May 10, 2024
Thank you, Mr. President.
President Biden has been clear that sustainable peace in the region can be achieved only through a two-state solution, with Israel’s security guaranteed, where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side with equal measures of freedom and dignity. It remains the U.S. view that unilateral measures at the UN and on the ground will not advance this goal.
This General Assembly resolution was no exception, and so the United States voted “no.”
Our vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood; we have been very clear that we support it and seek to advance it meaningfully. Instead, it is an acknowledgement that statehood will come only from a process that involves direct negotiations between the parties.
There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and future as a democratic Jewish state. There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live in peace and with dignity in a state of their own. And there is no other path that leads to regional integration between Israel and all its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.
The United States is committed to intensifying its engagement with the Palestinians and the rest of the region to advance a political settlement that will create a path to Palestinian statehood and subsequent membership in the United Nations.
This resolution does not resolve the concerns about the Palestinian membership application raised in April in the Security Council through the Admissions Committee process. And should the Security Council take up the Palestinians’ membership application as a result of this resolution, there will be a similar outcome.
Additionally, the draft resolution does not alter the status of the Palestinians as a “non-member state observer mission.” Even this unproductive text makes that explicit.
As a result of this vote, the Palestinian non-member state observer mission has not gained the right to vote in the General Assembly. It also has not gained the right to put forward candidates in UN organs or to be elected as a member of the Security Council. In short, the Palestinians’ non-member state observer mission does not have the same standing as a Member State after this vote.
In the meantime, the United States will continue to oppose measures that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution. This includes any actions that violate the principles that Secretary Blinken has affirmed repeatedly: that Gaza cannot be a platform for terrorism, that there should be no Israeli re-occupation of Gaza, and that the size of Gaza’s territory should not be reduced.
We believe a two-state solution coupled with these elements is the best way to achieve a durable peace in the region, along with security for Israelis and Palestinians. It remains the U.S. view that the most expeditious path toward statehood and UN membership for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with the support of the United States and other partners.
Thank you, Mr. President.