On the eve of the new year, Israel celebrates an important diplomatic victory. After weeks of intense outreach to allies and members of the Security Council, Prime Minister Netanyahu was able to block a United Nations resolution presented by the Palestinian Authority that sought to bypass the peace process with Israel.
The Palestinians wanted the UN to vote in favor of recognizing the Palestinian Authority as an independent state, based on the pre-1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital. The resolution called for full Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria (known as the West Bank) and complete Palestinian independence by 2017.
The resolution fell one vote short of the nine it needed to pass. The United States and Australia voted against it, and five other Security Council members abstained.
Before the vote, rumors circulated that the US might withhold its veto power if the measure passed, causing significant turmoil in Israel.
Netanyahu issued a statement Wednesday morning in response to Israel’s diplomatic victory:
“I want to express appreciation and thanks to the US and Australia, and also special appreciation to the president of Rwanda, my friend Paul Kagame, and the president of Nigeria, my friend Goodluck Jonathan. I spoke with both of them. They personally promised me they would not support this resolution. They stood by their word, and that is what decided this battle. This was very important for the State of Israel.”
