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Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: The UN Security Council meets to discuss the war in Gaza
reported that the United Nations General Assembly may vote next Friday on a draft resolution recognizing the eligibility of the Palestinians for full membership in the international organization and recommending that the Security Council “positively reconsider the matter.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, said that the draft General Assembly resolution recognizing that the Palestinians are eligible to become a full member of the United Nations contradicts the United Nations Founding Charter, and would grant the Palestinians de facto status and the right to establish a state.
The ambassador added: “If it is approved, I expect that the United States will completely stop funding the United Nations and its institutions, in accordance with American law,” indicating that the General Assembly’s adoption will not change anything on the ground.
Under US law, Washington cannot fund any UN organization that grants full membership to any group that does not have the “internationally recognized characteristics” of a state. The United States stopped funding the United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO, in 2011 after the Palestinians became a full member.
“The American view remains that the path to statehood for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations,” says Nate Evans, spokesman for the US mission to the United Nations.
He adds: “We are aware of the decision and reiterate our concerns about any effort to provide certain benefits to entities when there are unresolved questions about whether the Palestinians currently meet the standards set forth in the Charter.”
The United States is believed to provide approximately one-third of the UN budget.
