U.S.Threatens U.N. Veto of Palestinian Statehood

Although Obama has said he favors a two-state solution to the Gaza conflict, he intends to veto any such U.N. resolution. Other Security Council members, on the other hand, have already signaled their support for Palestinian statehood.

U.S. President Obama has threatened to veto any unilateral proposal in the U.N. Security Council. The planned Palestinian application for recognition would not provide a solution, Obama said in an interview with the German Press Agency (DPA).

At the same time, he warned Israel against any countermeasures. Obama said at the White House that should the question of Palestinian statehood be proposed in the Security Council, the United States would reject it. Despite the media attention it would draw, Obama said, the proposal would be counterproductive. Obama feels that a unilateral move in this direction wouldn’t solve problems that can only be solved by a negotiated agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.

Counterproductive Media Confusion

The State Department had already announced last week that it proposed a veto of the request. Obama kept his opinion to himself. The subject is expected to be raised at the U.N. next week.

At the same time, Obama let it be known that the United States would be unable to block a Palestinian success in the General Assembly, saying that the United States had only one vote there and that there were doubtless many nations that would support the Palestinian initiative.

Obama further stated that the United States intended to continue the dialog with all parties in order to assure that any action in New York would result in the return of everyone to the negotiating table instead of driving them apart.

Obama said that the bottom line was that it is time for a Palestinian state and reiterated his support for a two-state solution that would let Israelis and Palestinians live as peaceful neighbors.

No one is open to compromise

At the same time, he accused both the Israelis and the Palestinians of lacking the will to compromise, something he said both sides had to be ready to do. Both sides, he reiterated, had to return to the negotiating table. Palestinians and Israelis had to engage in a dialog over questions of future borders, mutual security, the Jerusalem problem and the right of return, he said.

Obama warned Israel that if the Palestinians were successful, Israel had to become financially involved, saying that they had encouraged Israel to think in terms of long-range strategy. The Palestinian authority, he said, had successfully brought security and order to the West Bank, and that would require continued fiscal support. He warned that should the resources be cut off, it would damage the autonomous government and ultimately Israel itself.

The Arab League supports Palestine

The Arab League, however, has aligned itself with Palestine. After a meeting of the international community at Cairo, Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Araby said Tuesday night that the negotiations and talks should continue. Saeb Erekat, chief deputy negotiator for the Palestinians, stressed that a U.N. decision recognizing Palestine would not exclude the possibility of renewed negotiations with Israel.

According to official Egyptian press releases, European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton said at the Cairo meeting that the European Union supported the Palestinian wish to become a sovereign state, but that it had to be agreed upon by means of negotiation. U.S. President Barack Obama warned that unilateral Palestinian action would only be a “diversion from peace” and would not result in a viable state. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, in contrast, promised the Palestinians his nation’s support.