United States blocks UN membership for Palestine

The United States on Thursday vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution that would have made Palestine a member of the United Nations. The United Kingdom and Switzerland both abstained from the vote, according to a statement by the United Nations. Palestinian people have sought recognition as a state by the UN for over a decade, first applying in 2011.

Why did America veto the effort? The United States does not believe the Palestinian Authority has met the qualifications necessary for statehood, according to a statement by U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood. The terrorist group Hamas is effectively running the Gaza Strip, Woods added, and the area would be an integral part of the state envisioned by the UN draft resolution.

What does the Palestinian Authority have to say? Diplomat Riyad Mansour, the UN’s permanent observer for Palestine, on Thursday said that the Palestinian people would not disappear, and accused Israel of not being an agent for peace in the region and the rest of the world.

What did Israel have to say? The Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan thanked the United States for vetoing the resolution and reiterated that the Palestinian Authority does not have basic control over its own territory and supports terrorism.

Dig deeper: Listen to Cal Thomas’ commentary on The World and Everything in It podcast about how Israel is fighting a war for its very survival.