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December 31, 2014

U.N. Rejects Palestinian Resolution After U.S., Israeli Maneuvering 
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The United Nations Security Council has rejected a resolution demanding
an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories within three
years, following U.S. and Israeli pressure against it. The draft
resolution also called for a peaceful solution between Israel and a
sovereign Palestinian state within 12 months. Of the 15 members of the
U.N. Security Council, only the United States and Australia voted
against the measure. But it needed nine votes to pass and only received
eight after Nigeria decided at the last minute to abstain from voting.
The Guardian reports both U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Nigeria's president, Goodluck
Jonathan, to ask him to oppose the measure. The United States was
expected to veto the measure if it passed. The vote comes amidst
widening support for Palestinian statehood, with an increasing number of
European countries taking steps to recognize Palestine. U.S. Ambassador
to the United Nations Samantha Power explained why the U.S. objected.

Samantha Power: "Today's staged confrontation in the U.N. Security
Council will not bring the parties closer to achieving a two-state
solution. We voted against this resolution not because we are
indifferent to the daily hardships or the security threats endured by
Palestinians and Israelis, but because we know that those hardships will
not cease and those threats will not subside until the parties reach a
comprehensive settlement achieved through negotiations."

 

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