prominence by the vote in the United Nations Security Council on Palestine’s full membership.
The US vetoed the widely backed UN resolution that would have helped the full membership of Palestine. It was the biggest obstacle to the Palestinian’s legitimate pursuit of their rights. So much for the self-proclaimed leader of the free world.
Suspicions cast on Palestine’s capability to govern and its peace assurances are only a means to divert attention from what are their fundamental rights. This act has not only frustrated the ambitions of the Palestinian people but also prompted scrutiny over the fairness and immediacy of addressing their rights.
The US’s unjustified support of Israel assaulted the basis of a two-state solution, which is the only path toward lasting peace. It was in 2011 that the Palestinian Authority first applied to join the world body as a member. That endeavor failed because the Palestinians did not get the required minimum support of nine of the 15 UN Security Council members.
On the other hand, this time, 12 of the 15 Security Council members, including US allies France, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, voted in favor of the resolution, with the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstaining. Yet the US vetoed it.
The backing Palestine received this time mirrored the growing number of UN members recognizing its statehood as well as the international care for the Palestinian people facing a humanitarian disaster because of the nonstop assaults by Israeli forces.
The US has positioned itself against the international community, by vetoing the UN resolution after having vetoed four previous resolutions calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. The US has not only prevented the Palestinian people from fulfilling their aspirations but also prompted scrutiny of its claim of being the biggest protector of human rights.
According to the media, Robert Wood, the US Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs in the UN says that Palestine’s UN membership needs to be the outcome of the negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as something that would flow from the result of those negotiations.
The US blind support of Israel has eroded the basis for a two-state solution, which is the only path toward lasting peace.
The US has called for direct talks between Israel and Palestine to resolve the Palestinian issue. Still, by doing so, it overlooked the shifting dynamics within the region, including Israel’s reluctance to accept a two-state solution.
The increasing Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian lands in the West Bank have significantly reduced the territory of the Palestine state since it first applied to join the UN in 2011.
Within hours of the US vetoing the Security Council resolution, US officials confirmed that an Israeli missile had hit an Iranian site. At the same time, explosions occurred near the Iranian city of Isfahan, with flights across several areas including Teheran and Isfahan suspended.
The US is only making the situation in the Middle East more volatile by insisting on direct negotiations between Israel and the countries with which it has disputes. The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has already crossed the figure of 34,000, with the majority of them being women and children.
When the possibility of an Israeli attack on Rafah where 1.4 million Palestinians were huddled to escape the ruthless Israeli attacks in central and northern Gaza was likely and the Palestine-Israel conflict could spread to the rest of the Middle East, the US should align itself with the right course of history to uphold peace.
Regardless of the setback, the international community, defying the two-faced US, should build up efforts to ensure the Palestinian people get justice.