Israel to summon ambassadors over the Palestinian UN membership vote

Israel to summon ambassadors of nations that backed Palestinian UN membership bid, calling it "a prize for terrorism" after recent violence.

Jerusalem, April 21, 2024 (AFP) -- Israel announced today it will call in the ambassadors of several countries for a "protest talk" after those countries voted for Palestine's full United Nations membership.

The action takes place three days after the UN Security Council, in a 12-1 vote, suggested membership for Palestine with 2 abstentions. The United States alone cast the dissenting vote and used its veto power to prevent the resolution from further action by the General Assembly.

"The ambassadors of France, Japan, South Korea, Malta, the Slovak Republic, and Ecuador will be summoned tomorrow for the demarche, and a strong protest will be presented to them," said Oren Marmorstein, a spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry. "The same protest will be presented to the other countries as well."

In his statement, Marmorstein said the ambassadors would receive "an unambiguous message" that supporting Palestinian UN membership meant "a prize for terrorism" in the wake of recent violence. He seemed to make the comment in light of a Palestinian militant attack in the West Bank on October 7th that killed 3 Israelis.

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The failed Security Council resolution requested the status of Palestine at the UN as a "non-member observer state" be upgraded to that of a full member state. 137 of the 193 UN member states have already recognized Palestinian statehood; however, Israel and its close ally the United States do not.

Palestinian officials criticized the US veto, with the Palestinian Authority stating that it would reconsider its relations with Washington. Palestinians have traditionally tried to advance their statehood claims outside of any direct negotiations with Israel.