Guterres condemned both the consulate attack and the flurry of drones, saying that the latter constituted a “serious escalation”. “One miscalculation, one miscommunication, one mistake, could lead to the unthinkable – a full-scale regional conflict that would be devastating for all involved,” he explained, calling on all parties to exercise “maximum restraint”. Recent days have seen a perilous escalation – in words and deeds,” Guterres said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened Thursday’s Security Council 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”. Israeli officials have not said when or where they would retaliate, but the country’s military chief has vowed a response. Iran unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones against Israel over the weekend, after an attack on its consulate in Damascus on April 1. The UNSC has exposed itself.”Įrdan 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. Sadly, it is now committed to multi-terrorism,” he continued. “The UN is not committed to multilateralism. “So who is the UN going to recognise? Who is going to be in charge?” he asked. He further argued that the PA has no authority over Gaza and some parts of the West Bank. In addition, 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 only thing that a forced unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state will do is to make any future negotiation almost impossible.”

“If this resolution passes – God forbid – this should no longer be known as the Security Council but as the ‘terror’ council,” he said. He also described the resolution as a “prize to terrorists” involved in the October 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which governs Gaza. Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, used his address to the Security Council to accuse the body of being politicised. “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.” It will grant hope to Palestinians for an independent state after this hope dissipated,” he added. “This resolution will not be an alternative to negotiations and to resolving pending issues. “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. Palestinians, he added, “made and continue to make great sacrifices to achieve this goal”.Ību Amr also dismissed claims that the resolution would imperil political negotiations and prospects for peace. “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 told the council. But an application to become a full UN member needs to be approved by the Security Council and then at least two-thirds of the General Assembly.īefore the vote on Thursday afternoon, Ziad Abu Amr, the UN special representative for the state of Palestine, had appealed for support.

The state of Palestine currently is a non-member observer at the UN. The US, he added, is sacrificing the “freedom of Palestinian people for egotistical and narrow interests of the United States and Israel”. “Palestine could only be a country the way the United States sees it, or Israel sees it, only at the time that it’s suitable to the United States and within the geopolitics and the global interest of the United States,” Bishara said. Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said the US veto demonstrated that Washington has a “my way or the highway” policy with regard to Palestinians.

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