Israel has announced that it would summon ambassadors of countries that voted in favour of granting full Palestinian membership to the United Nations for what it terms a “protest talk.” This move comes in response to the recent vote at the UN Security Council regarding Palestinian membership. According to a statement by the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Oren Marmorstein, ambassadors from several countries will be summoned on Sunday for discussions.
“The ambassadors of France, Japan, South Korea, Malta, the Slovak Republic, and Ecuador will be summoned tomorrow for a demarche, and a strong protest will be presented to them. In addition, an identical protest will be presented to additional countries that voted for the Algerian proposal, which was rejected, to upgrade the status of the Palestinians,” Marmorstein stated.
The spokesperson further added, “The unambiguous message that will be delivered to the ambassadors: A political gesture to the Palestinians and a call to recognise a Palestinian state – six months after the October 7 massacre – is a prize for terrorism. Israel will not agree to the establishment of a terror state that will endanger its citizens.”
As instructed by Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz, tomorrow (Sunday) the Foreign Ministry will summon for a protest talk the ambassadors of the countries that voted in the Security Council in favor of upgrading the status of the Palestinians in the UN.
The… pic.twitter.com/2UTUVkHQgs
— Oren Marmorstein (@OrenMarmorstein) April 20, 2024
United States, Israel’s Key Ally, Vetoed Palestinian Membership Bid
Israel’s decision follows the Palestinian Authority’s announcement of reconsidering its relationship with the United States after Washington vetoed the Palestinian membership bid earlier in the week. The vote, which took place on Thursday, saw 12 countries backing a resolution recommending full Palestinian membership, while Britain and Switzerland abstained. The United States, Israel’s key ally, cast the sole vote against the resolution, employing its veto power to block it, AFP reported.
The draft resolution proposed upgrading Palestine’s status from its current “non-member observer state” to full membership within the United Nations. Presently, according to Palestinian records, 137 out of 193 UN member states have recognised Palestine as a sovereign state.
