During this past night (Thursday), a special vote was held at the UN Security Council. On the agenda: An Discussion of the Palestinian Authority’s request to be accepted as a full member state in the UN (currently the PA only serves as an observer member). Of the 15 member states in the Security Council, 12 voted in Favor, two abstained (Britain and Switzerland), and the United States voted against – with a veto power that prevented the call from being accepted. Among the supporting countries were Israel-friendly allies, such as Japan; however, this is not a faith-breaking act against Israel – since they only voted in favor after knowing that the US will use its veto power.
The US veto is a major diplomatic success for Israel, proving that despite reports of crisis between the US administration and the Israeli government, relations between the two countries remained steadfast, as demonstrated on Sunday, in the joint containment of the Iranian attack on Israel. For the Palestinian Authority, this is a bad loss, especially considering the sympathy the Palestinians have received in recent months in the international public opinion, it seems they have no ability to translate this into political moves that will harm Israel or promote their cause. In fact, since the PA was accepted as an observer member of the United Nations in a vote in September 2011, the Palestinians have not had any political achievements – and therefore, it would be especially grave to grant them one at this time, following the October 7th attack; this would only prove to the Arab countries that aggression toward Israel leads to long-term achievements.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan praised the US’s standing with Israel. At the same time, he strongly criticized the Security Council and its member states: “From the day of the massacre on October 7th, I appear to you almost every week… But you refuse to condemn, refuse to listen, do nothing, and refuse to do the right moral thing… Talking to the Security Council is like talking to a wall.”
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