Palestinian and Israeli representatives have addressed the UNSC ahead of a vote on a resolution granting Palestinians full membership to the body.
“We are still longing to practice our right to self-determination, to live in freedom, security and peace in an independent state similar to other countries around the world,” Abu Amr said on Thursday, adding that Palestinians “made and continue to make great sacrifices to achieve this goal”.
The UNSC is set to vote later on Thursday on the Palestinian bid for full UN membership. The initiative, however, seems destined for failure given that a staunch Israeli ally, the United States, holds veto power.
Addressing the US and other countries that may oppose the resolution, Abu Amr dismissed claims that the resolution would imperil political negotiations and prospects for peace.
“To those who say that recognising the Palestinian state must happen through negotiations and not through a UN resolution, we say: ‘How was the State of Israel established? Wasn’t that through a UN resolution, which was Resolution 181?,” Abu Amr said.
“This resolution will not be an alternative to negotiations and to resolving pending issues, it will grant hope to Palestinians for an independent state after this hope dissipated,” he added.
“We hope you will give us the opportunity to become an integral part of the international community that is working to achieve international peace and security.”
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan used his address to the UNSC to accuse the body of being politicised and of voting on a resolution that was a “prize to terrorists” involved in the October 7 attack staged by the Palestinian group Hamas, which governs Gaza.
“If this resolution passes – God forbid – this should no longer be known as the Security Council but as the ‘terror’ council,” he said. “The only thing that a forced unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state will do is to make any future negotiation almost impossible.”
Erdan called the Palestinian Authority (PA) a “genocide-loving entity that doesn’t deserve any status” in the UN, which requires new applicants to be “peace-loving” nations.
The representative also argued that the PA has no authority over Gaza and some parts of the West Bank. “So who is the UN going to recognise? Who is going to be in charge?” he asked.
“The UN is not committed to multilateralism, sadly, it is now committed to multi-terrorism,” he continued. “Today the mask has finally fallen, the UNSC has exposed itself.”
Erdan slammed the UN for voting on a “destructive and immoral” resolution at a time when confrontations between Israel and Iran were at risk of escalating.
Iran unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones on Israel over the weekend, after an attack on its consulate in Damascus widely blamed on Israel.
Israeli officials have not said when or where they would retaliate, but the country’s military chief has vowed a response.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the meeting by warning that spiralling tensions over the war in Gaza and Iran’s attack on Israel could evolve into a “full-scale regional conflict”.
“The Middle East is on a precipice. Recent days have seen a perilous escalation – in words and deeds,” Guterres said.
“One miscalculation, one miscommunication, one mistake, could lead to the unthinkable – a full-scale regional conflict that would be devastating for all involved,” he said, calling on all parties to exercise “maximum restraint”.
Guterres condemned both the consulate attack and the flurry of drones, saying that the latter constituted a “serious escalation”.
“It is high time to end the bloody cycle of retaliation,” he said. “It is high time to stop.”