JERUSALEM: Israel is set to summon ambassadors of countries that supported a resolution recommending full Palestinian UN membership for “protest talks” on Sunday, according to a foreign ministry spokesman. This action comes after the Palestinian Authority expressed intentions to “reconsider” its relationship with the United States following Washington’s veto of the Palestinian membership bid earlier in the week.
During Thursday’s vote at the UN Security Council, 12 countries backed the resolution advocating full Palestinian membership, while two countries—Britain and Switzerland—chose to abstain. The United States, Israel’s staunchest ally, wielded its veto power to block the resolution.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein announced on Saturday that ambassadors from France, Japan, South Korea, Malta, the Slovak Republic, and Ecuador would be summoned for a “demarche” and a “strong protest” talk. Marmorstein emphasized that a similar protest would be lodged with additional countries.
The message conveyed to these ambassadors will be straightforward: Israel views any political gesture towards Palestinians, including calls to recognize a Palestinian state, as rewarding terrorism, particularly following the October 7 attacks from Hamas.
With effect from 2012, the State of Palestine has been a “non-member observer state” in the UN. The draft resolution sought to recommend to the General Assembly that the State of Palestine be admitted as a full member of the UN.
The draft resolution aimed to recommend to the General Assembly the admission of the State of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations, replacing its current status as a “non-member observer state” held since 2012.
According to Palestinian sources, a majority of the UN’s 193 member states—137 countries—have recognized Palestine as a sovereign state.
