WASHINGTON, United States: The United States Wednesday opposed a Palestinian push for full membership at the United Nations, saying it backed statehood but after talks with Israel.
Matthew Miller, State Department spokesman, told media, “We support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.”
“That is something that should be done through direct negotiations through the parties, something we are pursuing at this time, and not at the United Nations,” he said. He, however, didn’t explicitly state that the US would veto the bid if it reaches the UN Security Council.
He also said that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was actively working to establish “security guarantees” for Israel as part of the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Biden administration is seeking a way to end the ongoing war, in which ally Israel seeks to eliminate Hamas and the reformed Palestinian Authority is in charge of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted a Palestinian state for decades and leads a far-right government whose members are hostile to the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority sent a letter to the Security Council in April asking UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to reconsider its long-standing plan to create a state.
Any request to become a UN member state must first be recommended by the Security Council — where Israel’s main supporter the US as well as four other countries wield vetoes. The request then needs to be endorsed by a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly.
In 2011, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas launched the request for statehood. The Security Council didn’t consider the plea but the General Assembly granted observer status to the State of Palestine the following year.
