Explanation of vote by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia after UNSC vote on a draft resolution on admission of Palestine to full UN membership
Mme.President,
This day could have made history as the day when after three quarters of a century the global community finally made the right step towards improving the years-long historical injustice as regards Palestine and legitimate aspirations of its heroic people. It was essentially a simple question whether the Palestinians deserve to be part of the world family and to participate fully in all decisions of international life. A question to which we have consistently responded “yes”, both when we admitted Israel to the United Nations and when we admitted dozens of states liberated from colonial oppression.
However, our American colleagues see things differently. By exercising their veto power for the fifth time since the beginning of the escalation in Gaza, they have once again demonstrated their true attitude towards the Palestinians. For Washington, they do not deserve an independent state of their own. They are only an obstacle to the implementation of Israel's interests. That is why the United States is ready to turn a blind eye to Israel's crimes against the civilians of Gaza to the last, to ignore the illegal settlement activity of West Jerusalem in the West Bank. The goal is to break the will of the Palestinians, to force them to unconditionally submit to the occupying power, to turn them into servants and second-class citizens and, perhaps, to exterminate and expel them from their homeland.
If anything, such a policy has the opposite effect. Today, the overwhelming majority of the world community supports Palestine's application for full membership in the world Organization. The suffering of peaceful Palestinians resonates in the hearts and souls of millions of people around the world. In the countries that supply arms to West Jerusalem, the voices of those who want to ban such supplies are growing louder.
Today's use of the veto by the US delegation was a fruitless attempt to stop the inexorable course of history. The results of the vote, when Washington found itself almost completely isolated, speak for themselves. Indulging in the most reckless actions of its ally, unwillingness to seek just solutions within the existing international legal framework is a direct way to the abyss of war that could engulf the entire region. If the US and Israel benefit from this, it is short-term benefit. In this case, Washington will exclude itself from the ranks of peace-loving and respected states, fully sharing with its Israeli allies the responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands of peaceful Palestinians. This is unworthy of a great power, and history will not forgive you. We call on the United States to listen to the voice of reason, think about the consequences of its decisions, and urgently join the efforts of the other members of the Security Council to establish an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Thank you.
