The United States of America, a few days ago, vetoed yet another bid at the United Nations Security Council by the Palestinian Authority, the effective government of Palestine, to become a full member-state of the world of nations' body; essentially saying that such an accession should be dependent on Israel’s say so.
The continuing bias of the USA in favour of Israel and against Palestine and its people reflects what President Joe Biden has said and demonstrated to be America’s unwavering support for Israel. That kind of engagement by the USA should be contextualised in the reality of Israel having captured and killed thousands of Palestinians, driven even more off their lands and occupied increasing portions of Palestine over a 75-year-plus period and with brute force.
It should also be noted that US President Harry Truman recognised Israel’s declaration of itself as a state in 1947 and welcomed the Jewish nation to the UN body two years after it had run over Palestine.
The US decision to veto Palestine’s bid for full UN membership came against the support of 12 of the 15-members of the Security Council, who voted for Palestine’s acceptance while Britain and Switzerland abstained.
In its refusal to agree to the Palestinian attempt to gain full UN status, the USA ambassadors essentially argued about the conflict which they contend exists within Palestine between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, the latter’s recent aggression against Israel and what they consider to be Palestine’s general state of unacceptance for full membership.
On the issue of conflict between groups within Palestine over governance and authority, there are very few countries in the world, the USA included, where such conflict does not exist. Regarding the claimed violence of Hamas, the USA has often argued, when it suits such a position, that Hamas is separate from the Palestinian people. At the same time, the US is ignoring the overpowering Israeli violence which has killed over 34,000 Palestinian civilians, compared to what it considers to terrorism practiced by Hamas.
Palestine’s denial of statehood and recognition at the United Nations goes back to 2011, when the Mahmoud Abbas Palestinian Authority governed Palestine with as much cohesion as any other state in the world facing similar circumstances.
The continuing denial of the right of the Palestinian people to be fully represented at the world body must surely have left them even more open to the long, indiscriminate bullying and unmitigated violence of Israel.
Back home, there is encouraging news from Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Brown, that this country will soon make a decision on the issue of Palestine’s ascension to full membership of the UN. The hope must surely be that T&T will join its Caricom partners, Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana, who have already recognised Palestine’s right to full UN membership.
Worldwide, 140 countries, an overwhelming majority of the 193 UN member states, have recognised Palestine as a state and supported it to become a full member of the UN body.
The easy veto by the US in such matters heavily skews the Security Council in favour of the European and American bias. Once again, the often-made call for a restructuring of the UN system has relevance.