U.S. says it will veto Palestinian statehood bid at the UN

[News_Editor]

U.S. says it will veto Palestinian statehood bid at the UN

2011-09-09 05:23:50 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The United States will veto any Palestinian bid to seek a full United Nations membership if it comes before a vote in the UN Security Council, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

Although an official statehood request has not yet been submitted to the UN, the Palestinian leadership is expected to do so within weeks. Reports surfaced months ago that the U.S. would veto such a request, but no official confirmation was given until Thursday.

"We've seen the press furor around this," said Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department. "Frankly, it was surprising to us. It should not come as a shock to anyone in this room that the U.S. opposes a move in New York by the Palestinians to try to establish a state that can only be achieved through negotiations. So yes, if something comes to a vote in the UN Security Council, the U.S. will veto."

Nuland said that Palestinians going to the United Nations is not going to be productive. "As we've said a number of times, the day after any action in the UN, you haven't changed the fundamental situation. And what we are seeking to do is to get to a place where we can have two states living side by side in peace and security," the spokeswoman explained. "An action in New York is not going to achieve that objective, as we've said many times."

The U.S. State Department spokeswoman emphasized that any action at the United Nations will only increase tensions in the region. "We are seeking a result in the region that is consensual between the two parties, that is lasting, that is durable, that leads to security. Taking action in New York is going to make that more difficult," she said. "You're going to end up in a situation where you have the two parties on opposite sides in New York. That is not productive. It's not going to help the environment, the conditions for peace."

The U.S. comments came a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. officials that the Palestinian bid does not contradict the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, but will end the deadlock that resulted from "Israeli intransigence."

Abbas also said that Palestine is willing to return to negotiations if Israel accepts terms of reference to the peace process, the two-state solution on the 1967 borders and stopped settlements in the Palestinian Territory, according to the Palestine News and Information Agency.

Last year, Israel and the Palestinian Authority stalled the peace negotiations, which were supported by the United States and the United Nations, after the Jewish nation refused to extend a moratorium on settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territory in September.

In response, President Abbas broke off direct talks as recommended by Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union and countries such as the United States and Israel. Israel has since resumed settlement construction even though they have been labeled as a violation of international law by the international community.

Palestine have demanded a stop to settlement construction in the disputed East Jerusalem and West Bank area as a key element for continuing peace talks, aimed at reaching a two-state solution based on the 1967 Green Line. However, Israeli authorities have rejected the Palestinian solution based on the 1967 borders as that measure would leave a large population of Israelis in Judea and Samaria outside Israel's borders.

About 120 out of 193 countries have currently recognized the State of Palestine and those are seen as possible supporters if the UN votes on the issue. If the UN Security Council resolution to recognize Palestine is approved, Palestine would become the 194th member of the United Nations.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-09

[coma]

And you wonder why the world hates you.I remember the US invasion of Iraq was vetoed and they still went on the conduct it's sin war unilaterally.

When will the rest of the world stop allowing itself to be held hostage by the USA dictatorship?

[Ulysses G.]

What nonsense. The USA has plenty of allies and who cares about rogue nations like Iran and North Korea and far-left kooks that you are calling "the whole world".

[coma]

What nonsense. The USA has plenty of allies and who cares about rogue nations like Iran and North Korea and far-left kooks that you are calling "the whole world".

I aint talking about governments that are supportive of the US due to blackmail,dangling carrots and other trade benefits. I am talking about the citizens of the world. Even here in Thailand I cannot find one single Thai that is pro US government. And I sure have never meet any in the Middle East either. Step outside your little bubble world and you might start to realise that the US is going down the tube and it is mainly due to the support for the Israeli government and thier distinct lack of ability in trying to solve the Palestinian/Israel conflict. Instead they are being part of the problem by saying it will veto any UN resolution on Palesinians joining the UN.

Who cares you ask?? That same question will be asked about the USA in the not too distant future. China is the new world superpower and soon the US will be similar to what became of the soviet union. A nothing burger!!!

[Ulysses G.]

That whole post must be a joke - not one Thai is pro-America and the same goes for everyone in the Middle East. That would shock a lot of Thais and Israelis.

It is nice to see that you have such a silly sense of humor, you kidder you!

[chuckd]

That whole post must be a joke - not one Thai is pro-America and the same goes for everyone in the Middle East. That would shock a lot of Thais and Israelis.

It is nice to see that you have such a silly sense of humor, you kidder you!

I have known hundreds, if not thousands, of Middle Easterners (and Thais) who are pro-US.

Guess I ran in different circles than Coma.

[Ulysses G.]

I'm sure that he was not serious.

[Wallaby]

Last year, Israel and the Palestinian Authority stalled the peace negotiations, which were supported by the United States and the United Nations, after the Jewish nation refused to extend a moratorium on settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territory in September.

And some have the gumption to say it is Palestines fault.

I have met very very few people that like/support the US. It is in decline but still uses trade to get what it wants from other nations. What especially rankled most that I know was the 'with us or against us' statement. Yep, we went with you because we like the money we get from you. Take that away and we are against you.

[chuckd]

Last year, Israel and the Palestinian Authority stalled the peace negotiations, which were supported by the United States and the United Nations, after the Jewish nation refused to extend a moratorium on settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territory in September.

And some have the gumption to say it is Palestines fault.

I have met very very few people that like/support the US. It is in decline but still uses trade to get what it wants from other nations. What especially rankled most that I know was the 'with us or against us' statement. Yep, we went with you because we like the money we get from you. Take that away and we are against you.

Every country uses trade as a hammer. You are very naive if you think otherwise.

That's an interesting statement to make about your own country. Take the money we give you away and you are against us would mean your loyalty is for sale to the highest bidder.

Did I misinterpret your statement?

[Scott]

One off-topic post has been deleted.

[Ulysses G.]

That's an interesting statement to make about your own country. Take the money we give you away and you are against us would mean your loyalty is for sale to the highest bidder.

There are a lot of Ozzies who would be very offended by that kind of slur and Wallaby is Australian himself.

[geriatrickid]

The fact of the matter is that the PLA is nowhere near statehood. it has neither an elected functioning government, an economic policy, is still in a state of war and has no social development policies. Once the PLA gets its act together, then yes it can make a case to call itself a country. How serious can a party be about peace if the reason given to stop negotiations is because the other party is building structures on disputed land? If a peace agreement was reached, the construction activities would be dealt with. The fact of the matter is that the PLA does not have a mandate to negotiate anything. There are so many factions that the PLA cannot come up with any common policies save for the elimination of Israel.

Let there be a PLA state, No one would block it, if there was an indication that the state would not be a DOA. The PLA better wake up and realize that no one has the billions of money to give away anymore.

And btw, if everyone hates the USA, why are there so many people trying to get in there? No one ever tries to sneak into Syria or Algeria or Zimbabwe do they? I note the comment about the USA holding sway over some countries by use of trade etc. Gosh, someone had better look at how the EU negotiates, or Japan and especially China. You know China, the country that busted the UN sanctions when its munitions salespeople met with the Libyans to sell more armaments.

BTW there are several countries that share the US's position that do not have veto power and by some strange coincidence pay a significant part of the UN budget. I can think of one country, Canada that isn't about to be bullied by the USA in this matter. I don't know how the US could bully its largest energy supplier? What are they going to do? park their cars and walk

[Ulysses G.]

Excellent post. Sometimes I think that the kid is really Charles Krauthammer in real life.

[maidu]

I can see both sides to the issue. Perhaps the #1 thing the Palestinian authorities need to do is reign in the punks who are lobbing bombs over the fence. The 2nd thing would be to accept Israel's existence. I agree with the poster who said Palestinians don't yet have the basic foundations for sovereignty. Indeed, Tibetans have a more watertight case for sovereignty than Palestinians.

[zzaa09]

What nonsense. The USA has plenty of allies....

Yes, plenty.

[johna]

What nonsense. The USA has plenty of allies....

Yes, plenty.

yes that's perfectly true, it has lots of allies , but few friends.

[Ulysses G.]

Countries do not have friends, they have allies.

[coma]

The Egyptian people are letting Israel and the US know ,right now, what they think about their intentions to veto the Palestinian plans at the UN. \

They just detroyed the Israeli Embassy in Cairo and the Israeli ambassador has fled back to Israel.

You can see how desperate the US would be to get the Palestinians to drop their application at the UN. Cuz if they don't and the US vetos it similar,maybe more serious events, will start to be direced towards the US and its citizen. Let's hope sense prevails.

[Ulysses G.]

They could care less about the "Palestinians", but they can use them as an excuse to riot and hate. The Muslim Brotherhood are behind these actions and nutty Islamic radicals are going to take over Egypt unless the Army gets things under control.

[geriatrickid]

The Egyptian people are letting Israel and the US know ,right now, what they think about their intentions to veto the Palestinian plans at the UN. \

They just detroyed the Israeli Embassy in Cairo and the Israeli ambassador has fled back to Israel.

You can see how desperate the US would be to get the Palestinians to drop their application at the UN. Cuz if they don't and the US vetos it similar,maybe more serious events, will start to be direced towards the US and its citizen. Let's hope sense prevails.

The sacking of the Israeli embassy has nothing to do with Palestinian statehood. It does however send shivers down the backs of diplomats everywhere. There is an understanding all over the world: You do not attack an embassy. The last country where the mobs did that was Iran and we all know how that turned out. Cutting diplomatic channels serves no purpose. How else to discuss difficult situations and to resolve differences? What we see in Egypt are mobs running wild with the complicity of the current government. Unfortunately, there will be costs to such behaviour. Tourism is an important FX source for Egypt. With this latest stupidity, there goes the tourism trade. And there go the arguments made by the Egyptians for more US aid. Why would anyone in his right mind support sending money to Egypt or the Palestinians when it is likely to go into the hands of hostile groups and into corrupt skimmers? Egyptians like the Palestinians before them have now started their journey down the road of self inflicted hardship.

[flying]

Why would anyone in his right mind support sending money to Egypt or the Palestinians when it is likely to go into the hands of hostile groups and into corrupt skimmers?

I ask myself that question every year we send 3 billion more to Israel.

Worse yet how we send $$$ to our debtors countries yet it is for some payola rather than the paying down of debt.

The final straw being....we are bankrupt...charity begins at home.

Stop all outgoing cash ASAP

Humanitarian aid? All for it....send food, medicine, blankets etc. etc. etc.

[Ulysses G.]

Israel are our allies. He is referring to countries that support Islamic terrorism against the US, UK, Australia and other friendly nations.

[flying]

Israel are our allies. He is referring to countries that support Islamic terrorism against the US, UK, Australia and other friendly nations.

Bankrupts nations do not have the luxury of giving away billions & their children futures to either

[siampolee]

To borrow a comment from another

Yay for American democracy.

[WeeGB]

I personally would like to see Palestine achieve statehood.......as far as I'm concerned anything the Americans and jews are against,, I'm in favour of.

Israel is an ally?? America gives them billions every year, while it's own people can't get decent healthcare or education, then jumps every time the jews click their fingers. Israel is nobodys friend, as they have recently proved to both Turkey and Egypt.

America is never going to realise that, but given their recent history of allies/friends, (The Shah of Iran, Saddam Hussein, Al Quieda, and according to recent news General Ghadaffi), perhaps that's not surprising. Oh, and of course there was South Vietnam.

Yay for American democracy ? That's the kind of democracy where having more money counts more than having more votes, as Bush proved.

[geriatrickid]

Israel are our allies. He is referring to countries that support Islamic terrorism against the US, UK, Australia and other friendly nations.

Bankrupts nations do not have the luxury of giving away billions & their children futures to either

This discussion has been hashed, rehashed, turned upside down and the answer is still the same, the USA gets values for the dollars spent on Israel;

- The money is tied to the purchase of US products and services and functions as an indirect subsidy to US companies, large and small.

- Israel is now the only reliable and safe staging area should the need arise. Think about ti. Nowehere in the middle East region is the USA ensured of a place to park a plane or ship. Sure there is Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, but how stable and reliable are they? Do you think US service personnel are safe in Egypt? The UAE gave Canada 30 days notice before evicting the Canadian mlitary that was using it for a staging area for Afghanistan and Somalia anti piracy operations .

- The seed money from the USA goes to support scientific R&D that benefits US citizens and the rest of the world. You know those head trauma and servious burn injury protocols used in iraq and Afghanistan that saved thousands of lives? They were developed and funded in Israel. You know some of that irrigation technology being deployed in drought stricken Texas? It was developed in Israel with the support of the USA. Unlike Egypt and other ME countries, Israel has a core center of scientific excellence that functions as an R&D subset for the public health services and military if the USA

- Most importantly of all, Israel is the only reliable ally in the region.

When you think about it, the USA only has a limited number of developed countries that won't stab it in the back and who can be consistently trusted. (I can think of Canada, Denmark, japan, Netherlands, Poland, UK, and Israel.) That's a heck of a lot better than what the Chinese or Russians have. They have no one. And guess what? Egypt aint in the mix. It has now earned official basket case status.

Wait for the new travel advisories and the strict enforcement of visa requirements for Egypt courtesy of this latest attack of immaturity.

[Steely Dan]

The Egyptian people are letting Israel and the US know ,right now, what they think about their intentions to veto the Palestinian plans at the UN. \

They just detroyed the Israeli Embassy in Cairo and the Israeli ambassador has fled back to Israel.

You can see how desperate the US would be to get the Palestinians to drop their application at the UN. Cuz if they don't and the US vetos it similar,maybe more serious events, will start to be direced towards the US and its citizen. Let's hope sense prevails.

Get real the Egyptians have a Nazi party, they blame Israel for every misfortune they suffer blaming shark attacks on tourists on the Mossad or Egyptian female infertility on Israeli products. They have always been deeply antisemitic and Mubarak was all that kept the lid on that situation. It is risible to try and blame this all on a U.S veto, though I'm sure their useful idiot allies will use it as a pretext.

[cheeryble]

Israel are our allies.

They're not my allies.

They stink.

We know where Avigdor Lieberman stands with his offer to pay for the buses to go and drown the Palestinian prisoners, and if you have any doubts about the noxious Netanyahu listen to his old speeches before he had to be so careful what he said.

There are plenty of others that stink in that region, most of them our "allies" and some not, but we don't have the potential direct influence over them that we do with Israel, and they are not there because we created them.

Sad for the large minority of Israelis who detest their own country's policies.

[Jingthing]

Sad for the large minority of Israelis who detest their own country's policies.

It's good that you see that Israelis and "Jews" are not a monolithic entity. It seems many Israel opponents don't. However the vast majority of global Jews fully support the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign Jewish state and make no apologizes to anyone for that. Specific issues and policies are always debatable, including this UN recognition vote, which isn't as clear cut as it supporters indicate.

[chuckd]

Amazing how an attack by Islamic extremists on the Israeli Embassy brings out the vitriolic remarks about the US and Israel.

It's completely the fault of the US and Israel and has nothing to do with blaming the rioters, who just happen to be Islamic radicals and likely members of the next governing body of Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood.

This has nothing to do with the attempt to stir things up by Palestine/Hamas applying for statehood.